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Saturday, June 6, 2009
Better late then never: Dunbar unloads on D-I 400 relay to place 2nd
Hurdle trips? Relay handoff whiffs? Bad luck? You name it, and Dunbar’s fleet boys track team endured it during the state track and field meet Saturday at Columbus.
But the Wolverines got the 400-meter relay right.
Three perfect handoffs and a smoking anchor by sophomore speedster Antonio Blanks enabled Dunbar to place second by a blink to West Chester Central in 41.89.
It didn’t quite make up for Richard Hunt nearly wiping out in the high hurdles or Blanks leaving early to thwart a possible 800 relay win or bombing on the final 300 hurdle in qualifying. But it sure helped.
“It was crazy,” Blanks said. “I was mad. We had to come back with something.”
The foursome of Thuron Ham, Terrence Glenn, Hunt and Blanks posted a season low in the 400 relay. Earlier, Ham, Blanks, Glenn and Tyrone Burnley placed fourth (1:27.50) in the 800 relay, but dropped out of contention after the botched final handoff.
“I heard ‘Stick!’ but it wasn’t from our dude,” said Blanks.
“He said wait, and I waited. By the time I got it, they were already gone. Things happen.”
This time, “we had to make sure our handoffs were right, and they were,” said Hunt.
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TweetGreenville D-I pole vault champ Kevin Leland just wants to have fun
Greenville’s Kevin Leland has the speed, strength and technique that pole vaulting demands. But there’s another important ingredient he adds to that mix.
“The biggest thing I try to remember and my coach tries to keep I my head is to just have fun,” said Leland, who won the D-I state title Saturday at OSU’s Jesse Owens Stadium.
“Even though it’s the state meet, I just try to remember it’s something I really love doing and just keep having fun with it.”
The senior was a marked vaulter when he set a D-I state record of 16 feet, one inch at the regional. He missed three times at 16-2 on Saturday, settling with a winning leap of 15-9.
But his win didn’t come without a couple hitches. He stalled at 15-6, clunking the bar off twice.
“I just wasn’t able to go up the line and get vertical and push off the top my first two (attempts),” he said.
“I just wasn’t feeling like I was doing my kind of vaulting.”
The wind died and Leland adjusted his takeoff back two feet. The results were immediate: he cleared 15-6 cleanly, then soared over 15-9 to become the first Greenville athlete to win an individual state track title.
“I didn’t jump my best and had some troubles at 15-6, but we fixed some stuff,” he said.
“It feels really good. Just being here was a great experience.”
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TweetHurts so good: Oakwood’s Peter Hix overcomes injuries to place 2nd in state D-II 1,600
Let’s just say running hasn’t been kind to Peter Hix’s body.
“It’s not, but I love the feeling right now too much to stop it,” said Hix, who tied up at the end but held on to second in the D-II 1,600 meters at Saturday’s state track and field meet at Columbus.
“It’s an awesome feeling and I wouldn’t give it up for anything.”
Hix, a wiry junior, has never hurt so good. Hampered by shin splints all spring, his hard training was limited until the final month.
Last year he spent more time off the track than on, courtesy of stress fractures in both shins. He also was in contention to place second in this event at state in ’08, but crumbled to the track in a heap just meters away from the finish. He crawled over the line after the field had motored past him.
“Coming back and getting my placement that I was going to get last year, it’s pretty good,” said Hix, who also collapsed Saturday, only this time after finishing in 4:18.20.
“I’m excited to do this well coming off a not-too-intense training season. Hopefully, I can come back next year and I’ll have that win.”
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TweetCJ’s Kamal Shafeek No. 2 in D-II state 800 relay … again
Kamal Shafeek, ever the optimist, wanted one last shot at a state 800-meter relay title. He earned his hardware: Another second.
“We were trying to get the gold,” said Shafeek, CJ’s only senior on the speedy quartet.
“We thought we had it set, but Salem came out of nowhere.”
The makeshift Eagles burned a 1:28.97 to place second in the D-II state track and field meet at OSU’s Jesse Owens Stadium on Saturday, June 6. This is the third straight season that Shafeek has medaled in this event; CJ also was second in ’07 and third last year.
Joining him were underclassmen Galen Curry, Aaron Stokes and anchor Laron Brown. Spent, less than 20 minutes later Brown struggled to sixth in the 400.
The relay turned personal for Shafeek this season. He constantly urged the Eagles on once the team finally was put together for the postseason.
“I told them to work hard, do our best and get first,” he said.
“We did our best and got second. I figured if I could bring some guys with me it would be better for them to get the experience. They can win this; it just won’t be with me.”
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TweetIt’s a first: Versailles boys win D-II 1,600 relay
Versailles anchor Damian Winner secured the Tigers’ 1,600 relay win to close out the D-III meet. In the girls 1,600 relay, Versailles had to beat Gates Mills Gilmour Academy by two places to win the team title.
“We were fired up watching the girls do well,” Winner said. “We wanted to go out and do well ourselves.”
They did, posting a school record 3:22.97. Joining the sophomore were Tom Gorman, Mitch Pitsenbarger and Keith Schlater, all juniors.
Quipped Versailles boys and girls coach Mark Goubeaux: “I’ve got too many kids to hug right now.”
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TweetVersailles places 2nd to Gates Mills Gilmour Academy in D-III girls team race
Trailing 63-61 entering the final event, Versailles needed to beat leader Gates Mills Gilmour Academy by at least two places in the 1,600-meter relay to win the girls state Division III track and field title Saturday at OSU’s Jesse Owens Stadium.
The Tigers could use a do-over.
Leading the race through two legs, Versailles swapped the lead with Gilmour, faded to fourth, then to last when anchor Mindy Henry dropped the baton on the final curve. She quickly recovered and pushed hard to gain an additional point at the tape.
Gilmour had a state-best 73 points, the most for a small-school girls team since Minster put up 75.33 in 1979.
Versailles finished with 62 points, which would have been enough to win a small-school girls crown from 1985-2007. This is the highest any Tigers girls team has ever placed in the state. The ‘07 team was third.
“This is great,” Versailles coach Mike Goubeaux said.
“This is the end of a dream season.”
Versailles led by six points going into Saturday’s finals, amassing 24 points after wins by its 3,200 relay and Christine Borchers in the shot put. Borchers also was fifth in the discus.
The Tigers didn’t win again, but there were plenty of great efforts. Freshman Tammy Berger and senior Mary Prakel were 2-3 in the 3,200. That was after they placed 3-4 in the same order in the 1,600. Henry added a third in the 800.
It’s the fourth D-III state title for Gilmour in the last five years. In ‘08 the Lancers were runners-up.
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TweetStivers’ Nate Davis clears 6-7 to win D-II high jump
Performing well with state championships at stake is nothing new for Stivers students.
“Oh, we have plenty of state champs, in music and math,” said track and field coach Carlos Roberts.
And its sports teams? “That’s unheard of,” said senior high jumper Nate Davis.
Until now. Davis became the first Stivers state champion in sports that anyone could remember Saturday, winning the Division II high jump with a leap of 6 feet, 7 inches. It’s thought no other Tigers athletic individual or team has placed as high on the state level since Frankie Sanders fueled Stivers to a runner-up in the Class AA state basketball tourney in 1975.
Davis soared over all his jumped and flew over 6-7 on his second try, then missed three attempts at 6-8 after clinching the win.
“It feels like a big burden has been lifted off me,” he said. “I’m just glad that I did something positive for the school.”
Roberts has groomed Davis for four years in basketball and the last two in track. And he’s as proud as any parent of his favorite pretend son.
“He’s like a son,” Carlos said. “We fight and he can eat a lot. And he can get up. He’s never met a shot he didn’t like to dunk.
“Stivers isn’t on the radar for athletics. This is big for our program. It’s big for Dayton Public (Schools), and it’s big for Stivers.
Last year Davis was third in this event. He soared a career high 6-10 last year. He’ll jump and play basketball at Heidelberg College.
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