Big Reds' runners lead way at Mercer

West Middlesex distance runners paced the team at the county meet.
By BILL ALBRIGHT
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
HERMITAGE -- The distance performances by West Middlesex highlighted the Mercer County track and field championships Saturday at Hickory High School.
Adam Shrawder, Barry McLaughlin, Matt Lawhead and Rob Shrawder captured the 4x800-meter relay in a time of 8 minutes, 20.66 seconds, the start of a big day for the Big Reds.
The West Middlesex runners said cross country is a key to a quality distance program on the track.
"Cross country definitely helps in the distance because it gets you up and running," said Rob Shrawder. "This [a leg of the relay] is not as far, but it is a lot faster. With the caliber of the meets we have run in lately, this type of competition definitely helps me get ready for next week [the District 10 Class AA meet]."
Second victory
Lawhead picked up a second gold medal by capturing the winning the 1600.
"I am happy with the way I ran today and right now, I am feeling great," said Lawhead. "I also run cross country and that helps me stay in shape and get some mileage in. Next week is the big week for me. I have never been to states and that will be what I am shooting for in the district meet."
In the relay, Adam Shrawder gave the Big Reds a cushion. His strategy is simple.
"All I want to do is keep my team in the race at that point and give us a chance to win," he said. "If possible, I like to take the lead. But if that doesn't happen, I just want to stay as close [to the leader] as I can."
Shrawder also took fourth in the 800 (2:05.15).
In the 3200, Barry McLaughlin won in 9:49.56, while Lawhead finished third and Kyle Devlin was eighth.
Tigers top finishers
The top finishers for Sharon were Devin Motley and Robert Harrison.
Motley won the long jump with a leap of 20 feet, 11 1/4 inches, and he also placed sixth in the 100 (11.84). Motley also ran a leg of the 400 relay which placed seventh (46.53).
& quot;I feel pretty good about my efforts today, but I still think I could have done better," said Motley.
"I have a lot of work to do before next week. In today's meet, I looked at it as a practice, just trying to get better."
Harrison outdueled Greenville's James Kunselman by two-tenths of a second for his gold medal in the 400.
The Hickory boys were shut out in the winners circle, but Nick Erdesky finished second in the discus (133-2) and javelin (180-7).
The top placers for the Hickory girls were Janine Banes, second in the high jump, and Mandy Carine, 2nd in the pole vault.
Stitt gets three places
Hickory's Kim Stitt was second in the long jump, third in the triple jump and fourth in the shot put, while Arin Whitman was second in the discus and third in both the shot put and javelin.
The top finish turned in by the Kennedy Catholic girls was a third in the 1600 relay by the team of Kayla Burdick, Katie Cianci, Dierdre Reimold and Anne Sommerfeld. For the Kennedy Catholic boys, Gavin St. John was fifth in the 300 hurdles and Mike Rodgers was eighth in the 1600.
Sharon's girls best finishes came from Kaela Strawder, second in the shot put, and Michelle Miller, third in the 3200.