Blue Heaven Track Invitational
Meet becomes endurance test
Most of the competitors had participated in the rescheduled Ross Invitational the day before.
PHOTOS: View photos from the meet
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
HAMILTON — They weren't running on fumes, but the competitors in the annual Blue Heaven Track Invitational weren't exactly feeling fresh either.
Most of the participants had just competed 24 hours earlier at the rescheduled Ross Invitational, which led to some so-so times Tuesday, May 6, at Hamilton High School.
Extras
But the medals still felt good around the winners' necks, and the first-place team trophies felt just fine in the hands of Big Blue boys coach Harry Phillips and girls coach S'Dori Sims.
"We knew today was going to be not what you'd call easy, but a good workout day for us," said Phillips, whose boys team scored 181 points to finish well ahead of runner-up Talawanda (122) in the six-squad field.
"The girls performed the way I expected them to, considering we just ran yesterday," Sims said after watching her squad roll up 167 points to finish ahead of second-place Ross (103).
Hamilton was led by a pair of double winners in individual events. Senior Nicole Fansler won the shot put (36 feet, 7 inches) and discus (106-17/8) for the girls. And senior Jon Conard swept the shot put (49-11) and discus events (136-87/8) after throwing a personal record 153 feet Monday at Ross.
"My numbers were off because I never got to ice my arm after (Monday's meet)," Conard said. "(Coach Phillips) told us we were going to go back-to-back and that we just needed to go out and compete. That's where the heart comes in."
For Fansler, the double win was the fourth time this season she has swept both events, including Monday at Ross when she set the school record in the discus with a 114-7.
Ross' Lauren Hastings also set a school record Monday night in the triple jump (32-51/2), and she followed that up with a first-place showing in the long jump at Blue Heaven, going 17-01/2.
Also winning a pair of individual events was Hamilton's Damien McIntosh, who swept the 110-meter high hurdles (15.71 seconds) and 300 hurdles (43.30).
And there was one meet record set when Hamilton's Sarah Woods cleared 7-6 in the girls pole vault.
"This is the first team title we've won this year," Sims said. "It feels good to do it at home."
The title also was the HHS boys team's first of the season.
Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2193
or jmorrison@coxohio.com.
