Durkin's decision pays off; qualifies for state in 1600

The Boardman senior adjusted down the stretch of the 1600 run.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
AUSTINTOWN -- Midway through the 1600-meter run at Saturday's Division I regional meet at Fitch High stadium, Boardman High senior Brittany Durkin looked at the clock, saw 2 minutes, 29 seconds and started to worry.
She had never run that fast to start a mile. Heck, she had run half-miles at that pace. Her coaches watched from the sidelines, hoping she hadn't tried to follow the blistering pace set by two Crestwood girls in front of her.
"You get sucked in by them, you're gonna die," Durkin said.
As she neared the last 100 meters, she was in fifth. The top four advance to the state meet. At that moment, she made a decision.
"I just thought, 'Oh my gosh, I am not going to get fifth,' " Durkin said. "That's the worst thing that could happen."
Father's advice
As she came down the stretch, her father, Dan Durkin, stood outside the fence, saw the girl in front of her (Massillon Jackson senior Nisha Kurian) waver a bit, and yelled out, "Brittany! Lane two! Go!"
Durkin switched to the outside, kicked it in and sprinted to the finish to finish fourth in the best time of her career: 5:09.
"I just heard a long line of people screaming for me," she said. "I didn't want to let anyone down."
OK. She got fourth. So what, right?
Well, as many people know, Durkin was running on a torn ACL, which she injured during basketball season. She opted not to have surgery until after the season, but she started the year with slower times.
Initially, she was just hoping to make it through without reinjuring her knee.
"By the end of the year, I just wanted to hold on to my spot in the 4x800," said Durkin, who will run at Kent State in college. "I never expected to do this."
Durkin, who advanced to Columbus in the 4x800 relay on Thursday, joined teammate Jessica Moore (800), Canfield senior Emily Wollet (400) and Canfield junior Stephanie Jarvis (pole vault) as the only girls to advance in Div. I.
Boys
Boardman senior Mark Lipinsky will also return to the state meet in the 110 hurdles, finishing fourth to advance in arguably the most difficult event in the most difficult region in the state.
The winner, Cleveland Glenville senior Ted Ginn, ran the second-fastest time in the nation (13.57) this season to break his own regional record. Ginn will play football at Ohio State next season.
"I was actually pretty calm," Lipinsky, who finished third at last year's state meet in the event, said. "The last three hurdles are always my strongest and when I looked at where I was [midway through the race], I saw how far back I was. So I kicked it into high gear."
For the past few weeks, Lipinsky has run with a cyst on his foot, which could break at any time.
"I'm just glad I got to run and my foot is still in one piece," he said. "I feel pretty blessed."
Warren Harding junior B.J. Provitt finished fourth in the 200 and, along with his brother Jay, helped the Raiders finish third in the 4x200 relay.
"I would never have dreamed this," said Provitt, who is in his first year of track. "It's been a fun ride."
Poland senior Scott Streiner finished third in the 400 and Howland junior Dustin Rose took third in the shot put.
Wooster's R.D. Goodright, a YSU track recruit, won the 1600.
scalzo@vindy.com