[ back ]
Area athletes set pace on state indoor track
(by Steve Novak - April 02, 2009)
Area athletes set pace on state indoor track
By STEVE NOVAK
Gilmour Academy's girls' track team placed fifth in the team standings at the 2009 state indoor track and field championship at the University of Akron on the legs of just two participants.
With a pair of wins and a second-place finish in three events, the two Gilmour runners scored enough points to outpace other schools which brought more athletes.
In the Division II-III finals, Bekka Simko won the 800-meter run and Candace Longino-Thomas captured the 200-meter dash and finished second in the 55-meter dash.
Longino-Thomas, a sophomore, won the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.11 seconds, which was four-tenths of a second faster than second-place Christy Campbell, of Akron Buchtel.
In the 55-meter dash, Longino-Thomas finished second to Chesna Sykes, of Columbus Bishop Hartley. Sykes crossed the tape in 7.68 seconds and Longino-Thomas was right behind at 7.70.
Simko, a junior, won the 800-meter run with a time of 2:21.
Gilmour coach Jim Chappelle said Simko ran a faster time of 2:18 earlier in the 2009 season. Simko is undefeated in indoor competition this year. She ran a 2:14 time in the 800 meters in last year's outdoor season.
Chappelle said Simko most probably could have run a faster race at the state finals had it not been for her positioning early in the race.
"She got boxed in a little bit. She usually likes to go out and take the lead right away," he said. "In this race, she took the lead with about 300 meters to go."
Chappelle said Longino-Thomas' time of 25.11 was the fastest recorded for the indoor season in Division II-Division III competition.
In boys' competition for Division II-III, the Chagrin Falls four-by-800-meter relay team finished in fourth place. Also for Chagrin Falls, Ryan Kochert finished in sixth place in the pole vault. His best effort was 13-feet, 6 inches, compared to the winning jump of 14 feet, 4 inches by East Canton's Cody Marshall.
In Division I, the Solon boys team finished in a tie for third place, and the Solon girls team finished in 10th place.
The Solon boys had a second- and a fourth-place finish in the 3,200 meter run. Jeremy Schiele was second with a time of 9:27 and Conner Paez was fourth in 9:33. The winning time was 9:26 by Hilliard Davidson's Simizu Yoshi.
In the 60-meter hurdles, Solon's Kenny Brown was third with a time of 8:4 seconds. The four-by-800-meter relay team was fourth with a time of 8:13. Glenville won the event with a time of 8:05.
Chadd Pierce had a fifth-place finish in the 60-meter hurdles and a second-place showing in the pole vault. His time in the hurdles was 8.45 seconds and his best vault of the day was 15 feet, 6 inches.
Robert McNair was fifth in the 200-meter dash with a clocking of 22.86 seconds.
The Comets' Alyssa Janezic was ninth in the high jump with a best effort of 5 feet. Rachel Kalayjian finished fifth in the 3,200-meter run with a time of 11:39. The winning time of 11:12 was posted by Michelle Thomas, of Glen Este.
The boys' team finished in third place, in a tie with Boardman. Glenville won the Division I standings and Trotwood-Madison High School was second.
[ back ]
