Wasps, Terriers win D-III crowns

Track meet at Chester.
http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20130602/SPORTS02/706029921

Published June 2, 2013 in the Rutland Herald Wasps, Terriers win D-III crowns By POODY WALSH Correspondent CHESTER — Woodstock sophomore pole vaulter Kathryn Bassette passed up a chance to set a state record in order to set her sights on a higher goal. Bassette, who passed the event until the 9-foot mark, then made three successful jumps that gave her first place in the event during the Division III state track meet Saturday at Green Mountain Union High School. After eliminating the competition at the 9-foot, 6-inch level Bassette could have chosen to try a vault at 10-foot-3 which would have eclipsed the state record of 10-foot-1. Instead she chose to go for the 10-foot-6 mark, “In order to get ready for the New Englands,” she said. Her first two vaults at that level were not her best, but her third attempt was real close, knocking the bar off after barely giving it a nudge. “I would have made 10-foot-3 on that last leap,” she said. There were three state records set on a blistering hot day that saw Woodstock win the girls crown for the fourth consecutive year and Bellows Falls the boys title. State records were set in the girls 200 meters, boys 200 and the boys 300-meter hurdles. Hannah Merriam of Peoples set the mark in the 200 meters for girls with a time of 26.0; Oxbow’s William Heathman broke his own record of a year ago of 22:55 in the boys 200 with a 22.53 and T. J. Bernier of Bellows Falls set a new mark with a 41.47 in the 300-meter hurdles. The Bellows Falls boys made their most noise in the distance events. The Terriers of Jamie Moore, Willie Moore and Collin Johnson finished 1-2-3 in the 3000 meters after which coach Tim Eno said, “That was good because we may need those points for later events.” Junior Jamie Moorer was the winner in three events as he also won the 800 and 1500. Brother Willie, who also finished third in the 1500, ran with a broken wrist, taking up track for the spring season after breaking the wrist playing baseball. Bernier, in addition to setting the state record in the 300 hurdles, also won the 100-meter hurdles and was second in the discus. It was a big day for Bassette, who not only won the pole vault, but was second in the both hurdle events and the long jump. Teammate Carmen Bango, just a freshman, won the 400, 800 and 1,500. Elizabeth Bassett, the senior sister of Kathryn, was on her fourth state championship team and made her contribution by winning the long jump and triple jump. While Bellows Falls finished second to Woodstock in the girls meet, Terrier Enny Mustapha had a big day with firsts in the shot and javelin and a second in the discus. Thetford’s Ian Weider was a key factor in his team’s second place in the boys meet winning the long jump, 100 and second in the 200. Terrier David Dunbar, after placing second in long jump, won the high jump with a leap of 6-foot-2. There was a fear all day of a thunderstorm as officials thought the heavy rains would come as early as 2 p.m. “That’s my biggest fear,” said meet director Jonathan Rice. Meanwhile, VPA representative Burns Page was trying to figure out when the meet would be completed if the rains came. “Maybe Tuesday,” he said, but was quick to recall that when the meet got rained out last year it was never completed until the following Wednesday. While the winds picked up the skies never darkened. This was the first year the Divisions III and IV were not combined, the D-IV meet being held on Friday. So instead of having to deal with 550 athletes the numbers were cut in half. Rice said that certainly contributed to the quickness of the meet which concluded at 4:15, two hours earlier than other years. Page said the one thing he was impressed with at the meet was the way the competitors support one another. “You don’t always see that at other meets,” he said. One of the more impressive performances was the Woodstock 4x800 meter relay team of Luke Dupuis, Anthony Bald, Dylan Stuntz and Harry Linowski. which won its event by nearly 12 seconds. Bango, the Woodstock ninth grader, won the 1500 meters by 17 seconds and the 800 meters by 10 seconds. Team totals - Boys - Bellows Falls 161, Thetford 91, Lake Region 63, Woodstock 60, Randolph 39, Enosburg 38, Oxbow 33, Hazen 33, Springfield 18, Peoples 17, Mill River 5. Girls - Woodstock 177, Bellows Falls 112, Lake Region 93, Thetford 40, Peoples 38, Springfield 27, Randolph 23, Enosburg Falls 18, Oxbow 17, Mill River 7, Hazen 3, BFA-Fairfax 2.