Qutoes from Frances Koons after her 3rd place in Thursday's Mile; Cumberland Valley coach Bill Bixler after his team's 3rd place DMR on Friday afternoon; Andrew McClure after his Discus win on Saturday morning, and Andrew Rademacher, repeat champ in the Pole Vault.
Frances Koons, after her 3rd place 4:54.24 in the Invitational Mile.
PTXC: Great race. Were you surprised by Sarah Bowman's move to the front early in the race?
Koons:.I knew going into the race that Sarah Bowman is someone who likes to get ahead of people. I wasn't surprised, except when I was hitting slower splits that I planned. Coming into the race, I wanted to run 70, then 2:23, and I definitely was behind on my splits. The main reason was because I didn't get out fast enough, which was a big mistake on my part, because I got boxed in a little bit. But that's part of the race, and as I race more, I'll get the experience to get out a little bit faster and get around and out of the box. But under the circumstances, I'm really happy with my race. It's just great to be at the Penn Relays.
PTXC: You pushed the pursuit when nobody else seemed to want to go after Bowman?
Koons:.Yeah, I wanted to hit those splits. And I was trying to watch Bowman after she went out real fast to see what she would do, if she would slow down, and I noticed that she lost her form a little bit, but she kept that gap. I just kept thinking that if I kept going I could close the gap. I had mentally prepared for this race, so I was ready for that. And then at the end, Lauren Centrowicz passed me. And my dad and I talk about that all the time, that it's better to come from behind, because you're accelerating and once you see them, there's not much time for you to go.
PTXC: You PR's with you 2:12.6 split in this morning's 4x800. By how much?
Koons:.By point-five seconds. I was trying to keep it controlled because I had the race tonight and I didn't want my muscles to feel weary on lap three. But in the 4x800, I was so proud of our girls. They were spectacular. I think our strength lies in the fact that we don't look like we're getting out to a great start, but that was her first 800 in a year, and she went 2:20. We were in 10th and it looked like we were out of the race. But where we make up for that is that we have girls that run 2:20, 2:21 for the 2nd and 3rd legs. And best of all, the three are sophomores, and the alternate is just a freshman., so it looks really good for the future. And it was a big-time school record, because we're only a six-year track program (9:19.24).
Bill Bixler, Head Coach, Cumberland Valley HS, after his team's 3rd 10:12.03 in the Distance Medley Championship of America.
PTXC: Twelve seconds off the time you ran at the end of March. We'd you get it all?
Bixler: One thing was, Brian Fuller wasn't running when we ran 10:22, and that certainly made an improvement for us. Everybody ran pretty well. We had a sophomore (David Stonfer) who ran a 49 leg, and David Little came through with a 1:57. I know Jon Fulginiti thinks he can run faster than the 3:08 1200. And Fuller split 4:17-flat. And you know he's coming off swimming, so he's just now really starting to get into shape. Hopefully he can keep taking time off as the year goes on.
PTXC: Did you think these guys were capable of top three finish?
Bixler: We were hoping for a top three finish. That's what our goal was. I'm sure there goal was to win the thing. I was thinking that realistically we could be a top three contender. .
PTXC: Was there a point in the race where you were worried, or where someone stepped up at a critical point?
Bixler: I was thinking while we were in the 400 leg and other people were dropping off and three teams were getting some separation, I thought we were in pretty good shape at that point. I thought we could hold our own in the 800 and I knew that Brian would do a good job in the Mile. .
PTXC: Brian stepped up in the last 100.?
Bixler: It was very nice to see. He's always been somewhat of a kicker, and he was in contention. He went out pretty well and then he had something left at the end. His last lap was a 61. We were pretty pleased with that. .
PTXC: This team has national experience, but this is a different experience with this size crowd. What did you tell them to calm then down, or didn't they need it?
Bixler: They sort of took care of that themselves. They are a group that goes off by themselves and gets ready. Jon and Brian have been around this for a long time and I don't think they needed any inspiration for the race. And they took our sophomore under their wing and, I'm sure, let him know what it was all about. .
PTXC: It's nice to have the inexperience in the 400, and experience in the lead-off in the DMR?
Bixler: I think it's very important to get out in this race, and I know Jon thinks that we can get out a little better than we got out. .
PTXC: Will you be running this post-season?
Bixler: We're going to try. They really like going down to AOC last year and that's a great meet. They're planning on doing that again.
Andrew McClure, Council Rock South, after his 171-09 Discus win.
PTXC: You won it in the prelims. Talk about the throw and how you were feeling today.
McClure: I came into this looking to throw well. If I didn't win, it wasn't a real big issue because there's still a lot of time during the year to improve. On the throw, honestly, I wasn't as happy as I could be with it, because I didn't do everything properly. If I had gotten back a little more on it, I would have had a much better throw. But I can't really complain about it. Overall it was a great day. Just to win here is something special. I can't even describe how happy I am right now.
PTXC: You're having a really banner year.
McClure: Yeah, I'm doing well this year. This is what I've been waiting for forever.
PTXC: What's different this year?
McClure: I finally got a coach. This is the best thing I could have possibly done (moving to Council Rock South from Florida). I met Andrew Dubs and Barry Swanson. It's changed everything. Swanson is the best guy I've met for everything. He's taught me a lot of stuff.
PTXC: Specifically?
McClure: He's not only a good coach for events. but he has helped me to focus on things better. Just all around it has been a pleasure to work with him.
PTXC: How much have you improved this year?
McClure: I'm not done, let's put it that way. I still have two months left, and I plan to do a lot more.
PTXC: Discus and Javelin?
McClure: I'm not going to do Jav. I don't want to hurt my shoulder. I'm looking to do Shot and Discus in college, and maybe the Hammer.
PTXC: What about post-season this year?
McClure: I'm going to be at adidas, and hopefully I can throw a little bit further to get an invitation to Golden West. That's what I'm really trying to shoot for.
Andrew Rademacher, Hickory, after his 15-9 Pole Vault win to repeat as Penn champion.
Rademacher told PennTrackXC that he was somewhat disappointed with his winning height, but that he was still getting used to vaulting outdoor after the perfect conditions offered by Indoor. However, with the near-perfect conditions, he felt there was no real reason for not doing as well as he feels he is capable. He feels he is definitely ahead of where he was at this time last year. (He won Penn in 2003 with a jump of 15-01.25.) He has been over 16' consistently, while last year he was still looking for his first success at that height, which he made in mid-June at the adidas meet.