Rain, Rain Go Away!

I know that weather tends to feed our collective short-term memory loss and that the current weather pattern we are in feels like "the worst it's been for a while" but this is ridiculous! With our intermittent semi-sunny days scattered throughout (not on a meet day mind you), it seems that heaven's floodgates have been open frequently this spring, and this was especially evident at last Thursday's meet at Kentlake.

I also feel that the meet fit into our theme for the week, mental toughness, because just to get to the end of that meet without a mutiny displayed the mental state of our team. In despite of all that, I was astonished at our performances. By my semi-accurate count, there were 42 PR's this meet from our boys team and 27 for our girls team... which I just think is amazing! It all amounted to a 104-31 victory for the boys team and a 59-83 loss by the girls.

Our girls were highlighted by several impressive performances, including a newcomer who stole the show. Freshman Dana Wareham began her Kentwood Track and Field Career with an amazing 3 first place finishes in individual events (Long Jump 15'1", 200m 27.9, 400m 62.3) and ran a leg on the winning 4x400 relay. With those performances Dana captured the Freshman records for each of those events, and also moved into the All-Time Top 10 List for the 200m and the 400m. There were several other impressive performances by the girls team, highlighted by event winners Sophomore Kyra Gaines (100m, 13.9), Freshman Clarisa Hammer (300m Hurdles, 54.3), and Sophomore Lindsey Moore (High Jump, 5'6") along with the 4x200 Relay (Rachel Gilstad, Kristen Olenick, Hammer, and Karyn Hauch) in 2:00.5, and the 4x400 relay (Abby Brauer, Gaines, Wareham, Meghan Hoffman) in 4:41.0. Freshmen Karyn Hauch (Pole Vault, 6'6") and Meghan Hoffman (1600m, 5:57.0) jumped into the Top Ten lists with their performances last week against Kentlake. Juniors Erin Bradfield and Teddi McGuire both moved up on the Top Ten list with both clearing 5'0" in the High Jump.

The boys also were able to overcome the rainy conditions and put up some amazing marks. Perhaps the most intriguing race of the day was between two of our own, Senior Michael Chinchar and Junior Chris Selvar in the 800m. In what turned out to be a great race for the both of them, Michael won in a time of 1:55.1 (a time that would have placed 3rd at last year's state meet), and Chris set a season PR with a 2:01.4. We had many event winners including three double-winners, led by Junior Demetrius Bronson who won the 100m (11.2) and the 200 (23.2), Senior Eric Brill who won the 1600m (4:40.0) and the 3200 (10:24.0), and Sophomore Steven Warner who won the 110HH (15.2) and the 300H (41.7), both of these times move Steven onto the Top Ten List). Other event winners were Sophomore Junior Gauldin in the 400m (53.6), Junior Adam Smith in the Discus (114'6"), Sophomore Cody Fishel in the High Jump (6'3", which moved him up to 3rd on the Top Ten List), and Senior Chris Jenks in the Pole Vault (8'0").

This week we go up against the Decatur Gators at home. Decatur has several very talented athletes, led by Ezra John Griffey in the sprints. Decatur also has a solid distance running core, so they should provide a good challenge for our boys squad. Their girls team is highlighted by a tandem of very talented jumpers and throwers, Amanda Stewart and Geena Woodke. Stewart is the only other athlete in the state thus far to match Lindsey Moore's 5'6" in the High Jump.

So, we're hoping for some warm, dry weather for Thursday, but at this point we'd settle for just dry. Hope to see a huge crowd on Thursday to cheer on your Conks!

Coach Roche

Kentlake this week

Our competitive season is finally under way! Outside of the weather, which turned cold on us, our first meet was successful in many ways. Our kids competed like they've been anxious to go out and show people what they can do, which is always good to see. For a first meet of the season, there were some very impressive marks and some improvements already over last year.


One of the most impressive marks turned in last week was by our current school record holder, Sophomore Lindsey Moore in the High Jump. Lindsey bettered her 2006 PR and school record of 5'5" by jumping 5'6" (which was the height that won the state meet last year). On our stats website it shows that Lindsey is tied for the highest mark entered in the nation. Quite impressive for a first meet!


Lindsey's jump into the record books was joined by Senior Jillian Jainga who cleared 6'6" in the Pole Vault (tied for 8th best all time), and Freshmen Jennifer Weston (set the Freshman Record for shot put with a throw of 28'0") and Clarisa Hammer (set the Freshman record in the 300 hurdles at54.6 and tied another in the 100 hurdles at 19.8). Very impressive for a first meet!


These impressive performances though were not enough to beat a tough TJ team, led by state Cross Country champion Kenna Patrick, who showed us all why she won the past fall. The TJ girls won by a score of 95-45.


The boys team set the bar for success with a solid 105-31 victory over TJ. The boys squad won every event but two, and had solid depth throughout the events to establish our team as one to be reckoned with in the SPSL. One of the most remarkable things about this meet for the boys were the number of "sweeps" Kentwood was able to pull off in the victory. In the 200m, the 3200m, 300 hurdles, and Shot Put, the boys won "swept" or took first, second and third in those events. This is a notable testament to our strength and our depth.


Some of the notable marks from the boys meet were turned in by Demetrius Bronson, who won both the 100m (11.4) and the 200m (23.3). Other event winners were Junior Gauldin in the 400m (53.7), Chris Selvar in the 800m (2:04.1), Eric Brill in the 1600m (4:42.3), Michael Chinchar in the 3200m (9:37.5), Andrew Fung in the 110HH (15.7), Steven Warner in the 300H (42.0), Evan Porter in the Shot Put (39'2"), Adam Smith in the Discus (107'4"), Cody Fishel in the High Jump (6'0"), and Nikiel Taylor in the Triple Jump (38'9"). The boys 4x100m Relay (Taylor, Bryan Carlson, Damion Ricks & Bronson) won (44.8) along with the boys 4x400m Relay (Selvar, Chinchar, Warner & Gauldin) in 3:39.2. (meet results can be found here, and all times have been converted from FAT to hand times)

Senior Danny Smith also had a great meet, setting a PR in the 3200 and jumping into the Top 10 list with his time of 10:29.4.



From a coaches perspective, one of the most exciting things about this meet was how well our athletes were supporting each other. If you were able to go to the meet, it was especially evident in the 4x4 races, with perhaps the loudest applause being for our "throwers 4x4" and was thrilling to watch. As a coach it gives me a great amount of pride to see all of our kids support each other like that.



This week our opponents are the Kentlake Falcons. Kentlake's boys have several solid athletes, especially in their distance and jumps. Their girls return a number of solid marks in almost every event, so as is the case in every SPSL meet, there should be a number of fun competitions to watch.



Hopefully, the rain will give us a break on Thursday and we will have another great meet to report on next week!


Coach Roche

First meet this week

Well, tomorrow is the day we've all been waiting for since the season began, it's meet time! There always comes a point where everyone is tired of all the preparation and they are ready to see some results, and I think many of us are at that point. Meets are always exciting for athletes and coaches because we all finally get a chance to really see what people can do in a competition setting.

One of the great things about this sport is that is so diverse and there are so many things going on at once that there's always something to watch. If you ever get a chance to go to an elite level meet, you know that the audience truly appreciates great performances in every event. Track meets at our level aren't quite as "viewer friendly" as a meet at say, Hayward Field, but they still have a lot to offer.

This week, we go up against Thomas Jefferson, which is well known for its girls team, especially their girls distance runners. They are led by the reigning state cross country champion Kenna Patrick, so that should be fun to watch on Thursday. TJ also returns a solid boy's throwing squad, so they definitely are a worthy opponent.

As usual, the mixed weather provided some good and bad practices for us in the past week and a half, but there were some stong efforts as there were run-offs, jump-offs and throw-offs to determine varsity spots. It will be exciting to see how the first week of performances show who we are!

We're under way!

Week one of Kentwood Track and Field 2007 is in the books! Good weather, bad weather, it doesn't matter... we don't stop! As usual, there was quite a bit of getting to know eachother that took place in our first week. I feel though that most of us are glad to be starting and excited for the season. It takes a large amount of hard work and dedication to succeed in this sport and so far I have liked what I've seen.

Our Pentathlon, which is always an early season highlight, provided a first chance at competition for many athletes, and a first test of the sport for others. Once again, it did not dissapoint. The Boy's competition was won by Sophomore Steven Warner by only 5 points over last year's winner, Junior Demetrius Bronson (295 to 290). Warner and Bronson were followed in a third place tie by Senior Andrew Fung and Junior Nikiel Taylor(281). Several boys turned in impressive performances, and the fact that the top 6 boys were only separated by 19 points says a lot about the level of athletes we have on this squad this year. Warner was the top Sophomore, Bronson the top Junior, Fung the top Senior, and Zach Schneider(208) was the top performing Freshman. The Girl's competition was won, for the second year in a row by Sophomore Ashley Luther (135). Second was Junior Captain Erin Bradfield who followed behind Ashley with 125 points and Freshman Aiesha Goodlow came in third with 117 points. Top senior honors went to Hailey Baesler with 62 points.

As we look forward to our second week of practice, we're hoping for some better weather and continued hard work. The themse of week two is encouragement... a trait I hope we can all improve at!

Coach Roche