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June 1, 2006
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June 1, 2006 |
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sports YSHS sending 5 runners to Div. III state meet
YSHS junior Sam Borchers will return to the state track championship to defend his title in the 1600, and go for two other medals. But he won’t be alone. Four other Bulldogs qualified for states this weekend, including junior Evan Firestone, who will compete in two events.
Borchers won two events, the 1600 and the 800, to lead the YSHS boys track team to fourth place in the Division III regionals at Piqua High School’s Alexander Stadium last week. The regional competition started on Wednesday, May 24, and concluded on Friday, May 26. Firestone and Borchers also led the 4x800 relay team to a second-place finish. The relay team also includes sophomore Andy Peters and junior Andy Sontag. In addition to the relay, Firestone qualified for states in the 3200. Senior Brad Benning-Clark qualified for the state meet in the 300 hurdles. The YSHS boys team tied with Rockford Parkway for fourth with 41 points. Waynesfield-Goshen won the boys regional with 73 points, and Delphos St. John’s and New Bremen tied for second with 45 points. The Delphos St. John’s girls team won the girls regional with 61 points. The YSHS girls team, which had two athletes competing, did not score team points. Last year, Borchers was unknown heading into the 1600 run at regionals. By the end of the race, everyone in the Piqua stadium knew who he was. By the next week, high school track fans from around Ohio were aware of the Yellow Springs runner, when he won the state title as a sophomore. Last Friday night, Borchers said, he was nervous before the race, which runners and coaches call the mile. But his nerves didn’t seem to bother him. Borchers handily won the 1600 in 4:26.75, ahead of John Luttrell, a sophomore from Dayton Christian, who finished in 4:28.89. Borchers was in the middle of the pack of 14 other runners during the race’s first lap, then moved up to the front around the first turn on the second lap. He and Luttrell led the other runners for the rest of the second lap until Borchers pulled away during his third trip around the track. Luttrell was never able to challenge Borchers, who cruised to the finish line with a comfortable margin. Borchers came into the 1600 hoping to break the regional record of 4:19.99, which has stood since 1983. He said he was a little bothered that he didn’t break the record, but was more disturbed that he was tired after completing the race in almost 4:27. His time was actually slower than what he ran in both the 2005 regionals and the state championship meet. “I think mentally I could have pushed it if somebody had been there” at the end of the race, Borchers said. He said he didn’t sprint to the finish line because he was saving his energy for the 800. And with a large lead, Borchers didn’t have to sprint. He also said he was stiff and had trouble loosening up for the race. But Borchers had no trouble getting loose for the 800, which took place about 45 minutes after he finished the mile. He easily took a commanding lead in the 800 and finished in 1:55.33, nearly five seconds ahead of the second-place finisher, Bill Elkins, a senior from Felicity-Franklin. Borchers missed the regional record by 0.2 seconds. “I feel better than I did in the mile,” he said after the race, referring to the 1600. “I thought it would be a little harder to break away,” he added. Borchers greatly improved upon his performance in last year’s 800 at regionals, when he finished next to last. During the state championship, Borchers will have about 50 minutes between the 1600 and the 800. “It’s going to come down mentally for me,” he said. “I’ll have to run my best to win,” he said. “I have to have a good day” to capture both titles. Brad Benning-Clark qualified for the state meet in the 300 hurdles by placing third at regionals. He finished with a time of 41.37, one-hundredth of a second ahead of Curt Haggard, a senior from Delphos St. John’s, and three-hundredths of a second ahead of Lee Kozak, a senior from Ansonia. Rockford Parkway junior Jacob Fox won the race in 40.64. Benning-Clark was in sixth place as he entered the turn when he made his move, gaining ground on the leaders. “I turned it up another notch,” he said. He described the last 100 meters of the race as the most difficult, but he was determined to make a strong finish. “I kept telling myself, ‘you want this, you want this,’ ” he said. It was a satisfying race for Benning-Clark, who qualified for regionals in the hurdles the last two seasons, but did not place high enough to make it to states. Benning-Clark tied for sixth in the high jump, with a leap of six feet. That was good enough to score 2 team points, but not to qualify for states. Evan Firestone placed fourth in the 3200 run to earn a spot in the state championship. He finished the two-mile race in 10:03.11, 11 seconds behind the winner, Walter Luttrell of Dayton Christian. Firestone and Borchers will also compete at states in the 4x800 relay, after the team finished second at regionals. The YSHS relay team finished the race in 8:15.53, nearly four seconds behind Cincinnati Country Day. The Bulldogs were in seventh when Andy Sontag, who ran the third leg of the relay, handed the baton to Borchers. Borchers ran his 800 split in 1:53 as he overcame five other runners to give the team its best time of the year. Borchers was on last year’s 4x800 relay team, which finished fourth in the state championship. Two girls from YSHS also competed at regionals but did not qualify for states. Tina Peters ended her successful high school track career by placing 11th in the 1600 and 15th in the 3200. Freshman Ashanta Robinson tied for 14th in the high jump, with a leap of 4'8". Traveling baseball team The Yellow Springs Bulldogs will soon begin their second season in the Dayton Amateur Baseball Commission 14 and under traveling division. The team is comprised of 14 boys who are showing dramatic improvement in their baseball skills thanks to a commitment to practices and the coaching of Hal Moon, Reggie Stratton and Ted -Donnell. Players include Asa Casenhiser, Ben Clonch, Lucas Donnell, Tarren Finch, Cole -Honeycutt, Chris Johnson, Jake Kepler, Jamie -Kitzmiller, Jarrett Moon, Alexis Onfroy-Curley, Jeremy Paul, Matthew Rowe-Jones, Brandon Semler and Conor Stratton. Persons interested in contributing to the team through the Yellow Springs Recreation League should call Ted Donnell at 767-9967. The Bulldogs’ home games will be played at Gaunt Park and are as follows: Monday, June 5, 7 p.m., vs. Huber Heights; Saturday, June 10, 11 a.m., Patterson Park Flyers; Tuesday, June 13, 7 p.m., Pinewood; Saturday, June 17, 11 a.m., Riverside; Tuesday, June 20, 7 p.m., Patterson Park Raiders; Thursday, June 22, 7 p.m., Cedarville; and Saturday, June 24, 11 a.m., Westwood. For more information, contact Karen Wintrow at 767-9967 or kwintrow@yellowsprings.com. Pick-up soccer for teens Pick-up soccer for students in seventh grade and older is held at Gaunt Park Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. For more information, call Ryan Berning at 937-269-2808. Track club practices The Miami Valley Track Club is holding practices on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6 p.m. at Yellow Springs High School. Adults and youth 8 and older are welcome to participate. For more information, call 767-7424.
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