|
by Stephen (steveu) Underwood
Girls 4 x 1 Mile Relay/4 x 800/DMR
North Kent TC (Rockford, Mich.) Teams Dominate Again
In their first big competition since a recent controversy (DyeStat
special stories), the North Kent Track Club (girls from Rockford,
Mich. HS) dominated the meet's three distance relays.
The NKTC team actually had two entries each in two of the three
longest relay events. In the 4 x 1 mile, their 'A' and 'B' squads
started off the day by taking 1st (21:39.78) and 2nd (21:58.26)
respectively. Then it was a single entry in the 4 x 800, but another
gold was the result in 9:36.00. Finally, in the distance medley,
the Rockford girls enjoyed another 1-2 sweep (12:29.43/12:43.85).
Sophomore sensation Nikki Bohnsack anchored all three winning relays,
though some of the fastest legs of the day came from West HS (Iowa)
star Jeni Frudden.
Their times may not have threatened records as they have in the
past, but it's earlier in the season and the squads are younger
this year. Recent events have taken a toll, but also given them
something to prove.
Regarding the motivation of the girls in light of medication/vitamin
dispensing accusations against Coach Brad Prins that has become
a difficult situation for the Western Michigan school, junior Kelsey
Toedebusch said, "It made us want to run harder, to show what
we could do without 'anything.'"
A team philosophy of letting their feet "do the talking"
has been "in effect even more," said Bohnsack, who has
been overcoming challenges of her own with various illnesses the
last few weeks. "(The infection) moved up to my nose,"
she said, "then I woke up Thursday morning with an ear infection.
But it hasn't bothered my running too much."
4 x 1 Mile
North Kent trailed Marquette in the 4 x 1 mile by five seconds
after the first 5:34.5 leg of Kristi Powers (an 800 standout), but
No. 2 runner Toedebusch gradually made up the deficit. Her 5:19.5
gave No. 3 Michelle Harrold a comfortable margin to work with. (All
splits are unofficial).
Harrold hit 5:32.0 for her leg, then passed to Bohnsack, who strode
a 5:13.8 to cap the effort. Only Frudden's 5:12.6 was faster, helping
her team to 4th.
Meanwhile, the NKTC 'B' team pulled into second and stayed there,
finishing almost five seconds over Marquette. Lindsey Stebbins,
the No. 2 leg, was the key with a fine 5:19.2. She was joined by
Brittney Odgen (5:37.8), Amy Markham (5:34.4) and Laura Nelson (5:25.5).
4 x 800
There was little suspense in North Kent's second win, as they basically
led wire-to-wire. It started with Harrold's 69-second first lap
en route to a 2:22.4. She was followed by Powers (2:27.8), Toedebusch
(2:24.0) and Bohnsack (2:21.5).
That was enough to forge a big 16-second margin on runner-up Marquette
(9:52.05), which slipped to third behind the Teekay TC at the start
of the third leg, but quickly regained second and built up a 20-second
gap on third.
Distance Medley
The DMR had some more twists and turns. Marquette led after the
first leg, while NKTC 'B' team member Stebbins (3:49.2) was slightly
ahead of the 'A' team's Toedebusch (3:51.1) for second and third.
But Lisa Krueger's 59.6 400 pretty much ended the battle for first.
She was followed by Harrold (2:24.9) in the 800 and Bohnsack (5:13.4)
in the 1600. The 'B' team held second, thanks to Markham (68.4),
Ogden (2:26.6) and Nelson (5:19.1).
West H.S. nearly nabbed second at the end, thanks to Frudden's 5:05
anchor.
MITC home page
|
