For the B-CC track and field team, the prospect of even a few elite athletes making the Maryland state 4A meet was more daunting this year than any before. The school had just moved up into the pool of the state’s largest high schools in the fall because of a large freshman class, putting it as one of smallest 4A schools in the state.
``In the past, qualifying for the 2A and even the 3A was pretty easy,’’ said Coach Chad Young. ``But for this state meet, we had to run as fast as we could or throw as far as we could even to get here. If you make a mistake, or you missed an opportunity, you wouldn’t make it.’’
And yet seven B-CC athletes qualified.
On Friday and Saturday, Young and fellow coach Nathan Herchenroeder proudly watched the seven perform on the largest stage of the year at Morgan State University against several nationally ranked athletes.
The results:
The girls 4 x 800 team (sophomores Grace Reingruber and Ava Farrell and seniors Paige Donnelly and Kate Leuba) finished in 9 minutes, 43 seconds for 5th place, winning four points for the team.
In the 200-meter dash semifinals, junior Terrence James finished in 23.24, sixth in his heat, just out of the running for the finals.
In the shot put, senior Chuck Banks threw 46 feet, 6 inches, for 6th place, winning three points.
On Saturday, in the 400-meter dash, freshman Brittney Wade ran 59.88 seconds for 12th place.
And in the discus, Banks threw 102 feet, 5 inches for 15th place.
In the girls 4 x 800, all the runners performed well in a race won by a Wootton team, which finished in 9:04.39 -- the second fastest relay time in the country this year.
``It was a great race,’’ Young said. ``It was our girls' second fastest time of the year.’’ The only minor hiccup was that Farrell at the end stopped just short of the finish line, before realizing she still had another 10 meters to go. She finished a second or two slower, but it didn’t affect the team’s place.
Afterward, the four girls were extremely happy with their performance as they gathered around Young for a recap. Their times: Reingruber, 2:24; Donnelly, 2:23; Leuba, 2:27; and Farrell, 2:26.
For the 200-meter dash, James had had a difficult several weeks beforehand with a nagging Achilles injury, and Young and Herchenroeder said they wondered if that accounted for his time, which was slower than he had run before.
``I think he was really pumped, but he didn’t get quite enough of a warm-up to the race. And the injury he’s had with his Achilles played a factor,'' he said. ``He had to take it easy over the past few weeks, and that could have affected him mentally and physically. But it was a learning experience for him. Just the fact he was at the state meet will provide motivation to get back here next year.’’
In the shot put, Banks was well-prepared. His best throw came on his second attempt – close to his personal record for the year. ``It was a good finish for him,’’ Young said. ``He’s so used to throwing farther with each meet, with each time he competes, so he was a little upset. But it was a good end to his shot put career in high school. He’s not sure where he wants to go in college, but he does want to try shot put in college next year.’’
In the girls’ 400 meters dash -- the finals featured eventual winner Olivia Ekpone of Northwest, who won in 53.60 seconds -- Wade started out slow in the first 100 meters, and then picked up the pace. ``She looked real good,’’ Young said. ``She caught four girls in the last 50 yards in her meet. That was pretty impressive – a great introduction for her at the state meet.’’
Editor’s note: Many thanks to both coaches – Chad Young and Nathan Herchenroeder – for all their efforts over both the indoor and outdoor seasons. Often, these meets stretched up to 12 hours, and they stayed until the very end, encouraging their athletes in ways that few parents could see. This blog, in fact, represented even more time for them – especially for Coach Young, who saw it as an extension of his teaching and coaching, finding a new way to motivate and communicate with his student-athletes. Athletes and parents should feel free to use the comment section to relate your own stories on their efforts, and on the season as a whole.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Thursday, May 20, 2010
‘I can’t wait until next week’
Before Terrence James, a B-CC junior, ran in the 200-meter dash finals at the regional meet Thursday at Whitman High School, several teammates offered advice.
``They were telling me, `You were real tight in the earlier race,’’’ James said. ``They told me to relax, use my arms more, raise my legs higher. I did all that, and I leaned at the end.’’
And he finished second in 22.2 seconds, qualifying for next week’s 4A state high school championship at Morgan State University. It will be his first state outdoor championship race.
``I feel like I’m going to give it my all,’’ James said after the race, sitting in the stands and watching his teammates compete. ``I’m real excited. I can’t wait until next week.’’
James wasn’t the only B-CC track and field athlete to qualify for the state championship. Others who accomplished the high honor: senior Chuck Banks in both the shot put (he threw it 45 feet, 3 inches, finishing third) and the discus (117 feet, for second); freshman Brittney Wade in the 400-meter dash (59.53 seconds); and the girls 4 x 800 relay team, consisting of seniors Paige Donnelly (2:24 leg) and Kate Leuba (2:28) and sophomores Grace Reingruber (2:22) and Ava Farrell (2:25).
``We had a really strong two days,’’ said Coach Nathan Herchenroeder, referring to the meet, which took place on Wednesday and Thursday. ``A number of people did really well.’’
Banks wished he had performed even better – especially in the shot put.
``It didn’t come through for me today,’’ he said. ``To throw the shot put, you need to have you lower body relaxed and your upper body strong. It’s like you’re a coil and you explode in one motion. I didn’t do it in one motion today; I did it in two motions. That’s what I’ll work on all next week. I have to relax more when I throw.’’
Banks, who has thrown over 48 feet in practice, said evenly, ``I got to get some payback next week.’’
Wade – who had run five races over the two days – seemed so tired at the end of the competition on Thursday that her reaction was muted about qualifying for the state meet. ``I was really nervous before running the 400,’’ she said. ``I saw who I was running against. But I was really happy with the result.’’
In the girls 4 x 800 race, the B-CC team was in danger of not qualifying until the final lap when Farrell moved into fourth place – the last qualifying spot for states. ``They ran a really good race,’’ Herchenroeder said. ``We had two PRs with Paige and Grace, and they all ran hard.’’
Farrell also ran a strong 3200-meter race, finishing in 11:44, but missed the state qualifying time by two seconds. ``She’ll take this race and learn from it,’’ Herchenroeder said.
Donnelly ran a 2:24 800 on Thursday, finishing 10th overall, matching her PR this season from the 4 x 800 a day earlier.
In other races:
* Junior Julia Hardgrove qualified for the 100-meter hurdles finals in 16.75, and then ran a 16.51 in the finals, finishing eighth.
* Juniors Eliot Gerson and Trevor Stephens ran PRs in the 3200-meter race. Gerson finished in 10:06, Stephens in 10:16.
* Senior Alex Barrett excelled in three competitions: clearing 5 feet, six inches in the high jump, finishing fifth, just missing qualifying for the states; running 53.89 in the 400 meter dash, more than a second faster than his times this season; and running a leg in the 4 x 400 relay, which finished second in its heat.
The 4 x 400 team ran 3:38, erasing its old record by three seconds, even though its faster runner, Terrence James, didn’t run because of a tight muscle. The team consisted of junior Nana Twum Agyire (53 seconds); Barrett (54.9); sophomore Julien Dorsey (54.8); and senior David Segun (54.7), who shot out in the beginning of his lap to first place, only to be passed in the last 50 meters.
* The girls 4 x 400 finished in 4:16, consisting of freshman Caroline Leuba (1:02); senior Kate Leuba (1:03); freshman Cameron Yuetter (1:06); and sophomore Laila Shehata (1:05).
For the state meet at Morgan State, competition on Friday begins at 4 p.m. Events scheduled Friday include the shot put; 4 x 8 girls relay; and boys 200 meter race. On Saturday, when competition begins at 11 a.m., there will be the discus competition, and finals for boys 200 meter and girls 400 meter dashes.
``They were telling me, `You were real tight in the earlier race,’’’ James said. ``They told me to relax, use my arms more, raise my legs higher. I did all that, and I leaned at the end.’’
And he finished second in 22.2 seconds, qualifying for next week’s 4A state high school championship at Morgan State University. It will be his first state outdoor championship race.
``I feel like I’m going to give it my all,’’ James said after the race, sitting in the stands and watching his teammates compete. ``I’m real excited. I can’t wait until next week.’’
James wasn’t the only B-CC track and field athlete to qualify for the state championship. Others who accomplished the high honor: senior Chuck Banks in both the shot put (he threw it 45 feet, 3 inches, finishing third) and the discus (117 feet, for second); freshman Brittney Wade in the 400-meter dash (59.53 seconds); and the girls 4 x 800 relay team, consisting of seniors Paige Donnelly (2:24 leg) and Kate Leuba (2:28) and sophomores Grace Reingruber (2:22) and Ava Farrell (2:25).
``We had a really strong two days,’’ said Coach Nathan Herchenroeder, referring to the meet, which took place on Wednesday and Thursday. ``A number of people did really well.’’
Banks wished he had performed even better – especially in the shot put.
``It didn’t come through for me today,’’ he said. ``To throw the shot put, you need to have you lower body relaxed and your upper body strong. It’s like you’re a coil and you explode in one motion. I didn’t do it in one motion today; I did it in two motions. That’s what I’ll work on all next week. I have to relax more when I throw.’’
Banks, who has thrown over 48 feet in practice, said evenly, ``I got to get some payback next week.’’
Wade – who had run five races over the two days – seemed so tired at the end of the competition on Thursday that her reaction was muted about qualifying for the state meet. ``I was really nervous before running the 400,’’ she said. ``I saw who I was running against. But I was really happy with the result.’’
In the girls 4 x 800 race, the B-CC team was in danger of not qualifying until the final lap when Farrell moved into fourth place – the last qualifying spot for states. ``They ran a really good race,’’ Herchenroeder said. ``We had two PRs with Paige and Grace, and they all ran hard.’’
Farrell also ran a strong 3200-meter race, finishing in 11:44, but missed the state qualifying time by two seconds. ``She’ll take this race and learn from it,’’ Herchenroeder said.
Donnelly ran a 2:24 800 on Thursday, finishing 10th overall, matching her PR this season from the 4 x 800 a day earlier.
In other races:
* Junior Julia Hardgrove qualified for the 100-meter hurdles finals in 16.75, and then ran a 16.51 in the finals, finishing eighth.
* Juniors Eliot Gerson and Trevor Stephens ran PRs in the 3200-meter race. Gerson finished in 10:06, Stephens in 10:16.
* Senior Alex Barrett excelled in three competitions: clearing 5 feet, six inches in the high jump, finishing fifth, just missing qualifying for the states; running 53.89 in the 400 meter dash, more than a second faster than his times this season; and running a leg in the 4 x 400 relay, which finished second in its heat.
The 4 x 400 team ran 3:38, erasing its old record by three seconds, even though its faster runner, Terrence James, didn’t run because of a tight muscle. The team consisted of junior Nana Twum Agyire (53 seconds); Barrett (54.9); sophomore Julien Dorsey (54.8); and senior David Segun (54.7), who shot out in the beginning of his lap to first place, only to be passed in the last 50 meters.
* The girls 4 x 400 finished in 4:16, consisting of freshman Caroline Leuba (1:02); senior Kate Leuba (1:03); freshman Cameron Yuetter (1:06); and sophomore Laila Shehata (1:05).
For the state meet at Morgan State, competition on Friday begins at 4 p.m. Events scheduled Friday include the shot put; 4 x 8 girls relay; and boys 200 meter race. On Saturday, when competition begins at 11 a.m., there will be the discus competition, and finals for boys 200 meter and girls 400 meter dashes.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Relentless, and a burning intensity
Nana Twum Agyire, a B-CC junior, started out the outdoor track season with burning intensity – maybe too much so. He injured his leg and couldn’t run for several weeks. So he learned how to throw the discus and shot put. He kept working, kept in shape, kept going to be ready when able.
The time came Saturday, in the Montgomery County `B’ championship track and field event held at Whitman High School. He was ready to run again, and Coach Chad Young entered him in the 400 meter dash, penciling in an expected finish of 62 seconds.
Agyire sped around the track, finishing in 55.5 seconds, 8th place overall.
``He improved his last time by seven seconds out of the blue,’’ Young said. ``He is one of the hardest workers on the team and did a great job to get himself race ready. He’s relentless with this desire to be good at things.’’
Agyire, who is originally from Ghana, wasn’t through. He ran in the 100 meter dash and barely qualified for the final heat – finishing 15th out of 15, in 12 seconds flat. But in the finals, he tied for third overall, finishing in 11.6 seconds.
The meet, which attracted 25 teams, is for athletes who did not quite make the top tier of their school’s team. Coaches love it – the competition allows also-rans in other meets to be champions, and it also brings a mix of ages competing at near the same level together at a time when many are peaking from weeks of training.
For B-CC, the meet brought some pleasant surprises, and again showed the depth of a strong girls team.
But with the boys, some highlights:
* Senior Andrew Crouch ran the 3200-meter run in 11:17, a personal record;
* In the 800 meter race, junior Lucas Morrison finished 5th in 2:12; followed by freshman Thomas Horton in 2:14. (Horton, said Young, went out hard in both the 800 and 1600; ``perhaps he was a little over-confident, but he learned a lot.’’ Horton finished the 1600 in 4:59.)
Also, freshman Greg Picard, running his first 800, went out a little too quickly, but ``it was a good learning experience,’’ Young said. Picard finished in 2:38.
And another freshman, Gavin Donnelly, ran a 2:27 800, his personal best. Young had estimated his finish at 2:40. ``He looked pretty comfortable on the track, and competed extremely well,’’ Young said. ``I thought it was his best race of the season so far. He looked like a runner out there, ready to race.’’ Donnelly had earlier run a 59-second 400, six seconds faster than his previous best time
* In the 1600, senior Nick Richter finished in 4:58, and junior Lucas Morrison ran 5:01. ``They all improved quite a lot in last few weeks,’’ Young said.
The boys finished 16th out of 25 teams, with 6.5 points.
The girls finished second, only behind Clarksburg, with 77.66 points.
For the girls, the fun started early:
* In the 100-meter dash, four girls qualified for the finals. Sophomore Nimie Ndubisi was second in 13.3; Fatoumatta Tunkara, a junior, and Shayna Nash, a freshman, tied at 13.8; and freshman Jamie Potter finished in 14.2.
* In the girls 4 x 800, their dominance showed. B-CC entered four teams, and they finished 1, 2, 6, and 8th overall. Leading the way was freshman Caroline Leuba, who had a banner day.
The A team -- Leuba (2:30), sophomore Laila Shehata (2:31), freshman Laura Nakasaka (2:40), and senior Darcy O’Connor (2:43) -- finished in 10:24, easily beating the field.
The B team – freshman Cami Yeutter (2:33), sophomore Alison Thomas (2:41), freshman Elena Crouch (2:59) and junior Minna Jacobson (2:49) – finished second in 11:06.
``Cami had an injury in the spring, and didn’t join our team halfway through,’’ Young said. ``So, she’s been running only for a month. She had been running the 200 and 400 and I told her last week that I was going to put her in the 800, and she’s been really nervous. But of all the 12 girls, she had the third fastest time. She’s now a candidate to be part of future 4 x 8 teams.’’
* In the open 800, Leuba finished first, in 2:30 again, out of 54 runners.
* In the 400 meter dash, Shehata finished third in 1:03, while freshman Eugenia Wilson finished fifth in 1:05.9.
* In the 200 meter dash, Wilson finished first in 27.6. Freshman Jamie Potter finished fifth in 28.7, while Nash, another freshman, finished sixth in 28.8. Tied for eighth: sophomores Emily Roy and Amy Heaton in 28.9.
Next up: The regional meet, at Whitman, next Wednesday and Thursday.
The time came Saturday, in the Montgomery County `B’ championship track and field event held at Whitman High School. He was ready to run again, and Coach Chad Young entered him in the 400 meter dash, penciling in an expected finish of 62 seconds.
Agyire sped around the track, finishing in 55.5 seconds, 8th place overall.
``He improved his last time by seven seconds out of the blue,’’ Young said. ``He is one of the hardest workers on the team and did a great job to get himself race ready. He’s relentless with this desire to be good at things.’’
Agyire, who is originally from Ghana, wasn’t through. He ran in the 100 meter dash and barely qualified for the final heat – finishing 15th out of 15, in 12 seconds flat. But in the finals, he tied for third overall, finishing in 11.6 seconds.
The meet, which attracted 25 teams, is for athletes who did not quite make the top tier of their school’s team. Coaches love it – the competition allows also-rans in other meets to be champions, and it also brings a mix of ages competing at near the same level together at a time when many are peaking from weeks of training.
For B-CC, the meet brought some pleasant surprises, and again showed the depth of a strong girls team.
But with the boys, some highlights:
* Senior Andrew Crouch ran the 3200-meter run in 11:17, a personal record;
* In the 800 meter race, junior Lucas Morrison finished 5th in 2:12; followed by freshman Thomas Horton in 2:14. (Horton, said Young, went out hard in both the 800 and 1600; ``perhaps he was a little over-confident, but he learned a lot.’’ Horton finished the 1600 in 4:59.)
Also, freshman Greg Picard, running his first 800, went out a little too quickly, but ``it was a good learning experience,’’ Young said. Picard finished in 2:38.
And another freshman, Gavin Donnelly, ran a 2:27 800, his personal best. Young had estimated his finish at 2:40. ``He looked pretty comfortable on the track, and competed extremely well,’’ Young said. ``I thought it was his best race of the season so far. He looked like a runner out there, ready to race.’’ Donnelly had earlier run a 59-second 400, six seconds faster than his previous best time
* In the 1600, senior Nick Richter finished in 4:58, and junior Lucas Morrison ran 5:01. ``They all improved quite a lot in last few weeks,’’ Young said.
The boys finished 16th out of 25 teams, with 6.5 points.
The girls finished second, only behind Clarksburg, with 77.66 points.
For the girls, the fun started early:
* In the 100-meter dash, four girls qualified for the finals. Sophomore Nimie Ndubisi was second in 13.3; Fatoumatta Tunkara, a junior, and Shayna Nash, a freshman, tied at 13.8; and freshman Jamie Potter finished in 14.2.
* In the girls 4 x 800, their dominance showed. B-CC entered four teams, and they finished 1, 2, 6, and 8th overall. Leading the way was freshman Caroline Leuba, who had a banner day.
The A team -- Leuba (2:30), sophomore Laila Shehata (2:31), freshman Laura Nakasaka (2:40), and senior Darcy O’Connor (2:43) -- finished in 10:24, easily beating the field.
The B team – freshman Cami Yeutter (2:33), sophomore Alison Thomas (2:41), freshman Elena Crouch (2:59) and junior Minna Jacobson (2:49) – finished second in 11:06.
``Cami had an injury in the spring, and didn’t join our team halfway through,’’ Young said. ``So, she’s been running only for a month. She had been running the 200 and 400 and I told her last week that I was going to put her in the 800, and she’s been really nervous. But of all the 12 girls, she had the third fastest time. She’s now a candidate to be part of future 4 x 8 teams.’’
* In the open 800, Leuba finished first, in 2:30 again, out of 54 runners.
* In the 400 meter dash, Shehata finished third in 1:03, while freshman Eugenia Wilson finished fifth in 1:05.9.
* In the 200 meter dash, Wilson finished first in 27.6. Freshman Jamie Potter finished fifth in 28.7, while Nash, another freshman, finished sixth in 28.8. Tied for eighth: sophomores Emily Roy and Amy Heaton in 28.9.
Next up: The regional meet, at Whitman, next Wednesday and Thursday.
Friday, May 14, 2010
`He took his anger out on shot put’
When B-CC senior Chuck Banks started preparing for Wednesday’s shot put competition in the Montgomery County track and field championship, a judge stopped him. She said he could not compete because he had signed up too late. Banks ran to find Coach Chad Young, and the two of them argued on his behalf.
After huddling with other coaches, the judge allowed Banks to compete. ``Chuck was pretty annoyed by the situation and took his anger out on his throwing,’’ Young said. ``He threw 45 feet something.’’
Rain postponed the meet until Thursday. Banks wasn’t late this time. He threw 46 feet, 11 inches – more than a foot better than his personal record.
``He took his anger out on the shot put,’’ Young said. ``He’s an emotional guy. To throw more than a foot past your PR is quite something – especially as far as he is throwing.’’
At the county meet, Banks wasn’t the team's only highlight. Senior Kate Leuba joined the girls 4 x 800 team for the first time in a year, giving it a huge boast toward a fourth place finish in 9 minutes, 47 seconds.
``She’s a senior, so I wanted to give her a chance to run in the state meet if we can get there,’’ Young said. ``She ran 2:28, which is close to her PR. She’s picking up where she left off and looked really strong on her leg.’’
Sophomore Ava Farrell, who anchored the relay, ran her fastest 800 of the year in 2:24; sophomore Grace Reingruber also ran her fastest 800 split in 2:25; and senior Paige Donnelly ran 2:27.
For Leuba, the 4 x 800 was only one of her three races at the meet. In the 4 x 200, she joined senior Nia Harrington, freshman Brittney Wade, and junior Katie Williams to run a 1:50, good for eighth place.
In the 4 x 400, Leuba, Donnelly, Wade and sophomore Hallie Jester combined to run 4:18 to finish in 11th place. The time was the fastest 4 x 400 of the year for the team by seven seconds, and Wade’s 60-second lap was the fastest individual time of the year by any B-CC runner.
In the longest run of the meet, the 3,200-meter race, Young took aside Farrell to talk about strategy.
``We talked a little bit, about the girls she was running with, and we set a goal in mind for the first mile -- 5:50. She kind of likes to go out a little slower, but this time she wasn’t looking at her watch, she just ran, and she did a 5:50 first mile,’’ Young said. ``She looked comfortable, and she started to slow down a tiny bit, but the field was slowing down, too, and gradually she began creeping up in the field, and started passing people. One girl in Clarksburg who had beaten her almost every time was ahead of her, and then Ava went by her. The girl jumped on Ava’s shoulder and passed her back and created a gap in the last 100 meters. But somehow Ava found the power and surged one more time, and passed her.’’
Farrell finished in 6th place, running 11:38 , or 11 seconds faster than she had ever done before.
In the boys 1600 meter race, senior Chris Henderson had been running steadily better in past weeks. He set a PR of 4:51 two weeks ago, and then ran 4:44 during the past weekend. On Thursday, he ran faster stiill, 4:41. ``He has really dropped his time,’’ Young said. ``That is always fun to watch, and he seemed excited.’’
In the boys’ 800 meter race, junior Trevor Stephens and Henderson ran together, with Stephens (2:04) finishing ahead of Henderson (2:05).
Junior Terrence James, one of the county’s fastest 200 meter runners, didn’t run in the county meet because of a balky ankle.
The county B meet will be held Saturday at Whitman High school. The regional meet is being held Wednesday and Thursday at Whitman. At the regionals, athletes have to make qualifying times or finish in the top four to compete in the state meet.
``A lot of people are running faster right now,’’ Young said. ``And it’s a good time of the year to run faster.’’
After huddling with other coaches, the judge allowed Banks to compete. ``Chuck was pretty annoyed by the situation and took his anger out on his throwing,’’ Young said. ``He threw 45 feet something.’’
Rain postponed the meet until Thursday. Banks wasn’t late this time. He threw 46 feet, 11 inches – more than a foot better than his personal record.
``He took his anger out on the shot put,’’ Young said. ``He’s an emotional guy. To throw more than a foot past your PR is quite something – especially as far as he is throwing.’’
At the county meet, Banks wasn’t the team's only highlight. Senior Kate Leuba joined the girls 4 x 800 team for the first time in a year, giving it a huge boast toward a fourth place finish in 9 minutes, 47 seconds.
``She’s a senior, so I wanted to give her a chance to run in the state meet if we can get there,’’ Young said. ``She ran 2:28, which is close to her PR. She’s picking up where she left off and looked really strong on her leg.’’
Sophomore Ava Farrell, who anchored the relay, ran her fastest 800 of the year in 2:24; sophomore Grace Reingruber also ran her fastest 800 split in 2:25; and senior Paige Donnelly ran 2:27.
For Leuba, the 4 x 800 was only one of her three races at the meet. In the 4 x 200, she joined senior Nia Harrington, freshman Brittney Wade, and junior Katie Williams to run a 1:50, good for eighth place.
In the 4 x 400, Leuba, Donnelly, Wade and sophomore Hallie Jester combined to run 4:18 to finish in 11th place. The time was the fastest 4 x 400 of the year for the team by seven seconds, and Wade’s 60-second lap was the fastest individual time of the year by any B-CC runner.
In the longest run of the meet, the 3,200-meter race, Young took aside Farrell to talk about strategy.
``We talked a little bit, about the girls she was running with, and we set a goal in mind for the first mile -- 5:50. She kind of likes to go out a little slower, but this time she wasn’t looking at her watch, she just ran, and she did a 5:50 first mile,’’ Young said. ``She looked comfortable, and she started to slow down a tiny bit, but the field was slowing down, too, and gradually she began creeping up in the field, and started passing people. One girl in Clarksburg who had beaten her almost every time was ahead of her, and then Ava went by her. The girl jumped on Ava’s shoulder and passed her back and created a gap in the last 100 meters. But somehow Ava found the power and surged one more time, and passed her.’’
Farrell finished in 6th place, running 11:38 , or 11 seconds faster than she had ever done before.
In the boys 1600 meter race, senior Chris Henderson had been running steadily better in past weeks. He set a PR of 4:51 two weeks ago, and then ran 4:44 during the past weekend. On Thursday, he ran faster stiill, 4:41. ``He has really dropped his time,’’ Young said. ``That is always fun to watch, and he seemed excited.’’
In the boys’ 800 meter race, junior Trevor Stephens and Henderson ran together, with Stephens (2:04) finishing ahead of Henderson (2:05).
Junior Terrence James, one of the county’s fastest 200 meter runners, didn’t run in the county meet because of a balky ankle.
The county B meet will be held Saturday at Whitman High school. The regional meet is being held Wednesday and Thursday at Whitman. At the regionals, athletes have to make qualifying times or finish in the top four to compete in the state meet.
``A lot of people are running faster right now,’’ Young said. ``And it’s a good time of the year to run faster.’’
Sunday, May 9, 2010
A test before county meet
B-CC Track Coach Chad Young looked forward to the 26th Annual Katie Jenkins Memorial Invitational Track and Field Meet at Sherwood High School on Friday and Saturday. It would be a good test going into a battery of tough meets ahead -- this week’s county meet, and regionals and state competition after that.
The test was especially grueling for the team’s sprinters, who on Friday ran preliminary and semifinal heats – and for the qualifiers, again on Saturday in the finals.
``It gives them a good feel for racing two days in a row,’’ he said.
For the sprinters, it felt like they were running all the time.
In the girls’ events, freshman Brittney Wade qualified for the 100 and 200 meter finals, while senior Nia Harrington qualified for the 200 finals. For Wade, it meant four races on Friday, plus three on Saturday: the two finals, plus a leg of the 4 x 400 relay.
Her finishes: fifth place in the 100 in 13.27 seconds, and second in the 200 in 27.21. Harrington finished fifth in the 200 in 28.17.
In the boys’ events, junior Terrence James qualified for the 200 and 400 meter races, as well as anchoring the 4 x 400 team. He finished third in the 400 in 52.5 seconds, and – just two events later – finished second in the 200 in 23.13.
``That was pretty impressive to put those two together,’’ Young said. ``I think the highlight of the whole meet was the sprinters, getting through preliminaries, semifinals and then finals. That was a big deal for us.’’
But the strong performances didn’t end there.
The girls’ 4 x 800 finished first in the meet, running it in 10:00. The team was comprised of sophomores Grace Reingruber, Hallie Jester and Ava Farrell and senior Paige Donnelly.
Its 4 x 400 team – Wade, Jestor, Donnelly and sophomore Laila Shehata – finished second overall in 4:26.
In the open 800 meters, B-CC finished one-two-three, with Reingruber (2:29), Farrell (2:30), and freshman Caroline Leuba (2:31). ``They were racing each other down the home stretch,’’ Young said.
Leuba was just coming off a third place finish in the 400 meters (1:03.9). While in the mile, Reingruber was second (5:30), Donnelly fourth (5:40), and Jester sixth (5:43).
In the 3200-meter race, Farrell finished second in 11:55.
For the boys, the 4 x 800 team (seniors Chris Henderson and Eric Damtoft and juniors Trevor Stephens and Elliot Gerson) ran their fastest time of the year, finishing second in 8:34.
``That’s a big confidence boost for them going into the county meet,’’ Young said. ``We really do belong and we really are ready to compete against the county’s best. It’s fun for me and for them to watch and see how they are doing better over entire season.’’ In comparison, the 4 x 800 team’s indoor best time was over 9 minutes.
The 4 x 400 team also ran its fastest time of the year – 3:42 – for second place. The team consisted to James, sophomore Julien Dorsey and seniors Alex Barrett and David Segun.
Three boys ran well in the 1600 meter race, including Henderson shattering his old personal record by seven seconds, finishing in 4:44. Gerson finished in 4:43, while Damtoft ran 4:46.
In the 3200 meter race, Gerson finished sixth (10:19), Stephens seventh (10:22) and senior Andrew Crouch 18th (11:19).
And in the shot put, senior Chuck Banks nearly threw a personal record (44 feet, four inches) for fifth place.
The Katie Jenkins invitational also featured an unusual competition – the quadathlon – which involves a 400-meter race, discus throw, long jump, and a 1500 meter race.
Senior Kate Leuba finished second overall, while fellow senior Darcy O’Connor finished third. For the boys, junior Patrick Frampus (see photos) and freshman Thomas Horton competed well. Horton won the 1500-meter run.
Now the team faces its toughest challenge of the year – a varsity county meet Wednesday in Clarksburg, in which teams can submit only one competitor per event, or athletes can qualify with very competitive times. On Saturday, those who don’t compete in Wednesday’s event will compete in a meet at Whitman High School in Bethesda.
``The county meet will be our most challenging for the entire year,’’ Young said.
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