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by Pete Cava
LANDOVER, Md., March 9, 2002 --- Winter can leave town like a lion
or a
lamb this time of year, but high school indoor track and field appears
to be checking out with a loud bang.
Relay races, field events and qualifying rounds were the main fare
during the
end-of-season Nike Indoor Classic’s first day of competition
Saturday at the Prince George’s Sports and Learning Complex,
just outside Washington, D.C. The competition produced meet records,
thrilling come-from-behind victories and one of the greatest sister
acts in sports history.
Julie Pickler of Rowlett, Texas, High School went into the final
event of the
pentathlon with a six-point lead. In second place was Diana Pickler,
Julie’s identical
twin.
Diana ran the conclusive 800 meters in 2 minutes, 31.78 seconds,
with Julie
second in 2:32.36. The slim difference gave Diana seven more points
than Julie, and the narrowest of victories. Diana finished with
3,641 points to Julie’s 3,640. The Picklers, who have a verbal
commitment to Washington State, rendered the year’s top two
prep pentathlon performances. Their scores both bettered the two-year-old
meet standard of 3,589 points.
Julie and Diana claim their rivalry is helpful. “We’ve
competed against each other
since we were little,” said Julie said after exchanging hugs
with Diana.
“We started in gymnastics at age 7, then it was diving,”
added Diana, who is
slightly older. “We’ve been in track since 8th grade.”
Sheena Gordon of Erie, Pa., repeated as the girls triple
jump champion, bettering
her own meet record with a 41-6 performance. The win was only the
beginning for the willowy 6-0, 135-pound Gordon. She’s also
the defending champ in the high jump and is entered in the long
jump and 60 meter hurdles. “It’s a tie between the triple
jump and high jump as to which I like best,” said the UCLA-bound
Gordon. “I like them both about the same.”
Woodrow Wilson High of Long Beach, Calif., set a meet record
in the girls 1600
meter relay. The foursome of Dianna Gooden, Tiffany Wright, Mackenzie
Hill and
Ashley Freeman broke the three-year-old meet mark with a 3:59.62
clocking.
A 6.8-second anchor leg by Ohio State recruit Jason Hodges helped
Wayne High
of Huber Heights, Ohio, to a meet record time of 30.20 in the boys
55 meter shuttle
hurdles. Trenton T.C. of New Jersey won the girls race in 33.51.
Boys weight throw winner Michael Freeman had only two fair
attempts, but one of them was a personal best that gave him the
lead. Freeman, a Manhattan College recruit out of East Greenwich,
R.I., went 74-feet, 11.75 inches in the second round but couldn’t
muster another fair throw until his sixth try. “I don’t
know about the fouls,” said the affable 6-4, 255-pounder, whose
mark was the best in the nation this season. “I haven’t
been feeling right, but I still managed a PR by three feet.”
Kristen Michalski of West Warwick, R.I., set a meet record
in the girls weight
throw. Michalski, the runnerup at this meet last year, had a throw
of 60-8.75 --- the year’s best high school performance.
Rockford, Mich., High came from behind to win its third
consecutive girls 4x1
mile relay title. Mt. Tabor High School of Winston-Salem, N.C.,
led for much of the race on the strength of Carly Mathews’
withering first leg. But Laura Nelson overtook Amy DiBianca on the
third leg to put Rockford in front. Sophomore Nikki Bohnsack, who
anchored the Michigan squad to a 20:59.05 finish, admitted she felt
butterflies with her team in second place. “Yeah, I was a little
worried,” said Bohnsack. “I knew (Matthews) was fast.
I got more nervous than I usually do.” The North Carolinians
finished second in 21:18.99.
Four hours later, the Rockford quartet of Kelsey Toedebusch,
Lisa Kruger, Kristi
Power and Bohnsack repeated as girls distance medley relay champions
in 12:04.89.
Haddonfield, N.J., High School won the boys 4x1 mile relay
title in 18:02.51, less
than 24 hours after a distance medley relay triumph at the National
Scholastic Indoor meet in New York City. Junior Chris Platt gave
Haddonfield the lead in Saturday’s race after third leg Skip
Stiles brought the squad from fifth to second place. Platt, who
also ran Haddonfield’s fourth leg Friday, said the squad drove
back from New York and spent the night at home. “Then we got
up this morning and came here,” said Platt matter-of-factly.
“It was just another two-hour drive.”
Junior Chip Heuser of Louisville, Ky., was one of five vaulters
still around when
the height reached 16-2.75. Among the early casualties were pre-meet
favorites Tommy Skipper of Sandy, Ore., and Tyson Byers of Spokane,
Wash., who didn’t clear a height. Everyone missed on the first
two tries. Heuser cleared it on his third attempt, and when no one
else could, victory was his. Heuser’s previous PR was 16-0
at the University of Connecticut Open last January 29.
Lawrence North High of Indianapolis, consisting of Nef Araia,
Marcus Phelps,
Robert Jackson and Jeff Vyain, won the boys DMR in 10:34.07. The
Hoosier squad
barely edged Eastern Regional of Vorhees, N.J., which finished
second in 10:34.59.
Justin Palmer of Tremonton, Utah, won the boys pentathlon
title with a 3,543 point total. The boys triple jump winner was
Jamaal Folks of Fort Knox, Ky., with a best of 49-0.75. The boys
sprint medley relay title went to Oakland Mills, Md., in 3:33.39.
Maine athletes dominated the walks. Jasmine Brooks of Peru
won the girls mile
walk in 7:41.97, the year’s quickest prep time. Adam Staier
of Mount Blue, last year’s runnerup, took the boys title in
6:41.08.
Defending 400 meter champ Kelly Willie of Houston posted
the quickest
qualifying time with a 48.26 effort. Tiondra Ponteen of Bowie,
Md., was the fastest
qualifier in the 400 meter heats with a time of 56.26.
Juanita Broaddus of Philadelphia was the fastest qualifier
in the girls 200 with a
time of 24.80. The fastest boys 200 meter qualifier was sophomore
Ivory Williams of
Beaumont, Texas, in 21.82.
Sunday’s program gets underway with trials in the 60 meter
hurdles and includes
finals in 29 events.
Nike Indoor Classic 2002
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