The Chelsea Standard
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Chelsea fourth at EMU relays
By Don Richter, Sports Editor
PUBLISHED: April 3, 2008
Chelsea's boys' track and field team opened its season last week, running in meets at Eastern Michigan University and at Michigan State University.
Advertisement
Last Friday, the Bulldogs competed in the EMU Relays placing fourth out of 20 teams.
Chelsea finished with 50 points.
Winning the meet was East Lansing with 101 points. Placing second was Lansing Sexton with 72 points, while Ypsilanti was third with 56 points.
"We took a subset of our team to the EMU Relays this past Friday and came away with a fourth-place finish out of 20 teams," said Chelsea coach Eric Swager. "The two Lansing schools that finished 1-2 are top quality programs, sprinter-laden and with a lot of flexibility in a meet like this."
In the long jump, sophomore Nick Hill placed sixth with a leap of 19-feet, nine inches. He also was fourth in the 60-meters with a 7.29.
"Nick Hill had a great day in his two events," Swager said. "The 60 and his long jump were both lifetime bests. I am eager to continue helping him improve over the next few years. As a sophomore, he is starting to turn in times that rival many of the top juniors and seniors in the area."
Senior Justin McGrath recorded a high jump of 5-6 for the Bulldogs.
"Justin performed consistently," Swager said. "His relay splits and his high jump effort are very close to his personal best and I am glad to see him starting the season at the top of his game."
Junior Peter Wilke was fourth in the pole vault clearing 11-6. Senior Sam Dyer ended up eighth in the shot put with a heave of 42-0.
Junior Mark Smith paced Chelsea finishing sixth in the 3,200-meter run with a clocking of 11:12.
Junior Nick Hewitt ended up fifth in the 1,600-meter run in 5:01.
In the shuttle hurdle relay, the Bulldog foursome of senior Evan Carpenter, senior Brad Ratliff, junior Dominic Conybeare and McGrath finished second in 32.1.
In the 800-meter relay, junior Kevin Rosentreter, sophomore Cody Adams, Ratliff and McGrath placed sixth in 1:38.5.
Sophomore Dakota Cooley, McGrath, Rosentreter and Ratliff finished fifth in the 1,600-meter relay with a time of 3:43.9.
In the distance relay, the Chelsea group of sophomore Geoffrey Smith-Woolams, sophomore Nick Hall, Cooley and Wilke placed seventh in 12:14.
"Dakota Cooley and Cody Adams both did a fine job in their first meet ever," Swager said. "As they learn about track, racing and relays they will also continue to improve."
On March 25, Chelsea competed in the MSU Track and Field Invitational. The Bulldogs placed fourth with 1,016 points.
Winning the 16-team meet was Lansing Eastern with 1,178.5 points. Grand Ledge was second with 1,168 points, while Holly was third with 1,080.5 points.
"This was quite a powerhouse meet," Swager said. "There were many quality teams in this field. Lansing Eastern and Grand Ledge are top-notch (Class) A schools who seemed to have three quality athletes in every event. I am pleased that we finished fourth in this group. We were the smallest school in that top tier."
In the 60-meter hurdles, Carpenter finished second in 8.28. McGrath was fifth in 8.62, while freshman Mason Borders was 27th in 9.87.
Hill placed third in the 60-meters with a time of 7.30, while Ratliff was 25th in 7.61.
Rosentreter ended up eighth in the 400-meter run in 53.8. Junior Noah Hermann was 36th in 59.1, while sophomore Branden French was 38th in 59.6.
Conybeare was 30th in the 800-meter run in 2:22 for Chelsea.
Freshman August Pappas finished 10th in the 1,600-meter run with a clocking of 4:53, while Hall was 29th in 5:14.
Pappas placed fourth in the 3,200-meter run in 10:14, while senior Teddy Eyster was 10th in 10:28 and Smith-Woolams 16th in 10:59.
"All three set lifetime bests in our first meet," Swager said of his 3,200-meter runners. "And August's effort is a Chelsea freshman record. These guys ran miles over the winter and their commitment shows."
Dyer was 14th in the shot put with a throw of 43-1. Senior Sam Birgy was 20th in 40-4, while senior Steven Bauer 23rd in 40-3.
Sophomore Brandon Seagraves and Borders finished 28th in the high jump with a mark of 5-0.
Wilke was fifth in the pole vault clearing 12-0. Sophomore Landon Niesen and Hermann placed 11th with a height of 10-0.
"One encouraging event is the pole vault," Swager said. "Two of the three vaulters jumped lifetime bests. I was pleased with their preparation and effort in the vault today."
Hill was 16th in the long jump with a leap of 18-8, while French was 34th with a 17-1.
The Bulldog group of Hill, Carpenter, Ratliff and McGrath finished second in the 800-meter relay with a clocking of 1:37.0.
Rosentreter, Ratliff, Carpenter and McGrath placed third in the 1,600-meter relay in 3:36.7.
In the 3,200-meter relay, junior Riley Feeney, senior Ryan Patrick, Wilke and Conybeare crossed the line 11th in 9:16.
"Overall, there were many bright spots, but quite a few glaring weaknesses," Swager said. "As coaches, we have our work cut out for us this year. I look forward to the challenge."
Chelsea next hosts county rival and defending Division 2 state champion Dexter April 11.
Not all stories are guaranteed to appear
online. The Web edition contains a reasonable
sampling of the print edition stories.
For the most complete news coverage, we invite you to
subscribe
to the print edition of the paper.
Expanded
Web
Coverage
TOP JOBS
