By Eric Clutter Record-Courier correspondent Bill Govan has an added incentive to go back down to Dayton for a second consecutive opportunity in the 300-meter hurdles. After finishing fourth in the state in Division III with a time of 40.66 in that event, the Waterloo senior and the rest of the Viking boys moved up a tier to Division II and a different level of competition this spring. It is a lot better, said Govan, who participated in the 110 and 300 hurdles, the high jump and the 4x400-meter relay at the regionals as a junior. During Wednesdays first day of the Division II regional preliminaries at Ravenna Stadium, Govan held his own, qualifying for Fridays finals with a season-best performance of 40.32 in the 300. Govans best time is 39.9, set last season, and he is targeting an even lower time if he is going to advance past Friday. Ill have to get in the low 39s, he said, and if I do that Ill break the school record. As long as I break the record, thats all Im focusing on. The Vikings 4x400-meter relay team, featuring Govan, Joe Seymour, Josh Arner and Mike Kane, also made it to the finals, finishing in the eighth and last qualifying position with a time of 3:28.86. I felt good, but Id have to see my split first, said Govan, waiting on confirmation on whether the Vikings foursome had garnered a top-eight finish. I think we ran pretty well. There are some tough teams. Waterloo boys coach Greg Drugan said the mechanics of the 4x4 squad were up to par, and now it is just a matter of shaving a few precious seconds off Fridays time. Everything went well, we just need to get a little bit faster, he said. Our hand-offs thats one thing we work on thats usually where we make up some time against other teams. Were talking half-a-second a guy, thats two seconds. Thats where we need to be, and thats not out of the question. Two Southeast Pirates juniors Will Harner and Sean Cornell qualified in the shot put and the high jump, respectively. Harner threw the shot 48 feet, 11 inches, while Cornell cleared 6-2. Joining Govan in the 300 will be Field junior Zach Hoard, who advanced with a time of 40.86. Hoard also qualified in the 110 hurdles with an effort of 15.38. If he can get a good start, he has a chance, said Field boys and girls coach Bill Huntington. He cant play catch-up. Brad Sinick, a seventh-place finisher in the 3,200 at the state meet a year ago, ran a 10:01.0 to ensure a spot in Fridays finals, and also qualified in the 1,600 with a clocking of 4:32.36. Hes been our ace all season long, said Huntington. If healthy, I think he has an excellent chance to qualify (for state). Im not sure which one is easier to qualify in. Woodridges Tad Hoover also made the finals of the one-mile, with a time of 4:36.91. In terms of area girls, Fields Tracy Reschke was a stellar performer, qualifying in three events the 100 (15.83) and 300 (47.89) hurdles and the long jump (15-09.2). She has a good chance to take one or both of those (Friday), Huntington said of his talented junior, referring to the hurdle competitions. Shell have to run a good race, make no mistakes. She and Zach both got off to slow starts. You have to put things together, run error-free. Reschke jumped just under 16 feet, six inches in placing 10th at the state in 2002, and Huntington believes a similar showing will be needed to gain a return ticket to Dayton. Woodridges Katie Hughes advanced in two distance events, running an 11:56.8 in the 1,600 and a 2:23.7 in the 800.
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