The Manchester Enterprise
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Greca Leads Dutchmen to regional championship
Senior comes close to school records; Dutch
By Ed Patino, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: May 24, 2007
Zach Greca jumped with glee Saturday while Manchester boys varsity track coach Mike Forner could barely hold back the excitement.
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A regional championship was theirs once again.
With Greca leading the charge, the Manchester boys' track team scored 99 2/3 points to clinch the Division 3 Regional title at Erie Mason High School. In addition, the Manchester girls' team improved two spots from last season, finishing in a seventh-place tie with 40 points.
In the boys competition, the Flying Dutchmen beat out second place Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central, which scored 95 1/3 points.
Adrian Madison won the girls' meet with a team score of 133, finishing well ahead of second-place Monroe St. Mary CC. The Dutch and Blissfield tied for seventh and finished a half-point behind fifth place Onsted (40 1/2).
Greca was the story of the day for the Manchester boys' first in three individual events. The senior threatened the Manchester school records in the 100 and 200-meter dashes. Greca won the 100 dash in 10.8 seconds and captured the 200 dash with a time of 22.53. The school record in each event is 10.7 in the 100 dash and 22.0 in the 200, set by Nick Davis in 1998.
Davis went on to play football at the University of Wisconsin and was a kick returner for the NFL's Minnesota Vikings.
"Zach has definitely set himself a cut above the others," Forner said. "He ran three preliminary 100-meter dashes, three preliminary 200 dashes as well as the finals in each event, and the 400 dash and the 1,600 relay."
Greca won the 400 dash with a time of 50.83 seconds. He qualified for the June 2 state meet in all three races.
Greca teamed with Jake LaCross, Greg Schaible and Andrew Tindall to win the 1,600 relay with a time of 3:29.68. The Dutchmen trailed Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central after two legs, but Greca exploded in the third leg, helping his team rally past the Falcons, who finished in 3:30.77.
"The 1,600 relay team is unbelievable with the time they turned in," Forner said. "They should get a good seed at state. If they can shave a couple of seconds off they'll be unbeatable."
Along with the 1,600 relay, Schaible qualified for state in the 400-meter dash, finishing in second behind Greca with a time of 50.84 seconds. Schaible also placed fourth in the 200 dash at 23.19 seconds.
"Greg's performance was excellent and he never lets the team down," Forner said. "He never complains and always comes through."
As part of the 1,600 relay team, Tindall became a four-year state qualifier for the Dutchmen.
Jarod Sawyer qualified for the state meet by winning the high jump event with a height of 6-5 1/10. He beat out Blissfield's Frank Thompson, who jumped 6-5.
"I was very pleased to see Sawyer break out and jump as well as he did," Forner said.
Jesse Forner continued his strong freshman season by placing second in the pole vault with a 12-foot jump. The height match the school's freshman record he set two weeks earlier. Jesse Forner will represent Manchester in the state meet.
"We Jesse has accomplished as a freshman is a tough feat," Coach Forner said. "He as unlimited potential and thinks like a pole vaulter."
Despite finishing in the middle of the pack, the Manchester girls' team showed marked improvement over last season. After winning one conference meet in 2006, the Flying Dutch went undefeated in Cascades Conference meets this year. Manchester finished two places higher and with 31 more points in this season's regional meet.
"The girls did extremely well and were much better than the score shows," Forner said. "When you consider last year's team finished ninth and only scored nine points, the improvement is remarkable."
Laura Coltre finished as the lone state qualifier for the Dutch, placing second in the long jump at 15-9 3/4. Adrian-Madison's Caiti Betz won the event with a jump of 15-10 1/4.
Manchester had two girls set personal best times. Katie McDowell placed fifth in the 800 run with a time of 2:30.76, while Katie Sheler finished eighth in the 300 hurdles in 51.48 seconds.
"Katie McDowell broke out in the 800 run and Sheler did her personal best against tough competition."
Elizabeth Timoszyk took fourth in the 1,600 run with a time of 5:32.51 and placed sixth in the 3,200 run at 12:39.15. Kyla Wilberding finished fifth in the shot put with 30-foot toss for the Dutch.
"The girls will be a force to reckon with," Forner said. "There is only one senior on the team, so they should get better, faster and stronger."
Manchester competed in the Cascades Conference meet Tuesday night. The teams are scheduled to participate in the Selby Invitational on Tuesday. The Division 3 state meet takes place June 2 at Comstock Park.
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