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Relay Records Fall
Georgetown Prep/Einstein Win Boys/Girls Titles at Woodward
By JOHN PARKER
Georgetown Prep edged a tough Churchill track team at last Saturday's Woodward Relays to win the first intracounty track meet of the young spring season.
Georgetown ended the windy day with 92 points, setting a meet record for the mile along the way. The Hoyas mile relay team, which is ranked sixth in the nation, ran a 3:24.3 with young superstar David Saunders - who holds the world record for the 440 in his age group (14) - running an unofficial :49 quarter mile anchorleg.
A tough Kennedy team finished second in the race and also broke the previous record of 3:27.5 set by BCC in 1974 with a 3:26.
IN ALL, 11 offical records were broken Saturday and two unoffical records were also set when: an unidentified Whitman runner did a half-gainer off the water hurdle in the steeplechase to become the wettest runner Montgomery County track history; and Jon Kinnamon became the first high jumper in the county to clear 6-4 wearing reflective sun glasses and a warm up suit. After Kinnamon warmed up (and missed once at 6-6 in his baggy sweats) he finally stripped down to regulation track shorts and a tank top, and set an offical Woodward Relay record clearing 6-foot-8.
In the girls competition all four previous meet records were broken as Einstein upset meet favorite Gaithersburg, winning 32-22 over runner up Springbrook.
Einstein's sprinters were responsible for the victory as Carol Ward, Claudia Martin, Patty Polk and Ellen Kaiser won the 440 with a :51.7, and the shuttle lows with a :53.4, and finished a strong second in the 880.
"We've got four gutsy sprinters," Einstein coach Liz Bouve said, "They all want to win."
THE KENNEDY girls team won the sprint medley in 4:43.2 and the mile relay with a 4:13.6, when Patty Fogarty pulled ahead at the last turn to win by a nose over Gaithersburg.
Springbrook, running in a slower heat than Einstein won the 880 in 1:49.5 to beat Einstein by one tenth of a second.
The closest finish of the day came in the boys' 880 relay race won by Paint Branch with a 1:32.4. Four other teams - Magruder, Georgetown Prep, Kennedy and Blair - were clocked within four tenths of a second behind the Panthers. Luckily last Saturday's Woodward Relays also set a record for the most clock carrying coaches to ever show up at the Woodward Relays. Coaches not only clocked the teams total time, but individual splits were also taken to find the weak and strong spots on the teams.
Churchill, which finished second in the boys' competition, did well in the field events as expected, winning the shot put and discuss. The Bulldogs also claimed firsts in the shuttle hurdles races and the four mile relay.
Whitman, which finished third with 54 points, did well in the distance events that standout Richard Brody was entered in, taking first in the distance medley, sprint medley, and the two mile relay. In the two mile relay, the Vikings set a Woodward Relay record of 7:57.6 as they beat heavily favored Georgetown Prep by over three seconds.
The rest of the field trailed far behing behind Georgetown, Churchill and Whitman in the meet which most coaches agree is a real test of team depth.
THE REMAINING teams totals were: Richard Montgomery 30, Magruder 29, Paint Branch 28, Kennedy 23, Springbrook 21, Woodward 17, Northwood 13, Blair 13, Sherwood 12, Rockville 12, Einstein 10, B-CC 6, Walter Johnson 6, and Damascus 4.
Using this meet as a gauge it is apparent that seven teams will have to be reckoned with this spring. In the girls competition, Einstein's strong showing puts them solidly in the race for the title with Gaithersburg, Northwood and Springbrook. In the boys' coupetition Churchill and Whitman (with Brody winning the single distance events and helping in the relays) look to be the frontrunners in the AA class; Richard Montgomery looks like the team to beat in class A, and there appear to be a lot of teams which might do just that.
Following this weekend's meets, the St. Albans Classic at Bullis and the Carroll Invitational at Carroll, both on Saturday, county teams will turn to next week's Penn Relays in Philadelphia and the Patriots' Relays at Friendly High School in Prince George's County. The county's private schools will also have representatives in the Cronley Invitational at Episcopal.
The first weekend in May will find Magruder hosting its annual Magruder Invitationnal Meet, and after a couple days off, several teams will participate in the Arundel Relays at Arundel High. County meets then begin the following weekend in Magruder.
Photo 1: ELLEN KAISER OF EINSTEIN led the Titans to the unofficial girls' team title as a member of two winning sprint relays. Journal photos by Monica Mintz.
Photo 2: Howard Stempler clears the pole vault at last Saturday's Woodward Relays. Georgetown Prep beat out Churchill for the overall boys' team title. Journal photos by Monica Mintz.
Photo 3: THE STEEPLECHASE in an event at the end of the day, featured only at Woodward. Journal photos by John Parker.
Photo 4: ANDY LEE OF THE host Woodward Wildcats competes in the relays' long jump. Journal photos by Monica Mintz.
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