Blair holds fast at Katie Jenkins Invitational

MAY 4-5, SHERWOOD HIGH SCHOOL-
The Blair track team held their own against other high schools in Montgomery County at the Katie Jenkins Invitational Meet hosted by Sherwood High School, although the team's overall scores were not tabulated.

In the 100-meter dash, sophomore Jonathan Haughton came in first place with a time of 11.30 seconds and junior Mohamed Mansaray trailed for third with a time of 11.50 seconds. Mansaray went onto seal a first place finish in the 200-meter dash in 23.0 seconds.

The boys' winning streak continued throughout the day as junior Louis Varella won the 400 meter and Nilan Schnure came in second in the 800 meter race. Schnure broke away from the pack early and maintained his lead through the finish line, and though he was running in a slow heat, managed to rank near the top overall.

With a time of 2:02.7, Schnure topped his personal best by two seconds and says he gained confidence for the post-season meets. "With counties coming up, it showed me that I can compete with the faster runners," he said.

Though they didn't pull out a win, the boys still shined in the relays as Varella, Schnure, Haughton, and junior Haben Ghebremeschel finished second in the 4x400 meter relay. In the 4x800 meter relay, sophomore Rutvij Pandya, seniors Paul Ishimoto and Emmanuel Waktola, and Schnure placed third out of 14 teams with a time of 8:27.8.

The 5-1 girls team continued their success, led by Seniors Halsey and Ashlyn Sinclair and Junior Johanna Gretschel. In the 800 meter, the lady Blazers finished at the top, as Halsey Sinclair placed first, followed by Gretschel in third, and Ashlyn Sinclair in fourth. The Sinclair twins finished first and second in the 3200 meter race with Gretschel coming in forth.

Head Coach Mike Fleming says that he has seen drastic improvement in the relays as well as in certain individuals, in particular Gretschel, Schnure and Mansaray, as reflected in their recent results. With the post-season drawing near, Fleming has high hopes for the team at the larger meets coming up such as counties and regionals. "If it follows the trend like the past 8 weeks, I think we will do satisfactorily," he says.

The Blazers' next meet is the Montgomery County Championships tomorrow at Churchill.