Low-tech edition (About)
Running Home | Weather Forecast | What is Redwood Empire
Track All-Time | Cross Country All-Time
Schedule | Archives | Links
Petaluma continues track dominance Trojans boys, girls win team titles, but Fountain steals show with third straight crown in 100 Published: Saturday, May 16, 2009 Healdsburg senior Dante Fountain became the first Sonoma County League boy to win three consecutive championships in the 100 meters, and the Petaluma boys’ and girls’ teams continued to dominate at the Sonoma County League Track and Field Championships on Saturday at Petaluma High. Led by distance-runner extraordinaire Sterling Lockert, the Petaluma boys won their third straight SCL crown, beating runner-up Healdsburg, 185-106. The Petaluma girls, headlined by wins in the 200 and 400 meters from Kelsey Dunbar, beat second-place Casa Grande, 146-92, for their second straight league crown. Fountain, an all-league wide receiver who is one of the Empire’s top athletes, won the 100 meters in 10.94 seconds, won the 200 meters in 22.04 seconds and won the long jump with a leap of 21 feet, 9 inches. Impressive? Fountain tried the long jump in competition for the first time last week. His 21-9 performance on Saturday — in his second crack at the event — ranks second in the Empire this season. But it was the 100 meters that tested Fountain’s nerves. In his quest to win a record three straight SCL crowns, Fountain was matched against Petaluma junior Sean Sullivan. Sullivan was a formidable foe who had a faster time in the preliminaries and a faster time this season, his best of 10.85 seconds topping Fountain by .08 of a second. Sullivan finished second in 11.13 seconds. “He’s the fastest guy I’ve seen around here in awhile,” Fountain said. “It was definitely the most nervous I’ve been before a race in the last two years. I knew if anyone was going to beat me, it was going to be him.” Another three-event winner was Lockert, a two-time state qualifier who upped his haul of SCL individual track titles to 11 with victories in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 meters. Lockert, who will run at Loyola Marymount this fall, credited Petaluma coach Jim Lynch’s training regimen for the extra spring in his step. “(Lynch) just does a phenomenal job,” Lockert said. “All week my legs had been really heavy, but today they had a lot of snap and zip. They just felt great. I know all I have to do is make sure I bring the mental game because coach is going to have us ready physically.” On the girls side, Healdsburg junior Claire Bingham won the 100-meter hurdles, the 300 hurdles and the 100 meters. Bingham lowered her Empire-best time in the 100 hurdles by .51 of a second, winning in 15.33 seconds. Casa Grande junior Jacque Taylor, another two-time state qualifier, won the 1,600 and 3,200.
|
Email story | Print story | Subscribe to paper
|
Get home delivery of The Press Democrat -- the North Bay's news source.