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 | Chandler Rotary Invitational
March 27-28, 2009 at Chandler HS, Chandler AZ
69th running of this big high school meet
DyeStat on-site coverage by Cheyne Heiny
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Desert Doubles Delight
Solid doubles across the board prove athletes' drive
by Cheyne Heiny
Photos by Chris Heiny
In today's society, there seems to be a "me-first" attitude for high profile, high paid athletes, and is beginning to have a negative effect on the youth of the nation. Try telling that to the athletes competing in the 69th annual Chandler Rotary Invitational. Whether it was a runner stepping up to fill in for an injured teammate in a relay or an athlete begging the results tent for team standings, the word track was undoubtedly spelled t-e-a-m this weekend.
 The team-first aura was never more evident than the performance of Albuquerque Academy Senior Curtis Beach (right, competing in the HJ) and fellow senior teammate Taylor Murray. The two Charger athletes were the only representatives for their New Mexico school, and yet they still managed to place 6th as a team in the entire event. Nearing the end of the Invite, Beach approached Meet Director Dave Shapiro and asked him where his team stood in the standings. Despite the fact that the rest of his team was at home in Albuquerque, he still referred to he and Murray as a team.
Curtis Beach delivers on diverse talents
A two-man team talented and dedicated enough to earn a 6th place showing in one of the largest Invitationals of the season is nothing short of miraculous. While Murray was preparing for his challenging 800/1600 double, Beach was in the midst of pulling off one of the most incredible all-around performance in an Invite this season. First up, 110 Meter Hurdle prelims. Beach finished the 110H with a 14.67, good enough to earn him a middle lane for the finals. Beach then improved on his 14.67 with a second place finish and a 14.58. Give 8 points to Mr. Beach and the Academy.
Event two: bring on the high jump. Beach stayed competitive on every jump, matching up with the likes of Bryan McBride, Dylan Walashek and Donovant Grant. While it was eventually McBride raising the bar for the win (6-08.00), Beach stayed close and tied with Grant (J6-06.00) for another podium finish. Chalk up another 2.5 points for the two-man wrecking crew.
Boys 400 final the race of the day
It was fitting that Beach's final event turned out to be the most exciting race of the day. Going into the 400 final, there was a buzz around the stadium about a heat that included Markus Wheaton, Spencer Chase, Chris Muncie and JD Castille, all of whom are recorded in the high 47s to low 48s. The race answered all the hype surrounding it, and the fans enjoyed a wild finish. On the last turn, Wheaton and Chase (below, far left and right, respectively) made it clear they weren't going to give in to the pressure, matching each other stride for stride. As the crowd grew louder, the two became identical in stride, mirroring each other right to the finish. At the finish line, the exhausted athletes held their much-needed breath, along with the rest of the stadium, to see who would be crowned King of the 400. It was Wheaton, by one one-hundredth of a second. Their times (47.38 and 47.39) became the 2nd-and 3rd-fastest times in the country for outdoors. A blink of an eye later, Muncie flew in to finish with a 47.8, which ranks him inside the top 10 for outdoors.
 Beach put everything he had left on the track to scratch out a 5th place performance, finishing with a 48.41. The Academy super-multi star added another 4 points to the Chargers standings. Before the wild 400 shootout, the 1600 was writing its own storyline. Sherod Hardt ran the four-lapper to near-perfection, playing out the first 800 conservatively and dusting runners in the last 600 meters, crossing the finish line with a 4:16.88, four comfortable seconds ahead of sophomore sensation Ramon Garcia. The second Charger teammate, Taylor Murray, was making some noise of his own, staying right up with the lead pack until the final stretch, ultimately dropping to 5th with a 4:21.32. Add another 4 points to Academy.
Murray finished up his double with a strong 800, finishing 4th overall with a 1:55.88, a mere 1.04 behind the winner, Ramon Garica. Garcia wrapped up an impressive double of his own with a 1600 runner-up (4:20) and the win in the 800 (1:54.84). Murray's 5th/4th 1600/800 double gave the two-man Chargers an astonishing 26.5 points.
 Other Notable Doubles:
- Jessica Tonn - Xavier Prep Junior - Flew to a 4:57 1600 (1st), then gutted out an impressive 10:44 3200, completing the distance sweep.
- Bryce Lamb - Chandler Senior - Destroyed the Triple Jump field with a 48-07.75 (4 feet ahead of 2nd place), flew to a runner-up finish in the 100 (10.6), then captured the second part of the jumping triple crown by winning the Long Jump with a 24-02.25.
- Sherod Hardt (right) - Queen Creek Junior - Ran a smart 1600 by starting conservatively, finishing strong and taking the title with a 4:16.88, then came one place away in the form of Tim Freriks from pulling off the second distance double of the evening, ending across the line at 9:21, 4 seconds behind Freriks.
- Markus Wheaton - Chandler Senior - Sprinted to a 10.9 100, earning a nod on the podium (3rd), edged out Spencer Chase in the 400, the highlight of the night, then scrapped his way to a 21.75 200 (3rd).
- Sarah Penney - Xavier Prep Senior - Challenged teammate Tonn in the 1600, finishing in second with a 5:03.96, then nipped at Melanie McGrath's heels in the 800, finishing a second behind McGrath with a 2:19.33.
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