Archive for Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Walkers run to titles
Jonathan and Jeremy Walker lead Braves to second at Bobcat Classic
April 9, 2008
Jonathan and Jeremy Walker have been running together since they were 6 years old.
The twins grew up miles from where Maurice Greene used to run at Schlagle High School and now are making their own headlines in the sport of track and field at Bonner Springs High School.
On Friday at the Bobcat Relays, the pair were step for step in the 110-meter hurdles.
They were graceful in the way they took every hurdle and galloped to the next one.
They ran effortlessly as the field lagged behind them in the event.
Jonathan won the race with a time of 14.65 and Jeremy finished with 14.97 impressive times considering the weather hasn't heated up and athletes are still getting into track shape, coach Jim Mitchell said.
"It is just like me and him, then everybody else, we push each other to go faster," Jeremy said.
Their coach say the runners have a secret weapon.
"They have an extra gear that most people don't have," Mitchell said. "They are fast and can just move. It impresses me."
The two runners dominated most of their events at the Bobcat Invitational last week and combined to score 46 points in the meet in individual events.
The athletes led Bonner Springs to a second place finish in the meet with 127 points. Tonganoxie won the meet with 131 points.
"As well as we were doing, you hate to lose, but it was a good meet for us," Mitchell said. "We are early in the season and just trying to find places for people. By the time we get to the end of the season, people will be doing more events. Tonganoxie surprised us a bit. That will make us a nice horse race for league."
Jeremy Walker set a record in the 110-meter with a time of 10.3 seconds. He shattered the previous meet record and shaved one second off his preliminary time.
"That is faster than I thought I ran," Jeremy said. "I just try to go as fast as I can."
The time brings comparisons to what Greene ran in high school. Greene ran a 10.2 twice as a senior.
"That is just an exceptional time for a high school athlete," Mitchell said. "The sky is the limit for these guys. I am pleased with the progress so far, we put up good numbers, good marks for this early in the season. With good weather where we can push them, you can't push sprinters when it is this cold, good weather increase marks and have more good things coming."
Jeremy also won the long jump with a distance of 21-feet-4-inches.
Jonathan Walker placed second in the 200 with a time of 22.33. He narrowly lost to Dominique Banks of Turner High School who ran a time of 22.04.
Bonner Springs also had success in distance events.
James Carter placed third in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:08.32. Brooks Ballou won the 3,200 run with a time of 10:51.24.
Bonner springs won the 400-meter relay with a time of 43.69, which beat second place Tonganoxie by almost three seconds.
The team placed second in the 1,600-meter relay with a time of 3:38.31.
Bonner Springs won the 3,200-meter relay with a time of 8:52.82.
The team is earning accolades for its performances on the track this season. In a track and field honor roll released by the Topeka Capital-Journal on Wednesday, Jeremy Walker's ranks No. 3 in the 100-meters with a time of 10.86. The time did not include last week's meet.
Jonathan Walker was No. 1 in the state with a time of 22:57.
The pair were No. 2 and No. 3 in the 110-meter hurdles with Johnathan running 14.69 and Jeremy Walker running 14.71.
Bonner Springs 400 relay also is No. 1 with a time of 43.19.
Girls competition
Bonner Springs placed seventh in the girls competition with 24 points.
Amanda Trent placed third in 800-meter run with a time of 2:35.82. Erin Mills placed fifth in the 3,200 with a time of 14:19.85.
The Braves 1,600 relay team placed sixth with a time of 4:53.17.
Erica Smith placed fifth in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 17:46. She also ran the 300-meter hurdles in 55.14, but didn't place in the event.
Nikki Rittinghouse placed fifth in the shot put with a toss of 30-feet-9-inches.
Bridget Bradley placed second in the discus with a distance of 102-5. Meg Fowler placed fourth in the high jump by clearing 4-8.





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