Simply the best

Robinson, Eaton win 3A state track and field titles

By Norm Haney, nhaney@bgdailynews.com — 270-783-3271

Sunday, June 05, 2005

LEXINGTON Bowling Green track coach Chuck Glass didnt quite know a good thing when he saw it.

After this weekends KHSAA Track and Field Championships, he knows for sure hes got a good thing in junior Stephanie Robinson.

Robinson, who moved to Bowling Green from Michigan before the school year, captured the Class 3A state title in the shot put with a throw of 37-3.75. The winning toss came on the first of three throws in the finals, and when the distance was announced Robinson could barely contain herself.

I didnt think anyone was going to beat a 37. Nobody had threw one yet so I was really happy with it, Robinson said. When I got here they said they never had a girl throw here before. I was like, You got one now.

When Robinson first met Glass and told him about her previous accolades, he thought it might be to good to be true.

At first youre kind of skeptical, but when we saw that she had the state championship if felt pretty good to have her in our program, Glass said.

After placing 14th in the discus last year in Michigan, Robinson finished second this year with a throw of 121-4, two feet behind Tiffany Dumas of Tates Creek (123-2).

She really improved in both events all year, Glass said. Shes got another year, so maybe she can win them both next year.

Greenwoods Michael Eaton wanted competition this weekend after dominating both the regular season and cross country in the fall.

Eaton got his wish in his first event, barely edging John Hinkle of Shelby County in the mile an event he placed second in last season.

After Eaton led the entire race, Hinkle passed him with about half a lap remaining, only to see Eaton overtake him in the final 100 meters and win with a time of 4:20.13.

It was a fun race, fun to watch. Im not sure how fun it was to run, Eaton said with a laugh. I knew coming in he was supposed to have a good kick. I didnt really know what I was going to do because Im not a kicker.

In the two mile, Eaton was denied a repeat title by Caleb Schwartz of John Hardin, who blew away the competition with a time of 9:35.81.

Eaton finished second at 9:50.51, but was happy with the finish because of fatigue from his earlier race.

Caleb ran a smart race. He dropped out of the mile to run the two. I expected he would because hes a senior and he wanted a state title, Eaton said. I was still a little tired from the mile, but thats no excuse because I went from one to the other last year.

Bowling Green senior Matt Taitts bid to repeat in the discuss fell well short as two of his three throws in the finals were scratched. On his last toss of his Purple career, Taitt, needing to throw over 168 feet to win, saw the discus rattle off the top of the cage.

Brian Rigsby of Nelson County took the event with a throw of 168-9.

His last throw was going to be a great throw you could just tell, Glass said. It just came out of his hand a little quicker than he thought.

In the shot put, Taitt came up short to defending state champion Joe Tronzo of St. Xavier. Tronzo set a state record with a toss of 63-4.50, which was more than 10 feet farther than his winning throw last year.

Taitts first throw was over 60 feet, but his final toss went 56 feet.

After that I think he just settled in for second, Glass said. Matt was really happy with the competition because he threw it well.

Class 2A

Franklin-Simpson senior Diamonde Jones sprinted her way to a second consecutive state title in the 100 meters with a time of 13.14. After qualifying fifth Friday, Jones was concerned that she was not at the top of her game as she prepared to defend her title in her final race as a prep athlete.

I wasnt really expecting to win because I had such a bad race yesterday. Theres a lot of pressure because you have everyone going against you, Jones said.

Jones also was a part of the Lady Wildcats third-place 800 and 400 relay teams. The Franklin-Simpson boys 800 relay team consisting of Courtney Dalcourt, Glenn Dalcourt, Cailyn Hogan and Patrick Davidson placed third behind Paducah Tilghman and Highlands.

The Warren East girls team came into this weekend with a little different goal than they did last year, when they took second overall.

With virtually an entirely new team composed of freshman and sophomores, the Lady Raiders were looking to gain experience.

Were just going to learn from this and go on from here, East coach Adam Cross said. Its hard to tell how good well be. It will depend on if they want to move forward.

Freshman Claire Herrington led the East charge with a fifth-place finish in the two mile and sixth in the mile. If any of the Raiders learned a lesson this weekend, Cross believes it was Herrington, who may have finished higher if not for a few mental mistakes.

In both races she got off to a slow start. She made some tactical errors, but recovered real well, Cross said. Its good that she kept moving up and competing against some quality athletes.

East junior Seth Harkness placed eighth in both the mile and two mile.

Class A

Russellvilles 400 relay team, consisting of senior Antionette Dandridge, junior Shonay Dandridge, sophomore Chole Elam and freshman Courtney Mayo came less than half a second away from winning a state title. The Lady Panthers time of 51.89 fell just short of beating Danville.

The same foursome placed third in the 4×200 relay with a time of 1:48.26 behind Newport Catholic Central and St. Henry.  Daily News ·813 College St. ·PO Box 90012 ·Bowling Green, KY ·42102 ·270-781-1700