THE DIFFERENCE A SECOND MAKES - CHS Runners Exciting Weekend At State Championship

(05/27/2009)
By Dan Cosgrove

It was an exciting weekend for Calhoun Track at Laidley Field in Charleston, an historic first for Calhoun High with runners going to the state track meet.

CHS runners included Nathan Cosgrove, Harold McCumbers, Zach Moore, Anna Sampson, and Dan Sims.

Cosgrove started things off, running in the preliminaries of the 100 meter dash Friday afternoon.

One of only two freshmen running in the race, his time of 12:18 was not quite fast enough to make it into Saturday's final.

The eventual winner of the 100 meter dash had a winning time of 11:67, just over a half of a second faster than Cosgrove.

Saturday saw all team members competing.

Anna Sampson started things off Saturday by running the 1600 meter race.

Sampson qualified during the regional's a week earlier with a time of 6:05.9.

She bettered her time in the state competition by almost 5 and ½ seconds with a time of 5:51.19 earning her a 10th place finish.

The boys competed in two relays on Saturday; the 4 x 100 meter and the 4 x 200 meter.

In the 4 x 100, they beat their regional time by over a second.

Their final time of 47.41 was only about 2 seconds off the time of the winners, 45.43.

In the 4 x 200, their 1:38.46 earned them a 10th place finish.

McCumbers, who had just run the two relays, had to quickly follow those races by running in the 800 meter run. He posted a time of 2:23.44.

A special note of gratitude goes to Head Coach Melinda Fitzwater, who in the first year of Calhoun having a track team was able to bring them to the state championships.

Fitzwater is the force behind all aspects of the team. Her dedication to providing this amazing opportunity to students is noteworthy and appreciated.

Her assistants, Coach Earnest Tingler and Tim Moore were beside her and the team, all the way.

The trio should be commended for their hard work.