By KELLY TERPSTRA, Courier sports writer
May 08, 2008 11:48 pm
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OTTUMWA — Steve Green has seen many a memory created in his 10 years as head coach of the Ottumwa girls track squad.
He’s won four straight CIML Metro championships with his successful red and white Bulldog squads. He’s been a part of countless enjoyable moments at the Drake Relays on the fabled blue track with his seasoned Ottumwa athletes.
Green has also seen the pitfalls of a sport that lead to challenges of overcoming and withstanding adversity. Runners fall down. But they can also dust themselves off and become better because of it.
Green has had such a year in 2008. Nothing is guaranteed in sports, and track and field is such an endeavor. Bumps, bruises and bandages make it difficult sometimes to compete to one’s highest level of performance.
The Bulldogs will have a valuable opportunity to make a season that didn’t quite live up to expectations finish on a high note.
Green will have his runners ready at the Class 4A Regional in Ankeny tonight as berths to the state meet to be run on that blue track in Des Moines will be handed out. Boys and girls district meets in Class 3A and Class 4A take place tonight, as Centerville, Davis County and Fairfield will run at Mount Pleasant and Chariton will run at Winterset.
Class 1A and Class 2A district meets take place on Saturday, with Albia and Eddyville-Blakesburg running at Pekin; Moravia, Moulton-Udell, Russell, Seymour and Twin Cedars running at Mount Ayr; Cardinal, MSAE, Sigourney, Tri-County and Van Buren running at WACO and North Mahaska headed to at BGM.
“On Friday, the girls know that they get just one shot. In track and field, always expect the unexpected, because crazy things happen. Never count yourself out,” said Green.
Ottumwa made history last month as Green’s shuttle hurdle relay squad became the first of its kind to run on the blue track at the Drake Relays.
Don’t think that the Bulldogs likely berth to state is a shoo-in. Green says his team sits as the third or fourth best time in the 8-eight-team field.
“You look at from first to fourth, you’re looking at the difference of maybe three strides. It’s anybody’s ball game,” said Green.
Ottumwa seniors Katherine Person, Kendra Spurgeon, junior Kelsey Kelly-Celania and soph Kaitlin McElroy comprise the shuttle squad. Person is the lone returnee from the state squad a year ago.
Ottumwa’s Sarah Ryan has proven to be one of the most exciting freshman to ever grace a track for OHS.
She’ll compete in the long jump and open 100. Ryan is one-fourth of the 4x200 and 4x100. The 4x100 Ottumwa relay of Ryan and seniors Akiya Pope, Spurgeon and Person also ran at Drake.
Ryan holds the school record in the long jump, which she shattered with a leap of 17-6 at the Don Newell Classic. She placed 14th at Drake in the long jump.
Person ran at state last year in the 100 hurdles and Spurgeon has a chance to make state in the 200 dash according to Green.
Other contenders to make state are the Bulldogs’ 4x200. That team is made up of Ryan, freshman Allison Sedore, Pope and Spurgeon.
Green’s 4x800 team of McElroy, freshman Courtney Wagner, sophomore Victoria Swanstrom and junior Emilee Cook is talented enough to make a run at state.
So is Ottumwa’s sprint medley team, made up of Person, Pope, Sedore and McElroy.
Ottumwa head coach Jim Nickerson is also in the midst of a milestone achievement as its his 20th season of guiding the Bulldog boys track team.
Nickerson’s 4x400 relay finished fifth at state last year and has three runners back from that squad. Two of those Bulldogs could be running in the open 400 at state if things fall into place for Ottumwa.
Juniors Clint Utter, Tim Easton, Alex Kelly and senior P.J. Shaeffer have a top-four time in the 4x400 amongst the top teams in their district. Utter and Easton could make the open 400 at state and are state returnees in the event alongside Kelly.
Kelly has battled the injury bug but should be good to go, albeit not 100 percent.
“We had a major injury with Alex. He fractured his ankle in early April. He’s just coming back. He’s gotten down to a 52 flat split. Last year he ran a 50.4,” said Nickerson.
Ottumwa’s shuttle hurdle relay team of senior Tyler Craff, senior Jacob Morrissey, Jordan Conley and sophomore Drake Bittner have their sights set on a realistic state berth as well.
Other decent bets to compete at state according to Nickerson are senior Chris Rupe in the discus and Easton in the high jump. Conley is a few seconds off the fourth-fastest time in his district in the 110-high hurdles. He competed in the event as a freshman in 2005. Kelly also competed at state in 2007 in the high jump.
OHS senior Jesse Hinebaugh and juniors Jimmy Bates, Garrett Crosby and Arnoldo Montoya will gun for a state berth in the 4x800.
Class 1A and 2A compete on Saturday in their respective Regional/District Sites. Class 3A runs on Friday.
Ottumwa competes with area squad Oskaloosa, as well as Des Moines Lincoln, Des Moines North, Dowling Catholic, Indianola, Southeast Polk and the host-school Hawks.
There are several returnees that finished very high at state that are gunning to get back and bring home a state title.
Fairfield senior Will Wellington is the defending state champ in the 100 dash in Class 3A. Wellington placed third in the 200 dash.
Pekin’s senior tandem of Tyler Crouse (discus) and Jordan Sathoff (high jump) each finished runner-up in Class 2A in their target event. Fellow senior Panther Brad Mosinski finished fourth at state in 2007 in the 400 hurdles.
Centerville senior Wallace Carter placed third in the discus last season in Class 3A.
Fairfield’s Danielle Fry finished fourth in the discus in 2007.
Ethan Miller of Seymour, a senior, placed fifth in both the high jump and long jump last season in Class 1A.
In boys competition, the state field is filled out by the top four finishers in each event. The girls regional meets takes the top two finishers to state, which are automatic qualifiers. The next best 12 times or standards then fill out the state qualifying field.
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