Greencastle relay team places ninth at state finals

Friday, June 2, 2006

BLOOMINGTON -- They went into the final meet of the season seeded 13th, but came out with four medals as the Greencastle High School 400-meter relay team placed ninth at the Indiana High School Girls Track and Field State Finals on Friday.

"We were just pushing for good splits," relay runner Megan Clodfelter said following the race Friday on the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington. "We were hoping to get in the 48s.

"We were seeded 13th and now we're ninth. It's just amazing."

The Tiger Cubs ran in the second heat Friday and led nearly the entire race. Clodfelter got things going but sophomore Laura Weatherford blistered the pack on the second turn, handing off to Jamie Patterson. Dee Wood closed out the race for the Tiger Cubs in the anchor position.

Greencastle managed to stay in the lead until the end of the heat to finish with a time of 48.84, setting yet another school record.

"I'm excited. I'm elated," GHS Coach Garry Anderson said. "This is a good crew and they are all back next year."

Weatherford said the key to Friday's race was handoffs, something the foursome has had some problems with this year. However, the handoffs worked well Friday.

"They were clicking," Weatherford said.

Patterson, only a sophomore, said she's ready for next year.

"This feels amazing," she said. "Next year, I want to go even further."

Wood echoed Patterson's sentiments.

"It's pretty amazing," Wood said, "considering I'm only a freshman."

Anderson said he thought the team had the talent to advance to the state finals and finishing ninth was icing on the cake.

"Our goal was to get to state finals," he said. "Here we are ninth. The hard work has paid off.

"We had improvement. But we still have room to improve."

Patterson and Greencastle senior Kristen Ness also represented the Tiger Cubs in other events on Friday.

Ness placed 24th overall in the shot put with a toss of 36-1 1/4.

Greencastle throwing coach Bob Whitlow said things just didn't go Ness' way Friday.

"It just didn't fire," Whitlow said. "You hate to have (days like this) here. She's had real good practices. She worked hard. She did the best she could."

Patterson also competed in the 200-meter dash. Running in the third heat, she finished the day with the 27th best time at 27.08.

"She gave the best she had," Anderson said of Patterson's run. "Those times are fantastic. This is a good experience for her. She has such a big heart and she's a tough competitor."

Patterson said she gained a lot of experience running the race on Friday.

"There was a lot more competition here than anywhere else this season," she said.

At Bloomington

IHSAA Girls Track and Field State Finals

400 meter relay -- Warren Central 46.72; Ben Davis 47.35; Bishop Chatard 48.04; Pike 48.09; Michigan City 48.13; Lawrence Central 48.24; Warsaw Community 48.69; Elkhart Central 48.73; Greencastle (Clodfelter, Weatherford, Patterson, Wood) 48.84; Fort Wayne Snider 48.89

Shot Put -- 24. Ness (GHS) 36-0 1/4

200 -- 27. Patterson (GHS) 27.08.

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