By: Michael Nerantzis
At this year’s Track and Field Districts Championship, Tuscarora proved it could hang in with some of the top schools in the county. The event, which took place here at Tuscarora, had a feel of excitement, and several of our athletes turned out excellent performances which propelled them into the Regional meet. Tuscarora especially dominated in the jumping pits where we won three out of the four events including Amirah Al-Bayyinah winning both triple jump and long jump “If you haven’t noticed by now, we have a talented set of jumpers,” said a person associated with the team. Although the jumpers got most of the attention, there were excellent performances across the board.
John Johnson, one on the most undisputed hardest workers on the team, hurdled his way into states coming in a close second place in the 110 hurdles. John, who also participates in the 4×100 and 300 hurdles, is by many considered one on the best all around athletes on the team “He’s great at everything he does,” says Conner Covington. As clearly a leader on the team, John leads by example.
In one of the hardest events in all of track Logan Carrington ran an as fast as anybody in the Boys 800 meter hurdle. Logan, who is known for keeping the pace throughout the race and speeding up at the end, will be running in Regionals. Logan was also the lead leg for the boys 4×800 who will also be running in Regionals.
Clearly, the fastest person on the team, Jared Cromwell shines when it comes to the sprinting events. In Districts, he pulled out a time of 23.66 which means he will also be running in Regionals. But beyond that Jared has the State meet to look forward to. Jared qualified in the 100 meter dash and will be joining John Johnson in States.
An up and coming star on the team, Allee Snyder is often over looked on the throwing team. Allee, a freshman on the throwing team, will be in Regionals thanks to an amazing throw of 82’ 5’’. She has shown a consistent effort “Despite the eminent nerves of being a fist year competitor, Allee demonstrated her season long work ethic for a huge personal record, I am very impressed,” quoted Paul Monk. Paul is also a coach’s favorite on the team and will be running in Regionals with the 4×800.
With the season almost over, there has been tons of improvement across the board. Many of the runners would have never dreamed of running in Districts “Coach Harry is the ultimate alpha-male. According to urban legend, Coach was raised by a pack of rabid wolverines and ran his first sub-5 minute mile when he was 6. Aside from being a racing icon, Coach Harry has really helped me to improve my mental toughness and technique over the season.” Paul Monk says.