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McDowall, Erdman, Cole in state finals Three Empire seniors advance to today's championship round By ERIC BRANCH THE PRESS DEMOCRAT SACRAMENTO -- No state champions are crowned on the first day of the CIF State Track and Field Championships. But that doesn't mean there isn't plenty of drama. Consider, for example, the case of St. Helena's Brian Cole at the state prelims Friday at Sacramento City College. Cole, a senior running in the first heat of the 1,600 meters, finished his race, watched the second and final heat, then spent the next 30 minutes wondering if his high school career was over. Nine runners advanced to today's finals. Based on his time, Cole figured he might be ninth. Or 10th, the place he finished last year when he missed the finals by a whisker. The 1,600 isn't easy. But for Cole, whose stated goal this season was to reach the state finals, the waiting was the hardest part Friday. "It was," he said, "a little nerve-racking." The wait was worth it. Cole finished ninth in 4:14.00. Milken Community's Adam Cunningham was 10th in 4:14.07. "It shows you that you have to fight through the finish line," Cole said. "You have to fight for every second. Every hundredth of a second. Because you never know." Cole's dramatic wait headlined a day which saw just two other Empire athletes -- Montgomery's Blake McDowall (800 meters) and Healdsburg's Daniel Erdman (shot put) -- reach today's nine-person finals. Six Empire athletes failed to advance out of the prelims. Three Empire runners -- Casa Grande's Jacque Taylor, El Molino's Brittny Escamilla and Petaluma's Sterling Lockert -- are in today's finals of the 3,200 meters, which doesn't have a preliminary heat. McDowall, a senior seeded fifth in the 800, survived a scare and finished eighth in 1:54.43. McDowall, who began running the 800 meters a month ago, watched as his first lap featured a blistering pace he wasn't prepared for. Fearing he might fall apart in the final 400 meters, McDowall throttled back and hoped to qualify. "I didn't kick at 300 (meters). I didn't do anything," McDowall said. "I was too tired -- I was just trying to hold on." Erdman, a senior seeded fifth in the shot put, qualified seventh with a toss of 57 feet, 3 inches, more than 2 feet removed from his personal best. Erdman, who finished ninth at the state meet in Cerritos last year, said he was slightly unnerved by the crowd and the firing of the starting gun, which was near the shot put pit. "I'm usually pretty good about staying focused," Erdman said. "But today it wasn't happening." Empire athletes failing to reach the finals included Cardinal Newman's Austin Davis (discus, 23rd), Maria Carrillo's Leanne Fogg (1,600, 19th), Sonoma's Brian Martinelli (high jump, no height), Montgomery's Corrine Rich (shot put, 18th), Maria Carrillo's Kristen Sanzari (800, 15th) and Santa Rosa's Maurice Whitlock (100, 19th). You can reach Staff Writer Eric Branch at 521-5268 or eric.branch@pressdemocrat.com
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