[ back ]
Comets take off fast to win 13-team relays
(by Tony Lange - April 14, 2011)
Comets take off fast to win 13-team relays
By TONY LANGE
Talent and a sound indoor season vaulted the Solon boys' track and field team to an early-season triumph April 9 at the Medina Relays.
With six first-place finishes, the Comets finished first at the 13-team meet with 112 points. St. Ignatius was their nearest competition with 85 points.
This year's squad has versatility and standout talent, head coach Dan Iwan said.
"We might be a little ahead of other teams that didn't really have an indoor program going. So I think that helps as where we've been successful so far," he said. "And we've got some good talent. We've got some good guys that are going to score at pretty much whatever meet we go to. We have some really good big-time performers."
Leading the Comets in the field events, senior AJ Hicks had the longest throws of the invitational with 60 feet in the shot put and 169-foot-1 in the discus.
As a junior, Hicks placed fifth in the Division I state meet with a 56-foot-8 inch throw in the shot.
His younger brother, Darian Hicks, a sophomore, took over the jumping events for the Comets. Darian recorded the second highest jump of the invitational at 6 feet and the third longest jump at 20-foot-7.
Having two guys dominate four field events is great, Iwan said.
"First off, they're really good. So, even if they weren't related, they'd still be getting recognition, because they are so good," Iwan said. "AJ is always positive. He's always asking how Darian is doing. That's just the kind of person AJ is. He's a great person. There's no rivalry or anything. Darian is a guy who is a young kid. He's a sophomore, but he's not going to turn 16 until late August. He really could be a freshman. It's been good to have them both on the team."
Karl Pierce, standout pole vaulter for the Comets, had the second highest mark of the day at 13 feet. Iwan described Pierce as a great success story.
The pole vault is very different than any other event, Iwan said. Being upside down 10 feet in the air can be really intimidating, he said. Vaulters must have good athleticism, tolerance strength and a little bit of fearlessness, he said.
"There were some rough moments honestly when Pierce started off," Iwan said. "We were like, 'Boy, oh boy, I don't know if he'll ever get it or if it's worth sinking so much time into it.' But credit to him, he just continued to work at it and work at it and work at it, and he is absolutely like a fanatic about vaulting. His goal is to go over 14 feet this year, and I think he's on his way."
Passing the baton around the track, Iwan was really happy with Solon's performances, he said.
The Comets' four-by-100-meter relay team of Darian Hicks, Matt Thompson, Jeremy Nelson and Khoury Crenshaw finished first with a time of 43.35. That's 1.22 seconds off the time that won the Division I state finals last season.
Senior Kyle Hammonds, who has led off that relay in the past, is nursing a hamstring injury, and the team that ran at Medina had a slow baton exchange between two of its runners, Iwan said. "That's just a little testament of how fast the kids on that team really are," he said. "That's one of the fastest times in Ohio so far this year, and I think that team could really be excellent if we continue to improve."
Solon's four-by-400 relay team of Rod Jackson, Jeremy Nelson, CJ Jackson and Matt Thompson also finished first at Medina with a 3:27.41.
Solon's 800-meter sprint medley relay, which consists of a 100-100-200-400 sequence, won with a 1:38.37. That team included Darian Hicks, Jackson, Crenshaw and Thompson.
Crenshaw also won the open 100-meter dash with an 11.35.
Solon's four-by-800 relay team of Zack Zimmers, Paul Arters, Andrew Richard and Max Haiss finished second with an 8:10.50. Their goal is to run faster than eight minutes this year, which is a separator between great relays and good relays, Iwan said.
Solon's four-by-1,600 relay team of Kevin Blank, Haiss, Matt Fackler and Eric Hensen finished third with a 18:40.69.
Blank is a freshman standout in the distance events, Iwan said. "We're really upbeat on this kid. In a dual meet, he already ran a 9:58 in the 3,200, which is really good, and he led off with a 4:35," he said. "We think this kid could really do something special by the end of this year and years to come."
Solon's four-by-110 shuttle hurdle relay team of Kegan King, Jeremy Nelson, Brett Goudy and Rod Jackson finished third at Medina with a 1:02.52.
"Rod Jackson can be one of the best hurdlers in the state in both the 110's and the 300," Iwan said. "He's a bigger kid. He's really powerful. He's fast. And man, we think this kid has a ton of potential to do something real special at the end of the year."
The Comets look to keep things going at the Walsh Jesuit Warrior Relays this Saturday at 10 a.m.
[ back ]
