The Manchester Enterprise
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Taking Shape
Coltre, Hughes have strong performances in Buckeye State
By Ed Patino, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: April 24, 2008
Competing against several larger schools from Michigan and Ohio, members of the Manchester varsity boys and girls track teams didn't look out of place.
Advertisement
With strong performances from Laura Coltre and the boys distance medley relay team, Manchester earned a 28th place finish in the 76th running of the Mansfield Mehock Relays April 18-19 in Mansfield, Ohio.
Ann Arbor Pioneer won the event with 75 points, beating out second-place Warrensville Heights, Ohio which scored 61. Toledo Bowsher was third with 47 points. Dexter was another area team that competed in the event, placing 20th.
Manchester sent 25 athletes to the meet, which is one of the biggest high school track events east of the Mississippi River. According to head coach John Bancroft, the team entered the relays to gain experience against different levels of competition.
"It's good exposure for the kids and a chance to see how they respond to a change in environment," Bancroft said. "They get a chance to see some outstanding people in their events and learn from them. It helps them be less intimidated against the things they see up here."
Coltre didn't appear rattled in the event, placing sixth overall in the long jump with a distance of 16-4 1/2. Her mark was a half-inch short of setting a new Manchester school record.
On the boys side, the team of Carl Wharam, George Kelly, Brian Fargher and James Hughes recorded a third-place finish for Manchester in the distance medley relay. The quartet posted a time of 8:06.34 in the race.
"They had about the same time that last year's team had down there, and each of them ran really nice," Bancroft said. "They're going to be good later on, and this was great experience for them."
Other highlights for Manchester came from James Hughes, who finished the 1,600-meter run in 4:32.2, his best time of the season, and Kyla Wilberding, who recorded a distance of 32-5 in the girls shot put event. Presly Hone recorded an 8-6 jump in the pole vault for Manchester.
"This was a good chance for the team to bond," Bancroft said. "They stayed at the hotel together and ate together."
Manchester returns to competition in Michigan today when it travels to Britton-Deerfield for a non-conference dual meet.
Cascades Tri-Meet at Michigan Center
The Manchester varsity girls track team continued its hot start to Cascades Conference action by posting an 85-47 victory over the Addison Panthers and an 84-49 victory over the Michigan Center Cardinals in a league tri-meet April 17.
Meanwhile, the Manchester boys team was handed a pair of setbacks as it fell 81-56 to Michigan Center and 72-64 to Addison.
In the girls competition, Manchester (5-0) took first overall in three of the four relay events. The 3,200-meter relay team of Liz Timoszyk, Kate Brown, Amanda Mutchler and Jenny Kempher recorded a time of 11:12.9 for the Flying Dutch, while Laura Coltre, Tracy Schaible, Brooke Fuller and Mutchler gave Manchester a win in the 800-meter relay with 1:52.76. The Dutch also won the 400-meter relay as Coltre teamed with Macie Takessian, Myra Sandford and Haley Cook to post a time of 54.72 seconds.
"Laura and Amanda are the anchors of this team and are really respected by their teammates," Manchester coach John Bancroft said. "Haley and Macie are freshmen who are following what the sophomore girls did last year."
Individually, Coltre placed first overall in the long jump for Manchester with a distance of 15-4. She beat out Dutch teammate Tracy Schaible, who was second with 13-10. Brooke Fuller won the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:06.48, while Presly Hone took second in the event with 1:10.7. Hone captured the pole vault with a 6-6 jump.
"The girls have the experience and have built an identity," Bancroft said. "The younger kids are helping us develop depth."
The Dutch swept the high jump competition as Ginny Girbach won the event with a height of 4-8 1/10. She edged out teammate Shelby Lalik, who jumped 4-8 and Taylor Heldt, who finished with 4-6.
"We have an excellent high jump crew with those three," Bancroft said.
Kyla Wilberding placed second overall in the shot put for Manchester with a toss of 32-8 1/2 and was second in the discus at 85-6.
In the boys competition, Manchester (1-4) had four individual first-place finishes and two relay winners.
Nick Ross captured first overall in the shot put with a throw of 43-7 3/4. James Hughes ran a 10:16 to win the 3,200-meter run, while Brian Fargher won the 400-meter run with a time of 53.72 seconds. George Kelly scored a height of 10-6 to win the pole vault event for the Flying Dutchmen.
"George is providing senior leadership to the younger guys, and Hughes is one of the premier distance runners in the league," Bancroft said. "Fargher is as good as the guys were last year in the sprints and Ross is one of the top putters in the league."
Manchester's 3,200-meter relay team of Nate Hyde, Carl Wharam, Clayton Every and Hughes won their event with a time of 8:48.98, while Kelly, Hyde and Fargher teamed with D.J. Hone to win the 1,600-meter relay (3:49)
Wharam finished second overall in the 1,600-meter run at 4:57.94, while Hone, Kelly, Corwin and Clayton Every were second in the 400-meter relay with a time of 47.56 seconds.
Corwin Every placed third in the long jump at 18-feet, while Clayton Every was fourth in the event with a distance of 16-0 1/2. Hone took third in the high jump at 5-6. Corwin Every was fourth in the 100-meter dash (12 seconds) and Ross placed fourth in the discus (94-10) for Manchester.
"Corwin and Clayton are fitting in nicely in the sprints and long jump," Bancroft said. "Carl has been running well as of late and is really coming along. Hyde and Ryan Ernst look like they can fit in the half-mile races, and D.J. is a horse."
The Dutchmen have had to adjust their lineup this season. Along with losing several key members from the past three Cascades Conference championship teams, Manchester also lost pole vaulter Jesse Forner and runners William and James Heslip to injuries earlier this season.
"Without those three guys, we've lost over 300 total points," Bancroft said. "But the beauty of this is we've been discovering a new guy every week."
Staff Writer Ed Patino can be reached at 428-8173 or epatino@heritage.com.
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.
TOP JOBS
