It’s that time of year for the track team. “Unfortunately, for some, you know, this will be their last week, and others will be going onto the next level,” Saratoga High School (SHS) track coach Rex Hohnholt said.
Hohnholt was talking about next weekend’s regional competitions in Torrington, where the top eight finishers in individual events and the top four relay teams will be chosen to advance to state competitions held in Casper May 19 to 21. For athletes who haven’t prequalified and don’t finish high enough in Torrington, the meet will be their last of 2016.
That’s a fate Mychaela Jackman, Meredith Lincoln, Ben Fairbanks, Aaron Kerbs, Alex Ziegler and Bradley Bifano no longer have to worry over. At the May 6 Burns invitational, these six Panthers joined Jeremy Detterer in pre-qualifying for the state competition. Detterer had pre-qualified several weeks prior with an outstanding performance in the 3200 meter run.
Jackman won her ticket to Casper by taking second place in the 100 meter dash with a time of 13.72. For Lincoln, it was the 100 meter hurdles which got her to the state competition. Lincoln took second place in that event, with a time of 17.86.
The five boys who got the nod to represent Saratoga at the state meet did so on the strength of their relay results. Bifano, Detterer, Fairbanks and Ziegler won first place in the 1600 meter relay, with a time of 3:41.19. In the 3200 meter relay, Kerbs, Ziegler, Fairbanks and Detterer took down another first place finish with a time of 8:49.57.
Both of the boys relays also won All-Conference honors, as did Ziegler with his 53.78 first place finish in the 400 meter dash.
Hohnholt said he was happy with where the team was going into what he called the “do-or-die” part of the season. “I really believe we have the ability to take maybe half our team (to state) if everything goes right,” Hohnholt said.
The coach credited a careful policy of keeping his athletes well-rested for Saratoga’s success over the weekend. “Most schools are setting out to win conference, because it’s supposedly a big deal, but we’ve got our eye on a bigger prize,” Hohnholt said. Because he didn’t tire his best athletes out by running them in too many events, Hohnholt said they were able to shine in the events they did compete in.
The regional competition in Torrington will be held May 13 and 14.
Reader Comments(0)