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 | Bulldog Classic
Louisville KY - April 18, 2009
University of Louisville Cardinal Park
DyeStat Featured Meet
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RESULTS
Schedule
Preview
Performance Lists
Meet's own web site
| Brown, Edwards combine for seven victoriesScott Greenlee Photo Galleries - Boys Track - Girls Track - Field Events FULL RESULTS - Highlights - Brown's quadruple shines brightest: SteveU Story  Chesea Brown wins her third event, the 300H (at left), while Courtney Edwards adds the TJ (at right) to his hurdle victories. Photos Scott Greenlee
Highlights
- Louisville Butler KY sr Chelsea Brown claimed four victories, winning (in order) the 100, 400, 300H and 200 in times of 12.55 nwi, 57.25, 46.86, and 25.42 nwi
- Fort Knox KY jr Courtney Edwards won three events and added a third-place finish. He swept the 110H and 300H in 14.87 nwi and 39.59, and was 1st (44-06 nwi) and 3rd (20-08.50 nwi) in the TJ and LJ, respectively
- Sacred Heart KY soph Emma Brink took the 1600 in a neg split 5:03.21, then was a close 2nd in the 800 with a PR 2:17.54
- Winning the aforementioned 800 was Hurricane WV jr Josie Crouch in 2:15.97. Crouch also anchored the winning Hurricane 4x800 (9:44.49)
- Coming from Illinois and sweeping the girls sprint relays was Evanston Township. They took the 4x100 (48.60), 4x200 (1:41.26) and 4x400 (3:56.65)
- Claiming both the boys shot put and discus was Louisville Ballard KY sr Andrew Miller, throwing 54-04.50 and 162-03
- A second throws double went to Bullitt East KY's Jackie Stevens, with 36-09.75 and 107-09 for the SP and DT
- Taking a LJ / TJ double for the girls was Evanston Township IL sr Amanda Caines, who leapt 17-04 and 37-06 (both nwi)
- Cincinnati Lasalle OH sr Josh Dangel PR'd by a foot in the pole vault with 14-06 and just missed 15-00.
- St. Xavier KY sr Matt Hillenbrand won the 1600 in 4:27.30 and the "fast" section of the 800 in 1:58.27 ... but he wasn't quite fast enough to beat Lexington Christian's Thomas Canary, who won a previous 800 section in 1:58.22
- Shelby County KY's Stacey Eden won a great 3200 battle with St. Xavier KY's Jackson Carnes, 9:33.84 to 9:36.68
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Chelsea Brown's quadruple shines brightest among multiple champions at Bulldog Classic
By SteveU
A fan at Cardinal Stadium in Louisville KY listening for names of winners at the Bulldog Classic Saturday heard several names multiple times. Andrew Miller. Julie Stevens. Amanda Caines. Evanston Township. Courtney Edwards.
But there was one name that was heard over and over and over again. Seemingly all day long: Chelsea Brown … Chelsea Brown … Chelsea Brown … Chelsea Brown.
The Louisville Butler senior, already a 10-time individual state champ, won all four events she entered in the multi-state meet. There wasn’t an athlete of the meet award honored, but if there had, she would have been the obvious winner. This queen of the oval, who will compete here next year as a collegian, rolled 12.55, 57.25, 46.86, and 25.42, winning the 100, 400, 300H, and 200 – in that order (no wind readings for affected events in the meet).
 | Evanston's final handoff in winning 4x400. Photo Scott Greenlee
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In a meet that drew schools from each of several states, but still had the cozy feeling of a smaller invitational, had several individuals and relays who claimed more than one title. The host state provided many of the champions, but others came from Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and West Virginia. A few schools didn’t show up, most notably Cleveland John Adams from Ohio, which had entered 1:53-800/48-400 man Willie Brown, but then there were schools that were added late, too. The weather was almost perfect for meet director James Doaty as the meet was prefaced by a collegiate invitational at U of L.
Fort Knox KY jr Courtney Edwards was the most decorated of the boys, claiming the 110H (14.87), 300H (39.59), triple jump (44-06), and even adding a 3rd in the long jump. The girls of Evanston Township IL, which set meet records here back when national star Shalina Clarke was in school, were the top relay power, taking the 4x100 (48.30), 4x200 (1:41.26) and 4x400 (3:56.65).
There were also double winners in the boys and girls throws, with Louisville Ballard’s Andrew Miller throwing 54-04.50 SP and 162-03 DT, and Bullitt East KY’s Jackie Stevens hitting 36-09.75 SP and 107-09 DT. Evanston Twp had a double individual winner, too, with jumper Amanda Caines (17-04 LJ, 37-06 TJ).
Sacred Heart KY soph Emma Brink had marks good enough to sweep most years, but while she won the 1600 in 5:03.21 and PR’d in the 800 at 2:17.54, she was topped by the tough front-running of Hurricane WV jr Josie Crouch (2:15.97) in the latter. Crouch also anchored the unusually-named school’s 4x800 winners (9:44.49). St. Xavier KY sr Matt Hillenbrand won the fast sections of both the 1600 (4:27.30) and 800 (1:58.27), but came up .05 short in the latter overall to the 2nd section winner, Lexington Chrisitian KY’s Thomas Canary (1:58.22).
Giving the crowd perhaps the biggest field event thrill of the day was Cincinnati LaSalle OH senior vaulter Josh Dangel, who just missed 15-00 after soaring to a PR 14-06.
But more than anything, the day belonged to Brown. She didn’t have it easy in any of her events; even the victories in the longer races, by more than a second, saw her pressed until the final meters. The 400 was kind of the centerpiece of her efforts, with a stern challenge coming from Paducah Tilghman KY standout DeAudrea Horne. Horne (58.37) was just a stride or two behind her until the final 50 meters, when Brown started edging away. Afterward, the winner seemed completely spent, spending several minutes trying to get to the point where she could walk it off and getting her leg muscles rolled by Butler Coach Stephanie Barnes. It was hard to imagine, she could come back for the 300H, two events later, but she did – and with style. This is what Brown does, though, meet in and meet out.
“I was nervous again,” she said about coming into the day. “I always feel like I have to live up to expectations … but then I put it out of my head.”
The 57.25, she said, “was pretty hard,” but she then just had to “move through the fatigue” to get in a proper place for the 300H. The 200, she said, was “fun.”
As an athlete who has been good since her freshman year and is trying to push through a plateau, Brown has worked with a personal trainer this year to increase her fitness and strength. It has paid off already, she said, in that she has gotten faster times earlier in the year. She also added that part of the long-term plan with the hard schedule of races is to get used to a single-day, finals-on-time format in the Kentucky state meet this year.
 | Josie Crouch takes the 800. Photo Scott Greenlee
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Meanwhile, Edwards’ workload was basically as high as he tried his own quadruple, winding up with three firsts and a third. His jumping wasn’t quite at top form, but he PR’d in both hurdle races, with the 300H marking his first time under 40 seconds.
A nagging injury that cropped up was behind Edwards’ jumping not being quite where he wanted it to be. “My shin started bothering me,” he said. “In the 300 hurdles, I felt it a little on the 3rd, 4th, and 5th hurdles, but I just had to push through it.”
He added he’s been training harder and become more mentally focused since returning from a year in Germany, where his father was stationed in the military. He has also been working harder on developing in the 110s. “Before I liked the 300 better, but now they’re about equal.”
Although there was a noticeable headwind in the homestretch, keeping sprint times modest, it was otherwise a near-perfect warm (70s) spring day. Few teams appreciated it more than Evanston Township. Coach Fenton Gunter was glad his team took three relay golds, in addition to other individual victories and high placings, but seemed just as happy just to get a nice day to compete. The winter has been long and hard in Chicagoland and has been holding on most of April so far.
“It’s the first time for us to be in warm weather,” he said “We got the stick around the track, which has sometimes been a problem. We got out here, ran pretty well, and no one got hurt. We’re a work in progress and we’re trying to get ready for the weeks ahead.”
 | | Emma Brink all alone in taking the 1600. Photo Scott Greenlee |
Danyale Griffin anchored all three relays for Evanston Twp, with Khadiji Quarles also contributing in each of those events. Julia Crowley-Farenga, Diamond Jacobs, Adrienne Slaughter, and Amber Jackson also had carries in one or two relays.
Other than the IL teams, those out-of-staters making the biggest impact were those from Hurricane WV. Crouch isn’t sure why her school, a long way from any coastal region, got that name, but she certainly took the 800 field by the force of a hurricane, blasting out in 65 seconds – not slow for a 2:18 runner. “I was worried about Emma Brink,” she said. “I saw her in the mile and she was awesome. My coach said to get out hard, and I did.”
She flagged a bit on the second lap, and the steady-running Brink made up some ground. But Crouch dug in on the home stretch for the PR and the victory.
While Brink was 2nd in that 800, something that hasn’t happened for her in her home state much this year at any distance (including XC), she was ecstatic with her PR 2:17.54. She had never broken 2:20 and knew she was in for a race. Earlier, her 5:03.21 1600 didn’t match up with the sub-5:00s she ran indoors, but it was a measured effort with Brink knowing she was facing defending state champ Anna Bostrom and wanting to make sure she had plenty left at the end. She did, negative splitting with 2:34-2:29, and a 72 last lap, with Bostrom finishing in 5:16.83.
“It was my first 1600 of the year (outdoors) and I just wanted to go out with the field at first,” Brink said. “After 700 I wanted to try and lengthen my lead … although there was a tough headwind.”
After that victory, though, Brink was looking forward to the 800. “I know there’s a West Virginia girl that’s really good. I don’t usually run the 800, but it will be great to be challenged.”
 | Josh Dangel soars to victory in the PV. Photo Scott Greenlee
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In a nutshell, Brink’s afternoon was what it was all about for the athletes from the home state … establishing oneself against the Kentucky competition, but getting a chance to measure up to those from surrounding states. The combination of familiarity and diversity made for a good afternoon for all concerned.
Schedule
Running Events
1:00 Girls 4x800 Relay
1:30 Boys 4x800 Relay
1:45 Girls 100H
1:55 Boys 110HH
2:05 Girls 100M
2:15 Boys 100M
2:25 Girls 4x200 Relay
2:35 Boys 4x200 Relay
2:45 Girls 1600M
3:00 Boys 1600M
3:15 Girls 4x100 Relay
3:25 Boys 4x100 Relay
3:40 Girls 400M
3:50 Boys 400M
4:10 Girls 300IH
4:20 Boys 300IH
4:30 Girls 800M
4:40 Boys 800M
4:50 Girls 200M
5:00 Boys 200M
5:10 Girls 3200M
5:25 Boys 3200M
5:40 Girls 4x400 Relay
5:55 Boys 4x400 Relay
Field Events
1:00 Girls Discus
Boys Shot Put
Girls Long Jump (North)
Boys Long Jump (South)
Girls Pole Vault followed by Boys
Boys High Jump followed by Girls
2:30 Girls Triple Jump (North)
Boys Triple Jump (South)
Girls Shot Put
Boys Discus
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