by Stephen (steveu) Underwood

The outcomes appeared in doubt for a little longer this time, but ultimately the girls from Rockford (MI) HS prevailed in the meet's longest relays. In both cases, they needed decisive anchors from sophomore Nikki Bohnsack to win. And they got 'em.

4xMile

After a back-and-forth third leg, Laura Nelson gave Bohnsack a slim lead going into the final segment. It was more than enough as Bohnsack's 5:02.8 gave her team a margin of nearly 20 seconds.
Mt. Tabor HS (Winston-Salem, NC) put it all on the line on their first leg, sending Foot Locker CC finalist Carly Matthews out. "We thought we'd try and get good positioning from the beginning," she said after a 5:10 opener. Meanwhile, Rockford's leadoff, Kelsey Toedebusch (5:16.7), was trying to hold on in second. "I didn't know she was their fastest girl," she said. "I got blocked in early, then I just had to move up."

But Rockford's No. 2, Lindsey Stebbins (5:19.1) didn't seem to mind having ground to make up on Mt. Tabor's Julia Morton (5:22). "I love being the underdog and having to close the gap," she said. Meanwhile, Hope Valley, NJ was making it a 3-team race, thanks to the opening legs of Kate Willever and Natalie Jones.

Rockford's Laura Nelson (5:20.4) caught Mt. Tabor's Amy Diblanca (5:24) after four laps of the third leg, but Diblanca battled fiercely the final half-mile, retaking the lead twice. "I loved it; she was pushing me the whole way. We both had a lot of will," said Nelson.

But Bohnsack took little time running away on the anchor. "I don't like other runners around me," she said. "So I went out fast and held on as long as I could." Taylor Steelman gave chase for Mt. Tabor, winding up with a 5:21.

Hope Valley was third, with Willever (5:17), Jones (5:18), Sarah Seiler (5:29) and Jessica Pall (5:23) adding up to 21:29.76. Rockford had enough depth to field a 'B' team that finished sixth in 22:27.32, including Kristi Powers (5:42.2), Michelle Harrold (5:32.3), Katia Jorgenson (5:31.0) and Brittany Ogden (5:41.6).

DMR

Rockford had to endure the overwhelming Manchester (NH) Central HS 1-2 punch of Chantele Dron and Liz Gesel, but the depth of their middle legs and Bohnsack's 4:58.5 anchor did it with room to spare.

Dron, a freshman with stunning maturity, hammered the opening 1200 leg in 3:35.9, putting over nine seconds on Toedebusch. But Lisa Kruger (59.9) gained some of it back on Jamie Braddock (64.1) during the 400 segment. Then Powers hit 2:21.1 for 800 to overtake and move ahead of Janet Lang (2:31.3). But in the meantime, Jenks (OK) HS had received a 2:19.2 from Megan Burns (added to Alayne Thompson's 3:43.8 and Laura Major's 61.9) to take a short lead.

Bohnsack, however, showed patience and passed Jenks' Rachel Barber (5:07.0) after 400, holding a small margin, then opening it up. But there was Gesel, 10 seconds back at one point after a moderate start, but getting stronger by the lap. The senior passed Barber and hit 4:57.2, but was 3.56 seconds short at the end.

"I was so nervous," said Bohnsack. "I knew she was fast, but I had to pass the other girl first. Then I thought, I better go now or she'll catch me."

Rockford again showed depth with their 'B' team placing 11th.

Boys 4x1 Mile Relay:
Haddonfield's Monster Double: DMR in New York, 18:02.51 Here.

With Skip Stiles and Chris Platt putting the hammer down the last two legs, Haddonfield, NJ, HS distance runners made it two long relay championships in two east coast cities in less than 24 hours by taking the 4x1 mile relay Saturday here.

Haddonfield sat in fifth with two legs done, but Stiles and Platt each hit 4:25s to come from behind and secure the victory. Hillsboro, NJ HS's Matt Luneman sprinted past Council Rock, PA HS's Chris Hoerger on the final stretch to give his team second 18:10.69-18:11.78, with C. Milton Wright, MD, HS fourth in 18:13.22.

"It wasn't pretty, but we'll take it," said Haddonfield coach Nick Baker, who saw his athletes turn in superior performances the night before on a 10:16 DMR. But the crew traveled the two hours home from New York City the night before, then drove a few more hours to Landover this morning to go for the double. "We got home last night about 8 p.m., then left this morning at 8:30 a.m., so it wasn't that bad," he added.

"The first thing I was thinking was that there was one kid in front of me, then a pack of three ahead of that," said Stiles, who may have mistook one of those runners for a lapped runner. "I was looking to get him first, then work on the front. But it helped a lot that the three came back to the fourth guy, so I kind of passed them all together."

Then Platt, as he pulled away from his Council Rock and Hillsboro pursuers, didn't even realize he was leading. "I was trying to go after this kid I thought was in the lead, until I caught him with a lap to go and they said he had two to go."

Stiles and Platt were each scheduled to run individual races on Sunday, but that may prove to be a little much. "We'll see how we feel when we get up," said Stiles.

1-Mile Race Walks:
Brooks wins big; hoped-for double begins for Staier

Jasmine Brooks (Dirigo HS, Peru, ME) pulled away with a strong second half to win the girls 1 mile walk, the first individual title of the meet. Her 7:41.97 was nearly 25 seconds up on runner-up Hillary Easter (Jay, ME). "I felt pretty good out there," said Brooks, a junior who has been racewalking two years and says she has gone 7:30 in practice. "I felt a little worried at first, but I just go out there and try to do my best."

Adam Staier set a fast early pace in the boys 1 mile walk and strode away in the last half-mile to cross the tape in 6:41.08. But while Staier (Mt. Blue HS, Farmington, ME) was somewhat off his nation-leading PR of 6:26.97, he wasn't too concerned. He'll be racing again in New York tomorrow.
"I went out pretty hard and hit the first 400 about right," he said. "But then I got kind of tight; maybe I didn't warm up enough. But I'm always happy with a win."
Staier, who was runner-up last year and is unbeaten among high schoolers this year, was 12.51 seconds up on runner-up Zachary Pollinger (Mahwah, NJ, HS), who is also doing NSIC. "He was right on my shoulder for awhile," said Staier.

Nike Indoor Classic 2002

Nike

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