November 9, 2006

sports

Runner’s high Yellow Springs High School senior Sam Borchers took first place in last week’s state cross country championship race in Columbus. Above, Borchers begins to break away from the pack.

Borchers first in state; team comes in sixth

By Vince Peters

Yellow Springs High School Senior Sam Borchers was able to crack a smile only when the large gold medal was placed around his neck on Saturday, Nov. 6. He had just achieved a long-sought-after goal, overcoming a field of 143 finalists, including the defending champ, to win the Ohio High School State Championship in cross country. He becomes the first Yellow Springs athlete since Jeff Johnson in 1979 to win the crown.

Until that second, Sam had stood shivering on the top step of the podium, not so much from the cold, but from the effects of a victorious race. He had literally run his guts out to attain the title. And, together with teammate Evan Firestone, he had led his team to a very surprising sixth place finish, defeating defending state champion Andy Arnio from Cortland Maplewood High School.

Sam steps to every starting line now with a target on his back because of his well earned reputation as the fastest high school miler in the country. It’s an extra burden when you are the favorite. Everyone expects you to win, and you don’t want to let them down. That alone can turn your stomach acidic.

But the equalizer is knowing that you are the fastest. And the best way to handle the pressure is to have a game plan and to stick to it with the help of your teammates. This Sam did.

Sam ran his first mile very comfortably in 5:11 with Andy Peters and Evan a couple of strides ahead at 5:10. The Trifecta, as they had come to be known due to their consistent 1–2–3 finishes at the local invitationals, were all in the top 10. Passing the two-mile clock in 10:19, Sam had moved up to eighth position overall, upping the tempo to 5:08 for the second mile. Evan was just a stride behind at 10:21 with Andy Peters back in 16th at 10:26.

As they exited the stadium for the final exterior loop, I overheard a couple of observers comment that it wasn’t Sam’s day. But I just smiled, knowing Sam had the opposition exactly where he wanted them, right in front.

Sam ran negative splits all the way. He sat off the leader’s pace the first two miles, running his own race. Then with just under one mile to go he went to his strength, and shifted into overdrive.

Over the hills outside the fabled horse track, Sam accelerated. Catching Arnio with just under one kilometer to go, the duo raced side by side until Arnio broke. The defending champ would finish fourth as East Canton’s Nicholas Dysle outran last year’s runner-up, Andy Morgan, also of Maplewood, for second.

Sam’s last mile split was 4:59, and he won in 15:50 for the 3.1-mile course. He was well ahead of his time of 16:26 that earned him a seventh place finish at state in 2005. Evan hit the photo finish camera in 16:23, making second team All State with a 12th place finish and earning All Ohio Honors.

Andy Peters struggled a bit over the last half mile as his gas tank ran dry, but the junior will be back next year knowing he can easily improve on his 29th place finish of 16:50. Joining him will be the sophomore twins Jake and Brock GunderKline. Jake GunderKline improved his lifetime best by 14 seconds on the challenging state meet course to place 101st out of the 143 finishers. Brock GunderKline completed the team scoring by placing 124th in 18:34, just one second off of his lifetime best. Ben Adams, a junior, placed 136th in 19:24, and Anthony Pettiford placed 142nd with a lifetime best of 20:29.

With a season record of 175 wins to 35 losses, the Bulldog team has not been ranked in the top 15 all year. And after barely qualifying for the state meet with a fourth place finish at the regionals, the team showed substantial spirit by putting it all together to gain 190 points and claim sixth out of the 16 teams competing.

The next major race for Yellow Springs’ three top finishers will be the Foot Locker Regionals in Kenosha, Wisc., the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Practices for any Yellow Springs athletes wishing to participate in the Junior Olympic post-season cross country program are Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, at 4:30 p.m. beginning from the high school.

The Bulldog team’s post-season awards and team potluck dinner will be 6:30 p.m. this Sunday evening, Nov. 12. Contact me at 767-7424 for more information.