TUESDAY

TSSAA Region 3 AAA Meet
At Clarksville Kenwood H.S.
32 AAA Teams  

Boys Field Event Finals
Boys 3200 Final
Girls Prelims  

Full Meet Results ... http://www2.cmcss.net/~FinleyL/051606res.htm  
Today's (Wednesday) heats and lane assignments ... http://www2.cmcss.net/~FinleyL/051706program.htm

In addition, future results will be posted on Kenwoods website ... see the links on my homepage.

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We will have three long days this week.  We left at 12:15 and didn't get home until 9:15.  

Clarksville is the home of track legend Wilma Rudolf ... http://espn.go.com/sportscentury/features/00016444.html
And is also the home of NBA superstar, Shawn Marion ...http://www.nba.com/playerfile/shawn_marion/

This year, the top four in each event advance to state (in 2005 only the top two advanced). 

There are four AAA regions.  

Congrats to Thomas Sensing for winning both the shot and discus

Even though he was nowhere near his 54-7 and 163-3 PRs, he won both events easily (49-8 and 149-3). 
His throws at the 2005 Region Meet were 47-8 and 138-0. 
Thomas will be one of 16 athletes competing for the state championship next week in the shot and discus.  

Our two freshmen triple jumpers, Daniel Miller-McLemore and Peyton Henry did not PR but capped a great first year of track. 
Triple jumpers typically improve 2-3 feet every year. 
I project Trey Hardison at 46, Daniel at 42, and Peyton at 42 in 2007.  

Our two sophomore long jumpers, Jordan Smallwood and Trey Miller jumped 19-6* and 18-9 respectively. 
Long jumpers improve by about one foot each year. 
I project Trey Hardison at 23-6, Jordan at 20-6, and Trey at 20'6 in 2007.
 

Yes, we miss Trey Hardison.  He would have placed top-3 in both the long and triple ... and we miss his 10.8 as well. 
Trey had knee surgery last week.  

Freshman Jamal Starnes did not better his PR of 5'8 in the high jump. 
I project Jamal to be a 6-0 jumper in 2007.  

Elliot Brown ran his best race ever to win his heat of the 3200 (10:49*). 
His mile splits were 5:16 and 5:33.  His 400 splits were 79-79-81-83-86-84-85-78. 
He has only run the race three times in his career. 
I project Elliot to run 10:15 as a senior.
   

Kenny Snyder ran a 2006 PR of 11:31. 
Kenny was hampered all winter (after an outstanding CC season) with achilles tendonitis. 
Kenny might not have been a major contributor as a runner this year,
but he had a major impact on Elliot Brown and Tyler Hawn (freshman - 4:47 mile - first track season - never ran CC). 
I have no assistant coaches so I made Kenny my unofficial "distance coach".  He did an outstanding job.  

Sophomore Tucker Cathey did not better his PR of 122 in the discus. 
However, he barely scratched (stepped on the ring) on a 128 foot throw. 
128 would have qualified Tucker for the state meet! 
Discus throwers typically improve 15-25 feet per year.  Thomas Sensing improved 25 since last season. 
I project Tucker will throw 145 in 2007.
 

Thomas scored our only points (20). 
After seven events we are in 5th place. 
All four schools ahead of us scored points in the pole vault.
 
Until we have a vault facility at FHS, we will be at a serious disadvantage. 
In addition, decathalon points are counted in the region and state meet. 
The pole vault is one of the ten decathalon events.  

Other event winners ...
LJ 23-2

TJ 46-10

HJ 6-8

PV 15-3

3200  9:18  

Today ... Running Prelims begin at 3:00.
Thursday ... Track Banquet (FHS Cafeteria) at 6:30; email shelanc@wcs.edu for details
Friday ... Region Running Finals at 6:30

 

 

WEDNESDAY

TSSAA Region 3 AAA
Running Prelims
at Clarksville Kenwood H.S.  

Top 8 advance to finals on Friday at 6:30  

4x1
Frankliln 42.8 qualified for finals
Hewitt 11.34 (2006 PR)
Siske 10.83
Haynes 10.71
Campbell 9.92  

4x8
Franklin 8:59.3 qualified for finals
Miller-McLemore (Fr) 2:13.9*
P. Henry (Fr) 2:14.2*
Young (Fr) 2:20.7
Hawn (Fr) 2:10.6  

100
Campbell  10.8 (11.03* FAT) qualified for finals
Dixon 11.5 (11.76* FAT)  
1600 Hawn 5:01.4
Snyder 5:24.9
Wills 5:25.0*  

4x2
Franklin 1:29.7* qualified for finals
Hewitt 22.56
Siske 22.32*
Haynes 22. 50
Campbell 22.30
 
400
B. Henry 56.2  

300 INT
Jesse Hewitt 45.7
Holler 49.3  

200
Campbell 22.1 qualified for finals
Shelton 24.1
Anderson 24.9  

4x4 Franklin 3:28.7 qualified for finals
Siske 52.2
Miller 54.4
Haynes 52.3
Hewitt 49.8  

Official results will be available soon on the Kenwood Track Website ...
http://www2.cmcss.net/~FinleyL/track.htm  

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After a nine-hour trip on Tuesday, we spent ten hours taking care of business on Wednesday. 

Due to a 48-minute injury delay, we were still running the 4x4 at 9:00 PM.  

We qualified all four relays and Todd Campbell in the both sprints. 

John Hewitt elected to drop the 400 and focus his attention on getting the 4x1, 4x2, and 4x4 into the state meet. 
He was the top 400 runner entered in the 32-team region meet.  

Our 4x1 team ran in the 42s for the first time without Trey Hardison. 
Our automated time was 43.09.   

Our 4x2 team broke 1:30 running for only the second time as a team. 
Our time is decieving.  We had a stand-still handoff on exchange #3. 
Otherwise, we would have won our heat, beating Antioch who ran 1:28.3.  

Our 4x4 team ran poorly.  We are a 3:21-team running 3:29. 
Maybe we are saving it for Friday.  

Our 4x8 team ... all freshmen ... ran well enough to make the finals.  

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The meet was delayed for 48 minutes when Chance Norman of Dickson County hit the first hurdle in the 300 INT. 
I was standing within 20 feet of him and witnessed the east-west flop of the leg after he fell. 
His femur had snapped.  The boy was taken by helicopter to Vanderbilt Medical. 

The injury strangely paralleled the broken femur suffered by one of my athletes, Frank Hunsinger, six years ago. 
We were running at Glenbard West H.S., a suburb of Chicago, when Frank broke his femur ... same event, same hurdle, same lane.   
During the 48 minute delay, my thoughts turned to my son, Troy, who was waiting to run in his heat of the hurdles. 
Troy had ended his 2004 and 2005 track season by hitting a hurdle, falling, and breaking his arm. 
Two broken arms in two years.  I resisted the temptation to pull him from the race.   

Other interesting tidbits ...  

The final of the girls 3200 was scheduled between the 200 and 4x4. 
FRESHMAN Kathy Kroger of Independence H.S. (Franklin) broke the Tennessee state record running 10:33.02. 
Kroger lapped 14 of her 15 competitors.  

The region's best hurdler, McGavock's DeRay Sloss (great name, too),
injured his hamstring last week and did not participate.  DeRay had run 14.2 and 37.75 this year.  

FRESHMAN Chaz Scales of Centennial H.S. (Franklin) made the finals of the 100 meter (11.15 FAT) despite a loaded sprint field. 
Chaz was a teammate of many of our freshmen at Freedom Intermediate. 
Chaz's brother, Mardy Scales, is one of the top sprinters in the world (
10.07) and a former NCAA 100 Meter Champion.
http://www.usatf.org/athletes/bios/oldBios/2005/Scales_Mardy.asp  

Preston Brown, star running back for Antioch, was impressive in the 4x1, 4x2, 4x4, and 200. 
Brown will play football at Oklahoma State. 
Antioch has a chance to be state champions in three relays.
They have posted times of 42.0, 1:27.2, and 3:22. 
Incredibly, Antioch placed THREE guys intoFriday's finals of the 200 and then ... all three guys competed in the 4x4. 
This was made possible due to a huge rest period (two heats of the girls 3200, one 200 heat that had to be repeated
due to a timing malfunction, and ... Antioch was in the 3rd heat of the 4x4).    

Finals Friday at Clarksville Kenwood at 6:30.

 

FRIDAY

TSSAA Region 3 AAA 
Running Finals at Clarksville Kenwood H.S.  

4x1
Franklin 42.6* (42.79* FAT) (3)  State Qualifier
Hewitt 11.14
Redbone 10.92
Haynes 10.00*
Campbell 10.49  

4x8 Franklin 8:54.3 (7)
Hawn 2:09.7*
P. Henry 2:15.9
Miller-McLemore 2:17.0
B. Henry 2:11.7*  

1600
Hawn 4:55.7 (8)  

100
Campbell 11.47 (6th)  

4x2
Franklin 1:29.3* (1:29.51* FAT) (3) State Qualifier
Hewitt 22.36
Redbone 22.72
Haynes 22.46
Campbell 21.36  

200
Campbell 22.74 (6)  

4x4
Franklin 3:24.7* (3:24.96* FAT) (3)  State Qualifier
Hewitt  49.6
Haynes 50.1*
Miller 54.5 Redbone 50.5*  

Complete results can be found at http://www2.cmcss.net/~FinleyL/sectional2006.htm  

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We will compete in five events at the 2005 TSSAA State Meet with a great chance to place top-3 in all five.
 
We ran our season best in the 4x1, 4x2, and 4x4.  

Tuesday, Thomas Sensing won both the shot and discus.  

Johnathon Haynes was at his very best.  His 4x1 and 4x2 legs were exceptionally fast.  His 50.1 split in the 4x4 was his best ever.  

John Hewitt had his best outing of 2006.  His previous best 4x1 lead-off split this season was 11.34 ... tonight he went 11.14. 
He also ran a great lead-off split in the 4x4 (49.6).   Redbone Siske continues to improve. 
His 50.5 anchor leg in the 4x4 was a PR. 

The winner of our "Rookie of the Year Award", won three medals and will run three times at the state meet.  

Todd Campbell anchored both the 4x1 and 4x2 with typically excellent splits of 10.49 and 21.36.  

Brett Henry and Tyler Hawn both ran PRs in the 4x8.   
It was great to see freshmen Tyler Hawn, Peyton Henry, and Daniel Miller-McLemore wearing their region medals.  

Todd Campbell was disappointed with his 100 and 200 performances. 
He was expected to be one of the top performers in both events next week at the state meet. 
In both races he was last out of the blocks.  Other than feeling "tight", there was no other explanation for his times.  

Todd Campbell has improved like clockwork for the last two years.  
His chronological 200 times from 2005 and 2006 include ...
22.8 (Riverdale 2005)
22.6 (Vanderbilt 2005)
22.6 (Tullahoma 2005)
22.3 (MBA 2005)
22.3 (Region Finals 2005)
22.2 (State Finals 2005)
21.9 (Hartman Relays 2006)
21.8 (Vanderbilt 2006)
21.8 (Collinsville 2006)   

Todd's FAT (fully automated time) PRs of 11.03 and 22.01 would have easily won the Region.  

+++  

We entered the season with legitimate hopes of placing top-3 in several state events ...  
100 (Campbell)
200 (Campbell and Hewitt)
400 (Hewitt) 800 (Murry)
LJ (Hardison)
TJ (Hardison)
Shot (Sensing)
Discus (Sensing)
4x1
4x2
4x4   

Trey Hardison got injured, Antonio Murry was dismissed from the team, and Todd Campbell had an off night at the Region Finals. 
John Hewitt opted to run in the relays. 
We are left with five great opportunities next week.  

Todd Campbell is now available to run in the 4x4.   

Our 4x2 team has only run the race three times all year.  Great handoffs could turn our 1:29.5 into a 1:27.5.  

Our 4x1 team continues to improve.  John Hewitt is finally regaining his speed. 
Last year at the region meet he ran 10.97 and 10.98 lead-off splits in the 4x1. 
He is getting closer and closer to being that kind of sprinter again.  

Thomas Sensing's region performance ranks him 6th in the shot and 3rd in the discus.  
Trey Hardison was with the team for the first time since April 20th.  He had surgery nine days ago.   

This week we were ranked #8 in the state of Tennessee by milesplit.com. 
Four of the top 8 teams were private schools, so I guess we can say that we were ranked #4 in AAA
Milesplit is a good source of track and field information.  http://milesplit.com/  

The state meet will be held on Thursday and Friday.  http://www.tssaa.org/2005Champions/fling.htm  

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The great team we saw at the Collinsville Invitational two weeks ago (Cahokia) had an amazing sectional meet. 

They went 41.2 (4x1), 1:26.4 (4x2),  and 3:14.0 (4x4).
Most amazing was freshmen Darien Donald running 47.5 in the 400. 
http://go.ihsa.org/reports/trb35956.htm  

Congrats to three of my former athletes who now head coaches in Illinois. 
Clint Simpson (Harrisburg '98) coached Harrisburg and Brett Brachear to a sectional championship. 
Herrin, coached by Chad Lakatos (Harrisburg '93), placed 2nd in the Chester Sectional.  Chad's high jumper, recovering nicely from a broken leg, cleared 6'10. 
Belleville West, coached by Patton Segraves (Harrisburg '99), placed third behind Cahokia and O'Fallon at the Marion AA Sectional.

Amazingly, these three coaches would comprise three-fourths of a great 4x4 team.
Their 4x4 split PRs were 48.9 (Simpson), 48.2 (Lakatos), and 48.3 (Segraves).
To round out my top-5 ... Brad Brachear (Assistant Football Coach at Southern Illinois University), at 48.4 and ...
John Hewitt (surely to be a track coach someday) at 48.4.

See Holler's Hall of Fame ... http://www.wcs.edu/fhs/facultywebpages/TrackBoys/hallfame.htm