Falcons-Raiders in track slugfest
CONNELLSVILLE – Both coaching staffs had Thursday’s Section 2-AAA track meet between Uniontown and Connellsville close on paper with a couple events questioned to swing either way. The Falcons (2-0, 3-2) answered the questions, winning the close meet with ease on the score sheet, 881/2-661/2, though it was a battle tougher than the final count would indicate.
The staffs of Uniontown’s Joe Everhart and Connellsville’s Jeff Galand did agree the sprints would be one of the deciding factors in the meet, and both were right down to the wire.
The 100-meter dash had five runners cross the finish line abreast in a dead heat with Connellsville’s Rich Hair getting the nod for first. To prove that sprint was no fluke, Hair was again the man on the spot at the finish line in the 400 relay, sprinting from behind in the final 20 meters to earn a split of the five points.
“We thought we’d get more points in the sprints. Connellsville ran well. It was really close in the 100 and the 400 relay was close,” Uniontown boys coach Joe Everhart said. The point breakdown bears Everhart out with Connellsville taking 121/2 points in the 100, 200 and sprint relay while Uniontown mustered 101/2.
One area that didn’t disappoint either coach was the performance of the Connellsville distance runners. The Falcon crew of Kenny King, Pat Mullaney, Brad Showman and Nick Bailey were at the top of their game by taking all three places in the 1,600 and 3,200. Mullaney and Showman joined Shane Kovack and Kris Oswald to take the 3,200 relay with ease.
The trio of King, Showman and Bailey ran side-by-side for nearly all of the eight laps of the 3,200 until King bolted at the end to edge the other two. King’s only competition in the 1,600 came from Mullaney with the sophomore edging his elder by two seconds. Mullaney then came back with first place point of his own by running a 2:01 in the 800.
Frank Kolarik had a part of 121/2 Falcon points by easily winning the 110 high hurdles (17.7) and 300 intermediate hurdles (40.6) in addition to running the second leg of the 400 relay. The senior was pleased with his performance, noting one eye of his attention wanders off into the future.
“I’m real happy with my runs in the hurdles. I wish someone would push me in the 300 intermediate hurdles. I’m satisfied. I’m getting ready for Laurel Highlands,” Kolarik said. “It’s hard to keep focused, but I have to stay focused. I want to help carry this team.
“I want to be a leader. I try to get my 10 points. I have a little cockiness, and I have a little doubt.”
The jumps were decidedly in the favor of Uniontown and the Red Raiders didn’t disappoint Everhart in this area. Walter Richardson won the triple and long jumps, and Quintell Dean finished first in the high jump to lead Uniontown (1-1, 2-1) to 24 out of a possible 27 points.
“We thought we’d get points in the jumps. We knew they were very strong in the distances, but I’m disappointed we didn’t get many points. Connellsville was very tough and they showed it,” Everhart said.
The Red Raiders did very well in the throws as well, winning the shot put and javelin. Adam Muzika’s throw of 47-feet won the shot put.
“I had PRs (personal bests) in both the shot put and discus. We want to do our job and beat their throwers. That’s what’s asked of us,” Muzika said. “(Throwing coach Tim) Tatar asks us to do our best.”
Connellsville coach Jeff Galand lauded the efforts of the opposition and heaped praise to those who don’t appear on the sheets but often win the meets, the second and third place finishers.
“Uniontown has an excellent group of athletes. We knew it would be close. We fought for those second and third places. We squeaked a few points out of the jumps. Clearly, the sprinters had an excellent day. The distance runners had an excellent meet. We expect that out of them,” Galand said.