The temperature had soared past 90 degrees. Pollen dusted the B-CC track. And sophomore Alison Thomas looked in pain, her face red, her eyes bloodshot from allergies. Still, the B-CC sophomore took her place for an 800-meter race against Watkins Mill on Wednesday.
She ran so hard that she won. Finishing second and third were teammates Darcy O’Connor, a senior, and freshman Laura Nakasaka. Thomas’ winning time was 2 minutes, 44.8 seconds, but for Coach Chad Young the most impressive thing was simply that she ran.
``She didn’t look so well because of her allergies,’’ he said. ``But she ran very well – it was maybe the highlight of the meet because she wasn’t feeling so great and still managed to do so well.’’
The meet – the second of the outdoor season, following a competition against Gaithersburg earlier in the spring – produced an unusual result: B-CC girls won handily over Watkins Mill’s girls (111-22), while Watkins Mill boys won just as handily over B-CC’s boys (100-30).
For the girls, the stars seemed endless.
O’Connor, the senior who finished second in the 800, won the mile in 6:08; junior Minna Jacobson was second in 6:15; and Thomas finished fourth in 6:18.
In the triple jump, O’Connor was the only entry in the girls’ competition, netting a first place in a 26 foot, three inch jump. For Young, the result was important for the five points, but also for the point that O’Connor made: She wasn’t afraid to try a new event, especially if it helped the team.
``It’s a technical event, so some people are too scared to try it,’’ he said. ``So because Darcy wasn’t shy, we came out with five points. I credit her for trying something new.’’
In the high jump, B-CC took the first four places: Junior Ariana Braganza, new to the team, won in clearing 4’ 8’’; junior Alanna Diggs cleared 4’ 6’’; junior Julia Hardgrove cleared 4’ 4’’; and sophomore Naomi Orevba cleared 4’ 2’’.
Kate Leuba, a senior, won the shot put with a throw of 21 feet 1.5 inches, while Ruth Orevba came in second with 21’ 1’’.
In the 200 meter sprints, B-CC swept with three newcomers to the team: Freshman Brittney Wade (26.72); senior Nia Harrington (27.88); and sophomore Jasmine Holmes (28:01). The three also joined with Katie Williams, a junior, to win two relay events, the 4 x 100 and 4 x 200.
``The new girls jumped right in and helped our team right away,’’ Young said.
Hardgrove also had a great day, winning the 100 and 300 meter hurdles races.
In the boys’ competition, despite the lopsided overall score, Young saw several positive outcomes.
One was Chris Henderson’s two races – narrowly finishing second in both the 800 and 1600 meter competitions. In the 800, senior Eric Damtoft finished third, close behind Henderson.
``Chris learned a lot about race strategy and tactics,’’ Young said. ``He said the Watkins Mill runner was really skilled in holding the inside of the track. He wasn’t happy that he lost, but he was satisfied with the competitive nature of the race.’’
In the sprints, Watkins Mill dominated – with one exception: Senior Casey Shamma finished third in both the 100 and 200 meter races.
Elsewhere, junior Elliot Gerson, who had not raced since the cross country season, won the two-mile in 11:13, with junior Trevor Stephens finishing second, just a second behind (11:14).
And in field events, senior Alex Barrett won the high jump, clearing 5’ 6’’, while senior Chuck Banks finished second in the shot put (42 feet, one inch) and third in discus (95 feet, two inches).
B-CC now has two meets in rapid succession: a large invitational competition Saturday at Georgetown Prep, and the second and last home meet of the year Tuesday against Blair and Landon.
No comments:
Post a Comment