At the second and final day of the Maryland state 4a championship Saturday, sophomore Brittney Wade and junior Ava Farrell were B-CC’s lone entries. Both had run the day before – Wade and Farrell were part of the 4 x 800 meter relay team that finished second, and Farrell had finished third in the two-mile.
Farrell was the first competitor on Saturday, running the mile. In the two-mile on Friday, she had hung back while a lead pack took off and she eventually caught them. This time she went out with the leaders.
“She decided to go with the top pack and stay as long as she could,” said B-CC Coach Chad Young. “The whole field settled in, maybe as a result that almost everyone was running multiple events, and the second and third laps were slower paced. Runners started to separate on the last lap, while Ava ran the same pace as she had in the second and third laps.”
She finished 10th overall, and she tied her PR, running 5 minutes, 14 seconds. “She gave everything she had,” Young said. “Usually she has a kick at the end, but she ran the first lap so fast it may have taken something out of her. She was happy with tying her best time ever; the competition was pretty elite.” The winning time was 5 minutes flat.
In the 400-meter race, Wade was seeded in the fastest heat. She finished fifth in 58.8 seconds in her heat, and seventh overall. The winner was Northwest all-American Olivia Ekpone, a senior who on Saturday ran the fastest 400 meter time in the country for a high school athlete so far this year, clocking 53.15 seconds.
“The way they staggered the runners at the start, with Brittney on the inside lane, made it seem like she was starting behind, so I think she tried to make up the ground early in the race and gave it everything she had. Her time was really good,” Young said.
In the final race, the 800-meter run, Young was a little concerned that Wade would not be at her best because of the lack of recovery time. In the regional meet a week earlier, the lack of time between the 400- and 800-meter races had hurt Wade; she ran the 800 meters in 2:24, barely qualifying for the state meet. It also meant that she was seeded Saturday in the slower heat.
That turned out to be a key factor.
In the first heat of the 800-meter race, one or two other runners challenged Wade, but she soon took control and opened up a huge lead, running 2:17.77. “She had nobody to push her, so it was a mental challenge for her,” Young said. “She had to race the clock the whole time, knowing that she was trying to take a place from girls in the other heat.”
And that’s how it unfolded. In the fast heat, another star Northwest senior runner, Britt Eckerstrom, won in 2:12. Wade ended up running the fourth fastest 800 meter time of the day – and her time was extremely close to the second and third place runners who ran in Eckerstrom’s heat. Wade finished just out of the medals.
“We were left wondering whether Brittney would have beaten them if they had all run in the same race,” Young said, adding that the B-CC supporters present all felt she would have had a good chance. “It’s a good learning experience for next year, but she did really, really well in this race.”
Young said all the girls who competed in states did an excellent job. “Everybody had very good days and it was nice to end the season that way. We’re proud of them no matter what, but we‘re so happy they finished the season so strongly.”
**
Writer’s note: Many thanks to Coach Chad Young for taking time after long practices and longer meets to then give an accounting of B-CC track teams’ performances. The stories over the indoor and outdoor season had drama, excitement, and reflected all the hard work of coaches and the team. It’s been a lot of fun to write them.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Friday, May 27, 2011
State meet: 'She knows how to race'
At the Maryland state 4A track and field championship today, B-CC junior Ava Farrell had to be a little tired lining up for her two-mile race. She had just run a hard opening leg for the girls’ 4 x 800-meter race. The temperature hovered near 90 degrees.
And then the gun went off and Farrell faced a new degree of difficulty: A pack of five girls shot to the front and immediately created distance with the rest of the field.
Farrell, ranked ninth in the state, had a choice. She could either sprint to catch the lead pack or she could stay within herself and run her own race. She chose the latter and it made all the difference.
Watching from the sidelines at Morgan State University, B-CC Coach Chad Young was concerned. “As a coach you worry a little bit, and hope your athlete will stick with them, but Ava made the decision not to go crazy with the first group.”
So she ran with a group of eight girls in a second pack. “It seemed like they were fighting to lead the pack, fighting for position, and no one seemed to be comfortable, all trying to figure out what was going on,” Young said.
Meanwhile, two of the five girls from the front pack slipped back. Farrell and two Whitman runners broke out. “They hunted down the two girls in between the two groups, and with two laps to go, Ava was sitting in sixth or seventh place,” Young said.
Then, with one lap left, Farrell picked it up. She and one of the Whitman girls broke out and ran into fourth and fifth place. At the last turn, the two caught Anna Ryba of Whitman, who was second in the regional meet the week before. Down the stretch, Farrell had one more kick in her, finishing third in 11 minutes, 31 seconds. It was three seconds off her PR.
“I was really proud of Ava to make the decision to run her own race, and not worry about how fast everyone was going out,” Young said. “She knows her body, she knows how to race, and she knows she can work her way back into a race.”
The finishing time, Young said, was secondary to how well she competed. “She really did a great job,” he said. “It was her best race she has had so far as a high school runner. She has so much experience now, she has patience and she has confidence as well. We couldn’t have asked for much more.”
But, in fact, the team did ask for a little more: running the opening leg in the girls’ 4 x 800 meter team. The team, Young said, was well prepared. “They weren’t too nervous, they were well composed,” he said.
Still, the race tested them in ways they hadn’t experienced before.
Farrell took off to the front of the pack with a runner from Northwest. They were one-two in the handoff, Farrell finishing in 2:21, her fastest 800 ever.
In No. 2 position, sophomore Caroline Leuba had a challenging race. Her counterpart from Northwest took off and broke away. Leuba went out hard the first lap, but started to slightly lose her pace on the second lap, and she and three other girls handed off the baton at about the same moment. She ran a strong 2:28.
The next runner, sophomore Laura Nakasaka, also had to battle. “She showed a lot of guts on her leg,” Young said. “She was running with three or four girls, and it looked at one point like a few of the girls would break away and pass Laura. She had to make a choice: hang on the pace or back off. She decided to stay with the pack and fought and fought and fought the whole time. She looked like she was ready to hand off the baton halfway down the straightaway.” Nakasaka finished in 2:27, tying her fastest time ever.
She handed it off to sophomore Brittney Wade, who, Young said, “made it look easy. You knew right away we were going to get second. She looked so smooth, kind of casually passed all three girls.” Wade finished in 2:16. The team finished second in 9:34, its fastest performance of the year.
“I think the girls were pretty excited,” Young said. “It’s one of those things. They have been very consistent in their times, running 9:35 or 9:37 a number of times. You kind of expect that they will run that every time, but every single race is different. You are not guaranteed to run that same time. Anything can happen. You can get nervous on the big stage with the state meet. It was 90 degrees out there today. And they did so well. They were pretty proud of themselves.”
“I think it sunk in when they got their medal: They were the second fastest team in the state.”
The excitement isn’t over. The state meet continues Saturday and three competitions will have a B-CC entry. Farrell will run the mile and Wade will run the 400 and 800 meter races.
And then the gun went off and Farrell faced a new degree of difficulty: A pack of five girls shot to the front and immediately created distance with the rest of the field.
Farrell, ranked ninth in the state, had a choice. She could either sprint to catch the lead pack or she could stay within herself and run her own race. She chose the latter and it made all the difference.
Watching from the sidelines at Morgan State University, B-CC Coach Chad Young was concerned. “As a coach you worry a little bit, and hope your athlete will stick with them, but Ava made the decision not to go crazy with the first group.”
So she ran with a group of eight girls in a second pack. “It seemed like they were fighting to lead the pack, fighting for position, and no one seemed to be comfortable, all trying to figure out what was going on,” Young said.
Meanwhile, two of the five girls from the front pack slipped back. Farrell and two Whitman runners broke out. “They hunted down the two girls in between the two groups, and with two laps to go, Ava was sitting in sixth or seventh place,” Young said.
Then, with one lap left, Farrell picked it up. She and one of the Whitman girls broke out and ran into fourth and fifth place. At the last turn, the two caught Anna Ryba of Whitman, who was second in the regional meet the week before. Down the stretch, Farrell had one more kick in her, finishing third in 11 minutes, 31 seconds. It was three seconds off her PR.
“I was really proud of Ava to make the decision to run her own race, and not worry about how fast everyone was going out,” Young said. “She knows her body, she knows how to race, and she knows she can work her way back into a race.”
The finishing time, Young said, was secondary to how well she competed. “She really did a great job,” he said. “It was her best race she has had so far as a high school runner. She has so much experience now, she has patience and she has confidence as well. We couldn’t have asked for much more.”
But, in fact, the team did ask for a little more: running the opening leg in the girls’ 4 x 800 meter team. The team, Young said, was well prepared. “They weren’t too nervous, they were well composed,” he said.
Still, the race tested them in ways they hadn’t experienced before.
Farrell took off to the front of the pack with a runner from Northwest. They were one-two in the handoff, Farrell finishing in 2:21, her fastest 800 ever.
In No. 2 position, sophomore Caroline Leuba had a challenging race. Her counterpart from Northwest took off and broke away. Leuba went out hard the first lap, but started to slightly lose her pace on the second lap, and she and three other girls handed off the baton at about the same moment. She ran a strong 2:28.
The next runner, sophomore Laura Nakasaka, also had to battle. “She showed a lot of guts on her leg,” Young said. “She was running with three or four girls, and it looked at one point like a few of the girls would break away and pass Laura. She had to make a choice: hang on the pace or back off. She decided to stay with the pack and fought and fought and fought the whole time. She looked like she was ready to hand off the baton halfway down the straightaway.” Nakasaka finished in 2:27, tying her fastest time ever.
She handed it off to sophomore Brittney Wade, who, Young said, “made it look easy. You knew right away we were going to get second. She looked so smooth, kind of casually passed all three girls.” Wade finished in 2:16. The team finished second in 9:34, its fastest performance of the year.
“I think the girls were pretty excited,” Young said. “It’s one of those things. They have been very consistent in their times, running 9:35 or 9:37 a number of times. You kind of expect that they will run that every time, but every single race is different. You are not guaranteed to run that same time. Anything can happen. You can get nervous on the big stage with the state meet. It was 90 degrees out there today. And they did so well. They were pretty proud of themselves.”
“I think it sunk in when they got their medal: They were the second fastest team in the state.”
The excitement isn’t over. The state meet continues Saturday and three competitions will have a B-CC entry. Farrell will run the mile and Wade will run the 400 and 800 meter races.
Friday, May 20, 2011
In regional meet, success -- and heartbreak
It was the Ava, Brittney, and girls’ 4 x 8 show.
At the regional championship at Walter Johnson High School on Wednesday and Thursday, four B-CC girl athletes ran their way to the state championship next weekend.
Several others barely missed the cut in a competition marked by personal records set by a number of B-CC athletes.
The stars were junior Ava Farrell, who qualified for the mile, two-mile, and as a member of the 4 x 800 meter relay team; sophomore Brittney Wade, who qualified for the 400 meter, 800 meter, and on the 4 x 800 meter relay; and sophomores Caroline Leuba and Laura Nakasaka, the remaining two members of the 4 x 800 team.
In the 4 x 800 meter race, B-CC Track and Field Coach Chad Young said he orchestrated it with a strategy in mind. Believing that the team would almost surely qualify, he placed Farrell as the anchor – Wade usually runs last. That way, if the team was firmly in place to qualify, Farrell would not have to run her hardest and save something for the two-mile race that followed.
The strategy worked. Leuba led off, running 2 minutes, 25 seconds, putting the team in third or fourth place. Wade then set a blistering pace, finishing in 2:16. Nakasaka ran hard and finished in 2:29, and Farrell also finished in 2:29. The team finished second.
In the two-mile, Farrell ran with a pack of girls who went out hard in the first mile. She finished in sixth, out of the running in terms of place, but her time met the qualifying standard. She ran a PR in 11:28 to qualify for states. Farrell also qualified in the mile, running 5:19.
Wade, meanwhile, ran in the 400-meter race against stiff competition from Northwest, including senior All-American Olivia Ekpone. Ekpone won, but Wade emerged from a pack to finish second in 58.29. Two Northwest girls finished third and fourth.
In the 800-meter race, Wade, struggling somewhat because of almost no recovery time between races, fell behind but managed to pass a girl to finish fourth, good enough to qualify. Her time was 2:24.
As much as Young was happy about the girls’ performances, he was sad about a number of athletes who fell just short of qualifying. Still, he was impressed with their effort.
One athlete he singled out was sophomore Eugenia Wilson, a hurdler and sprinter who has come on strong in the last part of the outdoor season. Wilson fell during the 100-meter hurdle race on Wednesday, finishing out of the running. But on Thursday, in the 300-meter hurdles, “she rebounded,” Young said. “She just took off, and was determined to beat everybody. She was in the slower heat and was in the lead for the first turn, and maintained it whole way. We waited for the faster heat to finish, and we anxiously looked at our watches, hoping she would be in the top four.”
Wilson finished fifth. She missed qualifying by one place and one second. Still, she beat her PR in the 300-meter hurdles by an astonishing five seconds. “That’s enormous in a short race like that,” Young said. She finished in 47.78.
For the boys, “it seemed we were fifth place, or one or two seconds off qualifying time the whole meet,” Young said. “There were a number of PRs, but somehow we didn’t have enough to get over the hump this time. It was unfortunate, but at the end of the day the guys felt proud of how they ran.”
Among the top performances:
* The boys’ 4 x 800 meter team finished seventh. “It was a great race to watch,” Young said. “The whole team was into it.” The all-senior team, running in their last high school competition, was Trevor Stephens (1:59), Philip Catterall (2:04); Patrick Frampus (2:07); and Eliot Gerson (2:02).
* Two freshmen two-milers, Alex Riishojgaard and Peter Horton, ran well. Riishojgaard won the slower two-mile heat in 10:28, while Horton finished fourth in that race, in 10:35. Young looked back at the records of freshmen two-milers at B-CC over the past six years, and the pair had the two fastest times in that period. Gerson was No. 3.
* In the 800, Stephens ran 1:59.54 for fifth place. His time was 0.2 off qualifying for the states. “He ran a great race and looked so good,” Young said.
* In the mile, Gerson finished ninth, but set a PR in 4:31. He missed qualifying for states by only two seconds. “At the end of the race, he was happy because he knew he couldn’t have run any faster,” Young said. Two other runners also turned in strong performances. Catterall ran 4:45, or seven seconds faster than his PR, and Frampus ran 4:55, also a PR.
* In the 300-meter hurdles, freshman Nolan Ebner set a PR in 45.52, continuing his steady improvement throughout the year.
* In the shot put, junior Mike Nyarko finished 5th in 44 feet, six inches, a PR, and some seven to eight farther than his performances during invitational meets.
* And in the boys’ 4 x 400 meter relay, the team finished fifth in 3:30, but Young marveled at their effort and performance. “Everyone was on their feet watching this race, knowing it would be tough to qualify,” he said. Nana Twum Agyire ran aggressively, finishing in 52 seconds; Stephens ran a 51-second lap; Julien Dorsey kept it going in 53 seconds; and Weimu Dorsu finished strongly as anchor in 52 seconds.
“We did a great job all the way around,” Young said. “We took care of everything we could control. Not everything turned out exactly the way we wanted it, but everyone should be proud of the way we raced.”
The state championship meet will be held next Friday and Saturday at Morgan State University in Baltimore. The competition starts at 4 p.m. on Friday and 11 a.m. on Saturday.
At the regional championship at Walter Johnson High School on Wednesday and Thursday, four B-CC girl athletes ran their way to the state championship next weekend.
Several others barely missed the cut in a competition marked by personal records set by a number of B-CC athletes.
The stars were junior Ava Farrell, who qualified for the mile, two-mile, and as a member of the 4 x 800 meter relay team; sophomore Brittney Wade, who qualified for the 400 meter, 800 meter, and on the 4 x 800 meter relay; and sophomores Caroline Leuba and Laura Nakasaka, the remaining two members of the 4 x 800 team.
In the 4 x 800 meter race, B-CC Track and Field Coach Chad Young said he orchestrated it with a strategy in mind. Believing that the team would almost surely qualify, he placed Farrell as the anchor – Wade usually runs last. That way, if the team was firmly in place to qualify, Farrell would not have to run her hardest and save something for the two-mile race that followed.
The strategy worked. Leuba led off, running 2 minutes, 25 seconds, putting the team in third or fourth place. Wade then set a blistering pace, finishing in 2:16. Nakasaka ran hard and finished in 2:29, and Farrell also finished in 2:29. The team finished second.
In the two-mile, Farrell ran with a pack of girls who went out hard in the first mile. She finished in sixth, out of the running in terms of place, but her time met the qualifying standard. She ran a PR in 11:28 to qualify for states. Farrell also qualified in the mile, running 5:19.
Wade, meanwhile, ran in the 400-meter race against stiff competition from Northwest, including senior All-American Olivia Ekpone. Ekpone won, but Wade emerged from a pack to finish second in 58.29. Two Northwest girls finished third and fourth.
In the 800-meter race, Wade, struggling somewhat because of almost no recovery time between races, fell behind but managed to pass a girl to finish fourth, good enough to qualify. Her time was 2:24.
As much as Young was happy about the girls’ performances, he was sad about a number of athletes who fell just short of qualifying. Still, he was impressed with their effort.
One athlete he singled out was sophomore Eugenia Wilson, a hurdler and sprinter who has come on strong in the last part of the outdoor season. Wilson fell during the 100-meter hurdle race on Wednesday, finishing out of the running. But on Thursday, in the 300-meter hurdles, “she rebounded,” Young said. “She just took off, and was determined to beat everybody. She was in the slower heat and was in the lead for the first turn, and maintained it whole way. We waited for the faster heat to finish, and we anxiously looked at our watches, hoping she would be in the top four.”
Wilson finished fifth. She missed qualifying by one place and one second. Still, she beat her PR in the 300-meter hurdles by an astonishing five seconds. “That’s enormous in a short race like that,” Young said. She finished in 47.78.
For the boys, “it seemed we were fifth place, or one or two seconds off qualifying time the whole meet,” Young said. “There were a number of PRs, but somehow we didn’t have enough to get over the hump this time. It was unfortunate, but at the end of the day the guys felt proud of how they ran.”
Among the top performances:
* The boys’ 4 x 800 meter team finished seventh. “It was a great race to watch,” Young said. “The whole team was into it.” The all-senior team, running in their last high school competition, was Trevor Stephens (1:59), Philip Catterall (2:04); Patrick Frampus (2:07); and Eliot Gerson (2:02).
* Two freshmen two-milers, Alex Riishojgaard and Peter Horton, ran well. Riishojgaard won the slower two-mile heat in 10:28, while Horton finished fourth in that race, in 10:35. Young looked back at the records of freshmen two-milers at B-CC over the past six years, and the pair had the two fastest times in that period. Gerson was No. 3.
* In the 800, Stephens ran 1:59.54 for fifth place. His time was 0.2 off qualifying for the states. “He ran a great race and looked so good,” Young said.
* In the mile, Gerson finished ninth, but set a PR in 4:31. He missed qualifying for states by only two seconds. “At the end of the race, he was happy because he knew he couldn’t have run any faster,” Young said. Two other runners also turned in strong performances. Catterall ran 4:45, or seven seconds faster than his PR, and Frampus ran 4:55, also a PR.
* In the 300-meter hurdles, freshman Nolan Ebner set a PR in 45.52, continuing his steady improvement throughout the year.
* In the shot put, junior Mike Nyarko finished 5th in 44 feet, six inches, a PR, and some seven to eight farther than his performances during invitational meets.
* And in the boys’ 4 x 400 meter relay, the team finished fifth in 3:30, but Young marveled at their effort and performance. “Everyone was on their feet watching this race, knowing it would be tough to qualify,” he said. Nana Twum Agyire ran aggressively, finishing in 52 seconds; Stephens ran a 51-second lap; Julien Dorsey kept it going in 53 seconds; and Weimu Dorsu finished strongly as anchor in 52 seconds.
“We did a great job all the way around,” Young said. “We took care of everything we could control. Not everything turned out exactly the way we wanted it, but everyone should be proud of the way we raced.”
The state championship meet will be held next Friday and Saturday at Morgan State University in Baltimore. The competition starts at 4 p.m. on Friday and 11 a.m. on Saturday.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Wilson aces county B championship meet
All season, B-CC track and field coach Chad Young has watched sophomore Eugenia Wilson improve. On Saturday, he watched her win -- twice.
Wilson won both the 100-meter hurdles and the 200-meter race at the County B Championship at Whitman High School. The meet is a chance to compete for many athletes who are rarely entered in invitational contests.
“It is an opportunity for them to show they can compete in the top events,” Young said. “Someone like Eugenia really took advantage of the opportunity.”
Wilson won the 100-meter hurdles in 16.5 seconds, beating the second place finisher by six-tenths of a second. In the 200-meter race, she won in 27.10, a full second over the second place runner. “She was the star of the day,” Young said. “Over the course of two years, she has worked very hard, has had a great attitude, and I’ve watched her improve a lot.”
In other events:
* The girls’ 4 x 400 meter relay team finished second overall, in 4:40. “It shows the depth we have,” Young said. The team consisted of Wilson (1:06); freshman Angie Peterson (1:11); junior Alison Thomas (1:13); and junior Laila Shehata (1:08). Wilson took the lead, the middle two runners fell behind a couple of teams, but Shehata “made up a lot of ground on the last lap,” he said.
* In the shot put, Junior Phillie Stallone threw her best distance of the year: 20 feet and a half inch. “She was very excited with her throw,” Young said. “She did a great job.”
* In the discus, sophomore Devin Doherty also had a PR, throwing it 68 feet, two inches. “He comes out every single day, always working hard on his throwing,” Young said. “It was great to see him PR.”
* In the long jump, freshman Sam Kaye had his best jump by five inches, going 16 feet, 11.5 inches. Kaye also ran the 200 meter-race, finishing in 25.9 seconds, good for 24th overall.
* Also in the boys’ 200 meter race, sophomore Benton Williams finished 10th in 24.8, almost a second faster than his previous PR.
* In the girls’ long jump, sophomore Nicole Flibbert finished 13th overall, jumping 12 feet, 5 inches. “That was huge for her,” Young said. “She beat more than half the field. She’s improved a lot, and is a really hard worker.”
* And in the high jump, sophomore Kayla Fuller wasn’t so excited about the competition. Coach Alex Gray found her after the jumps had begun, and persuaded her to enter. The bar already had been raised to 4 feet, 4 inches. “She has been a little bit frightened of the bar – it’s sort of like walking to the end of the diving board and having those nerves,” Young said. But Fuller cleared the height on her first try, and she ended up in 8th place. Young was happy for her. “She was very excited, and if she had warmed up, who knows how high she could of jumped.”
Wilson won both the 100-meter hurdles and the 200-meter race at the County B Championship at Whitman High School. The meet is a chance to compete for many athletes who are rarely entered in invitational contests.
“It is an opportunity for them to show they can compete in the top events,” Young said. “Someone like Eugenia really took advantage of the opportunity.”
Wilson won the 100-meter hurdles in 16.5 seconds, beating the second place finisher by six-tenths of a second. In the 200-meter race, she won in 27.10, a full second over the second place runner. “She was the star of the day,” Young said. “Over the course of two years, she has worked very hard, has had a great attitude, and I’ve watched her improve a lot.”
In other events:
* The girls’ 4 x 400 meter relay team finished second overall, in 4:40. “It shows the depth we have,” Young said. The team consisted of Wilson (1:06); freshman Angie Peterson (1:11); junior Alison Thomas (1:13); and junior Laila Shehata (1:08). Wilson took the lead, the middle two runners fell behind a couple of teams, but Shehata “made up a lot of ground on the last lap,” he said.
* In the shot put, Junior Phillie Stallone threw her best distance of the year: 20 feet and a half inch. “She was very excited with her throw,” Young said. “She did a great job.”
* In the discus, sophomore Devin Doherty also had a PR, throwing it 68 feet, two inches. “He comes out every single day, always working hard on his throwing,” Young said. “It was great to see him PR.”
* In the long jump, freshman Sam Kaye had his best jump by five inches, going 16 feet, 11.5 inches. Kaye also ran the 200 meter-race, finishing in 25.9 seconds, good for 24th overall.
* Also in the boys’ 200 meter race, sophomore Benton Williams finished 10th in 24.8, almost a second faster than his previous PR.
* In the girls’ long jump, sophomore Nicole Flibbert finished 13th overall, jumping 12 feet, 5 inches. “That was huge for her,” Young said. “She beat more than half the field. She’s improved a lot, and is a really hard worker.”
* And in the high jump, sophomore Kayla Fuller wasn’t so excited about the competition. Coach Alex Gray found her after the jumps had begun, and persuaded her to enter. The bar already had been raised to 4 feet, 4 inches. “She has been a little bit frightened of the bar – it’s sort of like walking to the end of the diving board and having those nerves,” Young said. But Fuller cleared the height on her first try, and she ended up in 8th place. Young was happy for her. “She was very excited, and if she had warmed up, who knows how high she could of jumped.”
Friday, May 13, 2011
Wade, Farrell star in county meet
As a freshman, Brittney Wade was a sprinter, running strong and hard and challenging some of the county’s best runners. Now as a sophomore, Wade started competing in longer distances -- 400 and 800 meters. On Tuesday, at the Montgomery County championship meet, she did more than challenge.
In the 800-meter race, Wade finished second to Northwest senior Britt Eckerstrom, running 2 minutes, 15.81 seconds, which former B-CC coach and current social studies teacher Tim Gilmore said was the best time at B-CC for at least the last decade.
During a student-athlete's first year in high school, “you try a number of new things – and Brittney was good at everything,” said Coach Chad Young. “Now, as a sophomore, she is making a serious push for the states, and even this year as a sophomore, even in just a couple of weeks, it’s very possible she can win the whole thing.”
Wade ran third for much of the race, but passed Wootton junior Grace Corbett in the home stretch, and finished just a little more than a second behind Eckerstrom, who broke the meet record in 2:14.17.
Of the first eight finishers, all were juniors and seniors except for Wade. B-CC junior Ava Farrell finished seventh in 2:25.08, and sophomore Caroline Leuba finished ninth, in 2:26.28.
In the mile, Farrell also had a breakout race, finishing third in 5:14, which was the fastest mile time during Young’s six years as head coach, breaking Addie Tousley’s time two years ago by one second.
“Ava’s and Brittney’s races were very similar,” Young said. “Both went out hard, established position toward the front of the race from the beginning. So they stayed away from trouble and both finished strong, passing people at the end.”
In other highlights from Tuesday’s meet at Walter Johnson High School:
* Two throwers had excellent outings. Junior Michael Nyarko had been throwing the shot put around 36 feet all season long. On Tuesday, he threw 40 feet, 9 inches, breaking his personal record by more than two feet and finishing 12th. He also did well in the discus, throwing 108 feet after only reaching in the 70-foot range in the season. He was 15th in the discus. “It was a huge day for him,” Young said.
For the girls, sophomore Ruth Orevba’s best shot put throw of the season had been 28 feet in the first meet, but then she dipped to 24 and 25 feet for much of the year. But Tuesday, she threw 30 feet, 1 inch, finishing 13th. In the discus, she threw 74 feet, 9.5 inches for 14th.
* The boys’ 4 x 800 meter team finished in 8:20 – one second off their best time – but still need to lower that time in the regional meet in order to qualify for the state championship. The all-senior team -- Eliot Gerson, Phillip Catterall, Patrick Frampus, and Trevor Stephens – “have the potential to run a lot faster than they did,” Young said.
* In the open 800 meter race, Stephens became the first B-CC runner to finish under 2 minutes since 2008, finishing in 1:59.99 – or a one-hundredth of a second under the mark. “He ran a great race,” Young said. “He was pretty happy about it. It was way better than two minutes flat.”
* The boys’ 4 x 400 meter team received a blow the day before the race when senior captain Terrence James informed coaches that he would not make the meet. But with Julien Dorsey filling in admirably, running 52 seconds for his lap, the team finished eighth overall in 3:32. The team consisted of Nana Twum Agyire, Stephens, Weyimni Dorsu, and Dorsey. “Julien did a great job,” Young said. “He’s been a star since his freshman year and had been running 56, 55 seconds, so to have him close to 52 in this race was huge for him and the team.”
* And finally, the trio of freshmen pole vaulters -- Conrad Jones, Sam Hainbach, and Lucas Beck – competed but failed to clear the opening height of 8 feet. Still, Young said, they were back practicing after the meet, traveling to Gaithersburg to meet their pole vaulter coach. They will compete in next week’s regionals. “It’s going to be a challenge,” Young said. “But this is a good experience for them. It they stick with it, they could be very good.”
In the 800-meter race, Wade finished second to Northwest senior Britt Eckerstrom, running 2 minutes, 15.81 seconds, which former B-CC coach and current social studies teacher Tim Gilmore said was the best time at B-CC for at least the last decade.
During a student-athlete's first year in high school, “you try a number of new things – and Brittney was good at everything,” said Coach Chad Young. “Now, as a sophomore, she is making a serious push for the states, and even this year as a sophomore, even in just a couple of weeks, it’s very possible she can win the whole thing.”
Wade ran third for much of the race, but passed Wootton junior Grace Corbett in the home stretch, and finished just a little more than a second behind Eckerstrom, who broke the meet record in 2:14.17.
Of the first eight finishers, all were juniors and seniors except for Wade. B-CC junior Ava Farrell finished seventh in 2:25.08, and sophomore Caroline Leuba finished ninth, in 2:26.28.
In the mile, Farrell also had a breakout race, finishing third in 5:14, which was the fastest mile time during Young’s six years as head coach, breaking Addie Tousley’s time two years ago by one second.
“Ava’s and Brittney’s races were very similar,” Young said. “Both went out hard, established position toward the front of the race from the beginning. So they stayed away from trouble and both finished strong, passing people at the end.”
In other highlights from Tuesday’s meet at Walter Johnson High School:
* Two throwers had excellent outings. Junior Michael Nyarko had been throwing the shot put around 36 feet all season long. On Tuesday, he threw 40 feet, 9 inches, breaking his personal record by more than two feet and finishing 12th. He also did well in the discus, throwing 108 feet after only reaching in the 70-foot range in the season. He was 15th in the discus. “It was a huge day for him,” Young said.
For the girls, sophomore Ruth Orevba’s best shot put throw of the season had been 28 feet in the first meet, but then she dipped to 24 and 25 feet for much of the year. But Tuesday, she threw 30 feet, 1 inch, finishing 13th. In the discus, she threw 74 feet, 9.5 inches for 14th.
* The boys’ 4 x 800 meter team finished in 8:20 – one second off their best time – but still need to lower that time in the regional meet in order to qualify for the state championship. The all-senior team -- Eliot Gerson, Phillip Catterall, Patrick Frampus, and Trevor Stephens – “have the potential to run a lot faster than they did,” Young said.
* In the open 800 meter race, Stephens became the first B-CC runner to finish under 2 minutes since 2008, finishing in 1:59.99 – or a one-hundredth of a second under the mark. “He ran a great race,” Young said. “He was pretty happy about it. It was way better than two minutes flat.”
* The boys’ 4 x 400 meter team received a blow the day before the race when senior captain Terrence James informed coaches that he would not make the meet. But with Julien Dorsey filling in admirably, running 52 seconds for his lap, the team finished eighth overall in 3:32. The team consisted of Nana Twum Agyire, Stephens, Weyimni Dorsu, and Dorsey. “Julien did a great job,” Young said. “He’s been a star since his freshman year and had been running 56, 55 seconds, so to have him close to 52 in this race was huge for him and the team.”
* And finally, the trio of freshmen pole vaulters -- Conrad Jones, Sam Hainbach, and Lucas Beck – competed but failed to clear the opening height of 8 feet. Still, Young said, they were back practicing after the meet, traveling to Gaithersburg to meet their pole vaulter coach. They will compete in next week’s regionals. “It’s going to be a challenge,” Young said. “But this is a good experience for them. It they stick with it, they could be very good.”
Sunday, May 8, 2011
A late-season showcase for emerging talent
High school track meets have different purposes throughout the year. The Katie Jenkins Invitational, held Friday and Saturday at Sherwood High School and featuring about 15 Montgomery County teams, serves as a tune-up for the county meet. The varsity county meet is Tuesday, while the JV county meet is next Saturday.
But the invitational also had another purpose for B-CC’s outdoor track team: It became an important showcase for a number of emerging talented athletes on the team.
Coach Chad Young highlighted several performances, including:
* Freshman Nichelle Reid, now the team’s top 100-meter sprinter, ran two qualifying races and then the final, finishing 5th overall in 13.03 seconds. “It was cool watching her compete,” Young said. “She’s really emerged as a top 100-meter runner.”
* The girls’ 4 x 800 meter relay won first place in 10 minutes, 36 seconds, beating the second place team by 10 seconds. The team had only one holdover from the Penn Relays squad. “It shows our team has a lot of depth,” Young said. The team: junior Hallie Jester (2:36); and sophomores Cammi Yeutter (2:32), Carolina Leuba (2:38); and Shayna Nash (2:46). Young was particularly appreciative that Nash, who is typically a 100- and 200-meter runner) filled in when junior Grace Reingruber could not run.
* The boys’ 4 x 800 meter relay – Young called them the “4 by 8 of the future” – ran well, finishing 9th overall in 9:17. The team featured junior Aiden Hennessey (2:21); and three freshmen -- Peter Horton (2:16), Alex Riishojgaard (2:17), and Kenneth Norris (2:21). “This team has shown a lot of improvement,” Young said.
* In the two-mile races for boys and girls, lightning postponed the competition on Friday night – for the girls the race was called off after four laps. The races were held Saturday and B-CC athletes won both. Sophomores Ava Farrell finished in 11:41 and Laura Nakasaka in 12:05 for the top two places; it was Farrell’s fastest time of the season and for Nakasaka it was a personal record. In the boys’ race, senior Eliot Gerson ran a PR as well, finishing first in 9:46.
* Senior Terrence James ran the 200-meter race as a tune-up and did well, winning in 22.78.
* And in the 300 meter hurdles, freshman Nolan Ebner, who has been working with coach Alex Gray and shown improvement all year, finished 6th in 46.27. “By far, it was his best finish of the year,” Young said. Ebner will be one of the few freshmen to compete Tuesday in the county varsity meet.
One more item in the category of something to look forward to:
All year, three freshmen have traveling twice a week to Gaithersburg to take lessons on pole vaulting from a certified pole vaulting coach. The three – Conrad Jones, Sam Hainbach, Lucas Beck – will compete in the county meet on Monday. (It is being held a day before the other events). Young is looking forward to it. “They heard about the opportunity to try the pole vault and the three of them were very interested in giving it a try. I haven’t seen them compete, and it’s something we’re very excited about,” he said.
On Tuesday, the county competition will start at 4 p.m. at Walter Johnson High School.
But the invitational also had another purpose for B-CC’s outdoor track team: It became an important showcase for a number of emerging talented athletes on the team.
Coach Chad Young highlighted several performances, including:
* Freshman Nichelle Reid, now the team’s top 100-meter sprinter, ran two qualifying races and then the final, finishing 5th overall in 13.03 seconds. “It was cool watching her compete,” Young said. “She’s really emerged as a top 100-meter runner.”
* The girls’ 4 x 800 meter relay won first place in 10 minutes, 36 seconds, beating the second place team by 10 seconds. The team had only one holdover from the Penn Relays squad. “It shows our team has a lot of depth,” Young said. The team: junior Hallie Jester (2:36); and sophomores Cammi Yeutter (2:32), Carolina Leuba (2:38); and Shayna Nash (2:46). Young was particularly appreciative that Nash, who is typically a 100- and 200-meter runner) filled in when junior Grace Reingruber could not run.
* The boys’ 4 x 800 meter relay – Young called them the “4 by 8 of the future” – ran well, finishing 9th overall in 9:17. The team featured junior Aiden Hennessey (2:21); and three freshmen -- Peter Horton (2:16), Alex Riishojgaard (2:17), and Kenneth Norris (2:21). “This team has shown a lot of improvement,” Young said.
* In the two-mile races for boys and girls, lightning postponed the competition on Friday night – for the girls the race was called off after four laps. The races were held Saturday and B-CC athletes won both. Sophomores Ava Farrell finished in 11:41 and Laura Nakasaka in 12:05 for the top two places; it was Farrell’s fastest time of the season and for Nakasaka it was a personal record. In the boys’ race, senior Eliot Gerson ran a PR as well, finishing first in 9:46.
* Senior Terrence James ran the 200-meter race as a tune-up and did well, winning in 22.78.
* And in the 300 meter hurdles, freshman Nolan Ebner, who has been working with coach Alex Gray and shown improvement all year, finished 6th in 46.27. “By far, it was his best finish of the year,” Young said. Ebner will be one of the few freshmen to compete Tuesday in the county varsity meet.
One more item in the category of something to look forward to:
All year, three freshmen have traveling twice a week to Gaithersburg to take lessons on pole vaulting from a certified pole vaulting coach. The three – Conrad Jones, Sam Hainbach, Lucas Beck – will compete in the county meet on Monday. (It is being held a day before the other events). Young is looking forward to it. “They heard about the opportunity to try the pole vault and the three of them were very interested in giving it a try. I haven’t seen them compete, and it’s something we’re very excited about,” he said.
On Tuesday, the county competition will start at 4 p.m. at Walter Johnson High School.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Penn Relays: Making a statement
On big stages, it’s hard to predict performance. Still, B-CC track coaches Chad Young and Nathan Herchenroeder had high hopes for two teams – the boys’ 4 x 400 relay and the girls’ 4 x 800 relay – in last week’s Penn Relays.
They weren’t let down. Both teams rose to the moment.
The boys’ team, in particular, performed beyond expectations, winning their heat in 3 minutes, 26 seconds, their fastest time by eight seconds and perhaps setting a school record, Young said. The four – seniors Terrence James, Nana Twum Agyire, and Trevor Stephens and junior Weyimni Dorsu -- finished 97th out of 568 teams.
The girls’ team also performed well, running 9:37, just two seconds off their best time, and good for 37th out of 71 teams. The team consisted of junior Ava Farrell and sophomores Laura Nakasaka, Caroline Leuba, and Brittney Wade.
Here’s Young’s assessment of the races (he attended the girls’ race last Thursday, while Herchenroeder coached the boys on Saturday):
“Brittney led off, and I warned her about getting out quickly. There were a lot of people in her race so I wanted her to get out fast. She got into second place, ran with a small group of girls, maintained it for most of leg, and finished in her fastest split time, 2:17. Caroline Leuba was next, held the position well, and finished one second off her fastest time, in 2:25. Laura Nakasaka ran 2:31, which was a solid leg, and she competed extremely well and hard. And then Ava ran against the fastest runners generally on teams, the anchors, and she finished in 2:22, her fastest ever on an 800, and passed a couple of people.”
What impressed Young so much was that the underclassmen displayed uncommon poise. He said Wade set the tone.
“She just doesn’t want to lose, and having that attitude as a sophomore is really great,” he said. “Just watching three sophomores and one junior going up against so many upperclassmen was really impressive. They held their own.”
On the boys’ race, Young said it was a special moment for all of them.
“They were determined to make a statement in this meet,” he said. “They were really excited to go and have the opportunity to run there. Nana led off and, just like Brittney, got off the line quickly. He established himself in second place, maintained it and ran 52.41 seconds. Trevor was in third for a split second, made a move, and passed both guys, and handed off in first place, in 52.59. Weyimni, and I know he must have had some pressure on him at this point, the team had the lead, went out hard on his leg, and held first place the whole time. Two guys were creeping up on him, and by the handoff, they were right on him. He finished in 52.17
“TJ kind of let those guys hang around for 200 and he took off as well, and with 150 or so to go, TJ opened a gap for the win, in 49.11.”
How did the boys shave eight seconds off their former record?
“Nathan mentioned they don’t run fresh in the 4 x 4 very often as it’s always the last meet of the day, and it’s usually their own third or fourth event. That’s one big reason. The other reason is that they were really pumped, the adrenaline must have been going, and they really wanted to make a statement. They sure did.”
The next meet is Friday and Saturday for the Katie Jenkins Invitational at Sherwood High School.
They weren’t let down. Both teams rose to the moment.
The boys’ team, in particular, performed beyond expectations, winning their heat in 3 minutes, 26 seconds, their fastest time by eight seconds and perhaps setting a school record, Young said. The four – seniors Terrence James, Nana Twum Agyire, and Trevor Stephens and junior Weyimni Dorsu -- finished 97th out of 568 teams.
The girls’ team also performed well, running 9:37, just two seconds off their best time, and good for 37th out of 71 teams. The team consisted of junior Ava Farrell and sophomores Laura Nakasaka, Caroline Leuba, and Brittney Wade.
Here’s Young’s assessment of the races (he attended the girls’ race last Thursday, while Herchenroeder coached the boys on Saturday):
“Brittney led off, and I warned her about getting out quickly. There were a lot of people in her race so I wanted her to get out fast. She got into second place, ran with a small group of girls, maintained it for most of leg, and finished in her fastest split time, 2:17. Caroline Leuba was next, held the position well, and finished one second off her fastest time, in 2:25. Laura Nakasaka ran 2:31, which was a solid leg, and she competed extremely well and hard. And then Ava ran against the fastest runners generally on teams, the anchors, and she finished in 2:22, her fastest ever on an 800, and passed a couple of people.”
What impressed Young so much was that the underclassmen displayed uncommon poise. He said Wade set the tone.
“She just doesn’t want to lose, and having that attitude as a sophomore is really great,” he said. “Just watching three sophomores and one junior going up against so many upperclassmen was really impressive. They held their own.”
On the boys’ race, Young said it was a special moment for all of them.
“They were determined to make a statement in this meet,” he said. “They were really excited to go and have the opportunity to run there. Nana led off and, just like Brittney, got off the line quickly. He established himself in second place, maintained it and ran 52.41 seconds. Trevor was in third for a split second, made a move, and passed both guys, and handed off in first place, in 52.59. Weyimni, and I know he must have had some pressure on him at this point, the team had the lead, went out hard on his leg, and held first place the whole time. Two guys were creeping up on him, and by the handoff, they were right on him. He finished in 52.17
“TJ kind of let those guys hang around for 200 and he took off as well, and with 150 or so to go, TJ opened a gap for the win, in 49.11.”
How did the boys shave eight seconds off their former record?
“Nathan mentioned they don’t run fresh in the 4 x 4 very often as it’s always the last meet of the day, and it’s usually their own third or fourth event. That’s one big reason. The other reason is that they were really pumped, the adrenaline must have been going, and they really wanted to make a statement. They sure did.”
The next meet is Friday and Saturday for the Katie Jenkins Invitational at Sherwood High School.
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