Blair falls short against Quince Orchard

APRIL 12, BLAZER TRACK—

Blair's Outdoor Track team lost to Quince Orchard by a combined score of 73-195 today. Blair, which only ran a few of its fastest runners, won very few events in today's developmental meet. Although Blair lost by a wide margin, the team made progress in several events and key problems were recognized.

Coach Carl Lewin felt that overall the team did well considering that the team's two most dominant runners, sophomore twins Halsey and Ashlyn Sinclair, did not run their usual races. The girls' team lost 48-88, a score that normally would signal a sound defeat, but Lewin felt that girls performed well. "Our 4x400m team ran very well. So well, that they should be able to be competitive at the state level," said Lewin.

The boys' team, on the other hand, lost by a score of 25-107 mostly because of poor hand-offs and a lack of pacing. "Hand-offs have been an issue all year," said junior Josh Gist.

Lewin said that teams will soon start practicing relay drills at least every other day. "We need to get every person on the team serviceable at passing and receiving the baton," continued Lewin. The boys' team's best events today were the 4x100m, in which Blair came in first, and the 4x400m, a relay in which several runners set individual records.

Pacing was also an issue for many runners today. "Many people came out way too fast, and they weren't finishing," said Lewin. Lewin thought that by addressing these two problems the team will score better in upcoming meets. "Our team has the physical ability, but we need to be more disciplined in order to really compete," continued Lewin.

Sophomore Josh Uzzell, another important runner for Blair, had a rough meet, adding nine seconds to his 1600m time, bringing it up to 4:53, from his personal record of 4:44 set earlier this year. Uzzell thought that his times should vary by three seconds at most, but that due to an injury this winter, he had become slightly out of shape.

Lewin was pleased by the results of the meet, saying that the team was "right there with Quince Orchard, and we had a couple good events."

Gist was very optimistic about the teams' prospects for the rest of the season. "Now we know the things that we have to work on and hopefully we will get to it. We are a good team, and I don't doubt that eventually we will be able to compete with the traditionally good teams of track."