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DIVISION II TRACK ROUNDUP
DIVISION II TRACK ROUNDUP
News and notes
Jonesing for redemption: Hubbard junior Matt Jones finished fifth in the shot put at the 2013 regional, missing a state berth by one place. On Saturday, he got some redemption, throwing 54 feet, 5 inches to finish second to Edgewood’s Matt Fitchett (54-6 1/2). “I still have a couple feet left that I’m saving for state,” he said, smiling. “I’m gonna go get him.” Jones, who verbally committed in February to play football for West Virginia, has thrown 56 feet this season and is still chasing Hubbard’s school record of 60-0 1/4, set by Frank Cimmento in 1986. “I’ve got one more week, so we’ll see what happens,” he said. “I want to get on the podium [by finishing in the top eight] and PR [set a personal record] and just have fun.”
Terrific in the two-mile: South Range sophomore Mollie Pierson (11:33.40) and Lakeview senior Christopher Edie (9:50.46) both placed second with personal-bests in the 3200. Pierson’s finish was especially surprising since she was seeded 11th. “I wanted it,” said Pierson, who finished five seconds behind Crestwood’s Abby Soltisz. “I woke up this morning and everything was just going right and I’m like, ‘Today’s the day. I’m gonna PR and make it to state.” Pierson admitted she dreamed about winning — “But I dream a lot of crazy things” — but didn’t really expect to finish so high. “That last 800, I was hurting, but I’m like, ‘You’re gonna be hurting even more if you don’t make it,’” she said. Edie finished just .26 behind CVCA’s Ben Bockoven, using a strong final 200 to give Bockoven a scare. “I have no idea where that came from,” he said afterward. “I was sitting at seventh [entering the event] and I was like, ‘This is going to be rough.’ But I told my coach I was going to give everything I had to stay with the top guys, even if I die out.” Edie had several family members from Florida in the stands watching him for the first time. “I would have been completely satisfied with fourth place and going to state,” he said. “But to get second at regionals? That’s mind-blowing.”
Erasing a bad taste: Liberty senior Courteney Lukac earned her first state berth by finishing second in the 800, one year after placing fifth in the 2013 regional by SEVEN-THOUSANDTHS of a second. “That was heartbreaking,” she said of last year’s race. “It was a year-round motivation. I graduated [high school] on Thursday and I don’t feel like I graduated yet. I still have unfinished business to do.” United’s Allison Parks took third in the 800 and also placed second in the 1600. “I was scared — I’m not going to lie,” she said of the 800. “I was on the outside the whole time and I was like, ‘Oh my goodness, this is over.’ But I couldn’t give up. You’ve got to realize — we’re all suffering here. We all have the same feeling. I don’t care who you are, freshman or senior, you’re gonna be nervous. Everybody hurts. Everybody feels the same way.”