Southeastern District track: Western Branch takes boys, girls crowns

CHESAPEAKE

Western Branch went into the final day of the Southeastern District on Saturday with a simple plan: Win but don’t work too hard. The Bruins followed the plan to perfection as both the boys and girls defended their district titles. 

The boys scored 166 points with Oscar Smith was second with 79 1/2 and Deep Creek was third with 65. The girls scored 206 1/2 followed by Grassfield (117) and Oscar Smith (80). 

“We have a lot of very good teams in the district,” said Western Branch head coach Claude Toukene. “But we wanted to score more points than anyone with the least amount of energy possible. We’re looking at the bigger picture.” 

Toukene was referring to next week’s Eastern Region and the Group AAA state meet in two weeks. And because of the Bruins’ depth, Toukene was able to hold most his top athletes to one or two events, except for sophomore distance runner Blake Theroux. He won the 1,600 (4:23.69), the 3,200 (10:05.84) and ran on the victorious 3,200 relay team. 

“We’re known for our sprinters but we wanted to show that we’re strong in the distance, too,” he said. “We want to prove we can run with those teams up north.” 

Theroux wasn’t the only distance runner to have a good day. George Matais won the 800 meters (1:59.72) and was fourth in the 3,200. Chris Werner was runner-up to Theroux in the 1,600 and placed fifth in the 3,200. 

The Bruins also victories from Tory Womack in the 200 (21.86), Kevin Newsome in the 110 hurdles (15.37), Jeffrey Artis in the 300 hurdles (38.58) and Randy Bolton in the triple jump (45-6). 

The girls were led by senior multi-event specialist Ermesha Fair who the triple jump (37-8), the high jump (5-4) and the 100 hurdles (15.42). Western Branch’s other championship came in the 3,200 meters where Natalie Wynn ran 11:51.46 for the victory. 

The Bruins also placed two or more athletes in seven of the 14 individual events, including taking the top four spots in the 100 hurdles. 

Deep Creek sophomore Piarrah Payne was huge for the Hornets. She won the 100 (12.42), 200 (25.41) and ran on the victorious 1,600 relay team. 

Grassfield freshman Amanda Smith ran the fastest 800 meters in the state this season. Smith won the race in a time of 2:13.47, which ranks her among the top 50 runners nationally. Westfield senior Tasia Potasinski had the best time going into the weekend at 2:13.50. 

On the boys side, Oscar Smith senior Frede Spellman won the shot put and discus. His winning throw of 60-5 in the shot is the best in the state this season and ranks him in the top 25 throwers nationally.

Larry Rubama, (757) 446-2273, larry.rubama@pilotonline.com