OKLAHOMA CITY – The future looks brighter for El Reno High School's track program after solid performances from its freshman thinclads at the 2009 Suburban Conference Track and Field Championships.
The El Reno girls took third in the ninth-grade division with 68 points, while the boys placed fifth with 17 points.
“It's nice for those kids to have some success,” El Reno head coach Shawn Mason said. “They are going to be pretty good in the future. This group is our mainstay for the next few years. They are going to help build our program and this is good experience.”
The girls team got a strong effort in the individual events as Jentri Thompson took fourth place in the mile run with a time of 6:18.69. She led the first lap of the 800-meter dash before getting reeled in by the chase pack and finishing sixth with a time of 2:56.66.
Kesha Davis ran her way to fourth in the 100-meter dash with a time of 14.77 seconds, finishing just ahead of teammate Jordan Weaver. In the open quarter, Katy Durrough was third with a time of 1:11.71, while Sarah Guth placed sixth at 1:17.67.
El Reno was strong in the relays as well, with Durrough anchoring the 800-meter team to a second-place finish with a time of 2:02.62. She was joined by Shymecca Caldwell, Chyna Richey and Taira Ford. The same team took the silver in the spring relay with a time of 56.85 seconds.
The jewel of the relays was the 1,600-meter team of Caldwell, Ford, Davis and Kelsie Carlock, which took the gold with a time of 4:54.
Points for the boys squad were collected by two runners. Frankie Cometsevah won the two-mile run with a time of 11:25.93 – which would have placed him fifth on the varsity level. Cometsevah also ran the 1,600 meters in a time of 5:25.10, earning the bronze medal.
Dante Sanders ran with the lead pack in the 800-meter race, but fell off pace in the final 200 meters to take sixth with a time of 2:22.36. His mark was still only four seconds off the winning time.