Published: April 08, 2008 02:03 pm            

Westwood finishes 2nd

By SALLY SEXTON

H-P Sports Writer



At the end of the first day of the District 19-3A track and field meet, Westwood trailed leading Fairfield by 43 points.

After the disqualification of Westwood’s 400-meter relay team on Saturday, the Panthers knew they were at an even bigger disadvantage, and it proved to be just enough as Westwood fell short of winning the meet and finished second 26 points behind the Eagles Monday.

“We had a comeback scenario planned after Thursday, but it included getting points from our sprint relay team,” Westwood head coach Steven Skinner said. “We did the best we could to make a comeback, and the points were there.

“It was a tremendous effort by the guys.”

The Panthers got several points from the duo of Cameron Shead and Cale Brooks, who finished first and second, respectively, in the 110-meter hurdles.

Shead won with a time of 15.61 seconds and Brooks had a time of 16.36.

Brooks also won the 300 hurdles with 40.26 and Shead came in second with 41.80.

In the sprint races, Gralyn Crawford came in second in the 400 with a time of 50.73 and Bruce Smith finished second in the 200 with a 23.56 time.

A surprise for Westwood came in the 800 relay. Despite racing with two alternates, the Panthers took second with a time of 1:33.18.

“We had to switch some things around in the 800, and the fact that they came in second makes it a tremendous accomplishment for them,” Skinner said. “I’m extremely happy with the way we ran and I have no complaints with my kids.

“I couldn’t be prouder.”

Marvin Warren also advanced to regionals by finishing third in the 100 with a time of 11:01.

Westwood’s 1600 relay team of Shead, Ryan Mackie, Brooks and Crawford finished a close second to advance with a time of 3:28.

The girls team struggled to overcome its youth, and though no other runners advanced to regionals, head coach Mike Holder was none the less pleased with his team’s performance.

“We’re real young, but it was good to see them compete,” Holder said. “We’re mostly freshmen and sophomores, and we’ve got a little work to do before we get to that next level.”

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Sally Sexton can be reached via e-mail at sports2@palestineherald.com

        

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