|
Republished with permission granted by The Washington Newspaper Publishing Co. LLC d/b/a MediaDC. Back to Montgomery Journal articles
With Events Like Steeplechase Woodward's No Ordinary Meet
By Donna Niewiarowski
Special to the Journal
"I ran high school track while growing up in Pennsylvania and every outdoor season all the schools in the area ran at the Western Pennsylvania Relays. We went out to Pittsburgh for them and it was a big thing for us. Then, when I moved down here and started coaching there were no relay meets, only big invitationals with the standards events. So I decided to go for depth and have a relay meet my second of coaching."
And that is the how and why of the origin of the seventh annual Woodward Invitational Relays as told by the originator, Woodward's girls track coach Greg Dunston. This year's first event, the four-mile relay, commences at 9 a.m. on Saturday and the meet will go until 3:30 or 4 p.m.
Dunston did not create just any ordinary meet either. At the time of it's conception, the Woodward Relays was the only high school meet to include the steeplechase event, which is run as an individual competition over 1500 yards. Now it's one of two in the nation. "I've actually never had any confirmation of the other track but it's supposed to be somewhere in New York or New Jersey," noted Dunston.
"Seven years ago when we first ran the event the water jump was built but there was no asphalt laid to keep the water in. We used paint tarp and surprisingly it held," recalled the Woodward coach.
From its humble beginnings the steeplechase field of competitors has increased both in size and quality. Dunston has been forced to limit the field to two entrants from each school which allows for two boys heats and one heat for girls.
Fortunately, the increased popularity of the event each year has drawn better quality distance runners who are best suited for the demanding event. Dunston estimates the winning time last year run by John Raskauskas of Georgetown Prep was approximately 15 to 20 seconds faster than its inaugural winning time seven years ago. "We're finally getting the better kids running it now," says Dunston. "We're getting the better distance runners in the area."
This year will probably mark the first time in four years that a Georgetown Prep runner has not claimed the Steeplechase crown. Little Hoya John Raskauskas secured that honor last year, teammate John Donnegan set the current meet record of 4:34.3 in 1976, and Dean Dryweir started the list in 1977.
On Saturday, A League state cross country champion and indoor state two-mile champ Doug Rohrer of Seneca Valley, who was third last year, leads the county contingent and is the pre-meet favorite. He will have very tough competition from Peary's distance standout Doug Halpin, who ran fourth in the AA state cross country standings with only one shoe, and from the Huskies' middle distance man, Duane Gaskins. Louis Millard and Jack Pinkard from Blair are also expected to be in contention for the gold along with Sherwood's Danny Intile.
Another innovation of Dunston's is the girls Field Event Relay, implemented because at the time not many girls teams had the depth off the track to support full three-person relays in each of the field events. Each squad consists of four members, one each in the shot, discus, long jump and triple jump. It is scored on a Portuguese scoring system, used in the decathlon, awarding points relative to the distance thrown or jumped. The further or higher the more points. Within the next couple of years, however, the girls will probably return to the standard field relays since most girls teams are now deep enough to field full contingents in those four events.
This year the battle for first in the field relay will be between three teams - Damascus, Churchill and B-CC. Both Damascus and Churchill are very strong in the discus, long jump and triple jump with the Bulldogs boasting a 17-foot sophomore long jumper. B-CC, which has the best shot at the overall girls team championships, is fairly strong in all four legs of the relays.
The boys two-mile relay and distance (880, 440, 1320, mile) will prove to be very exciting events this year. Only 45 minutes separate the two races and both relays require the same type of runner - middle distance runners. Most schools will run the same four athletes in both events and depending on the weather and how efficiently the runners can recover will probably determine the winner in both events.
Walter Johnson's foursome of Raymin Cyrus, LeRoy Howard, Kevin Donohue and Paul Kolb are favored to capture both events as they are coming into the meet with the best record so far. The Spartans entered the two-mile relay with a time of 8:10, which is four second slower than their best effort this year and seeds them behind Good Counsel, entered with an 8:08. Georgetown Prep and Peary complete the top four teams.
However, the Spartans must hold off Landon's Don Kerwin in the second of the two events, the distance medley. WJ's first three legs will run uncontested but Kerwin will be fresh and has already turned in a 4:17 mile performance this year. The Bears purposefully stayed out of the two-mile because they are going for the record in this event.
Peary, Einstein and Gonzaga are also among the top five in the distance medley and could pull a few surprises.
All six of the top teams in the sprint medley, Good Counsel, Landon, Walter Johnson, Blair, Kennedy, and Einstein, have quality half-milers and the lead can be expected to see-saw back and forth throughout the race. Kennedy and WJ however, possess the brute speed of the bunch, each carrying two of the area's top quarter milers.
Peary and Blair tied for overall team honors last year and once again are two of the top teams vying for the trophy this year.
Peary is strong in every event, especially in their traditional specialty, the field events. Blair carries very swift sprinters and is also stacked on the field. Both pre-meet favorites will have to keep very close tabs of the Spartans as they have enough good runners to score very high on the track. Landon has been marked as the dark horse since it boasts quality middle distance men and are not particularly favored but carry a powerful flight of jumpers and should do exceptionally well in all three jumping events.
Defending girls champion B-CC is the unrivaled favorite to repeat as champion this year. Newcomer sophomore Jill Vialet fills the void the Barons may have felt on the track indoors and can compete with anybody in the county in both the mile and half. Sprint sensation Cathy Rattray will anchor the sprint relays to certain victories and provides the extra spring in the field event relay.
|
