It wasn't raining or snowing like last year. But it was certainly windy. And if you've ever been to a meet at the site of the District 1 Championships at Coatesville High School in Chester County, you know the wind whips off the ridge, right into the faces of every finisher. Given the conditions, there were some promising performances at a meet which attracts talent from a much wider area than the Southeastern PA region.
Considering the stiff breeze, all the distance races were strong. Baldwin School's Julia Pudlin, rounding into shape after missing XC and much of Indoor from a May 2001 injury, went through the mile in 5:21 in the 3200, taking control at that point on a strong field that included Wissahickon's Erin Franklin, and Coatesville's Kelly O'Connell. Pudlin went 10:59.01 for the win. Franklin was 2nd in 11:08.22, and O'Connell 3rd in 11:28.31. Pudlin plans to race in CA at the Arcadia meet in two weeks. For the boys, Joel Thomas of Emmaus, from District 11, ran a strong 9:32.14 to hold off Upper Moreland's Mark Mullelly (9:37.28) and Damony Giles of Simon Gratz (9:37.88). In the Mile, Tim Erickson of Southern Lehigh went 4:21.83 for a 1.5 second edge on Strath Haven's Andrew Combs. Lewisburg's Ashleigh Wetzel won the Mile in 5:10.16, as Hatboro's Janine Ricci was just under three seconds back, and Gwynedd Mercy's Meghan Bishop was less than two seconds behind Ricci.
Steve Nichols, Penncrest, took the 110 Hurdles in 14.87.
Takia Brooks of Abington won the short sprints, taking the 100 in 12:49 by just .03 over West Catholic's Tiffany Bradley; and the 200 in 25.16 by the same slim margin over, you guessed it, Tiffany Bradely. (Something tells me this battle is just beginning). Perry County's Jessica Kratzer of Greenwood, took three events, including the Shot Put (36-6*), the Discus (118-04), and the Javelin (129-07). Denise Tetkowski of Archbishop Ryan, also was a triple victor, taking the 300 Hurdles in 47.35, the Long Jump with her 17-02* effort, and the Triple Jump with a leap of 36-09*.
In the Relays, Simon Gratz boys and girls took the 4x100's, the guys in 43.08, and the girls in 48.60. William Tennent's boys won the 4x800 in 8:00.31, while the Haverford girls picked up where they left off last season, taking the girls' race in 9:46.89. The Council Rock boys won the DMR in 10:40.35.