Sherman sets records

INDOOR TRACK

By: Tim Falls
   As good as it was, Ken Sherman’s performance at the Mercer County Indoor Track Championships at the John Bennett Indoor Track Facility Sunday came as no surprise.
   "It was a very solid performance," said Lawrence coach Dave O’Neal, "but that’s nothing out of the ordinary for him."
   Sherman set two Lawrence High School records and raced to a fourth-place finish for the Cardinals in the 55-meter dash.
   Sherman sprinted to the finish in 6.69 seconds in the dash and broke the Cardinal record in the event.
   "He’s got good natural speed," said O’Neal. "He’s tied the record with hand timing, but it was fastest fully automated time in the school’s history."
   Because of the accuracy involved automated timing is more reliable than hand timing, which depends on the reaction of an official with a stopwatch.
   Sherman just missed making the final of the 200, but still set a Lawrence record with a 23.68 finish in the event.
   "Ken had one of his best meets," said O’Neal.
   Sherman also joined Pat McDowell, Andrew Santora and Chandel Fuqua in lowering their record in the 4×400 relay. The Lawrence relay team finished fourth in 3:32.73.
   "The bettered their school record by four seconds," said O’Neal. "They all hit solid times at the same time. It wasn’t one break out run by one of them. They all had solid runs which led to the improvement."
   Justin Flame claimed sixth, matching his finish from the previous year, with a throw of 44-0.5 in the shot put.
   "Last year he was sixth with a throw of 40-6," said O’Neal. "In order to maintain his position, he had to improve a lot."
   The Lawrence boys claimed 11th in the team competition with nine points.
   The Cardinal girls fared slightly better and tied Robbinsville for 10th with 10 points.
   Danae Lendor led Lawrence with a third-place finish in the 55 hurdles. Lendor finished in 8.87.
   "She’s been hand timed at nine seconds," said O’Neal. "8.87 in automatic timing is so much faster."
   Tara Gillins finished fourth for the Cardinals in the 55 dash. Gillins sprinted through the finish line in 7.67 seconds.
   "Tara had a great race in the 55," said O’Neal, "and one of her best meets of her career."
   While Gillins and Lendor were Lawrence ‘s only top six finishers, the Cardinals came close in several events.
   "The girls’ relay just missed," said O’Neal, adding that Lendor had to come out of the event because she felt ill.
   O’Neal cited Kelly Watson’s efforts at the Mercer County Championship, especially stepping up as anchor in the 4×400 relay in Lendor’s place.
   While Watson did not make the top six in her events, she came close with several top times.
   "Kelly Watson moved into Danae’s anchor leg and dropped 2.5 seconds off her split," said O’Neal. "That’s after the 800 where she just missed medaling. She finished seventh but ran her personal record by three seconds."
   Unfortunately for Lawrence , that was typical of the county championships. Despite several top performances, the Cardinals just missed out on making the top six. O’Neal gave Watson credit for her hard work.
   "She had, without a doubt, the biggest meet," said O’Neal. "Her improvement was significant in both events."
   Lawrence may have been expecting better in the team scoring than a tie for 10th for the girls and an 11th-place finish for the boys, but the Cardinals missed out on points by just missing the top six.
   "There were places where they missed by half a second or a few inches and just missed those points," said O’Neal. "A fraction of a second or another inch and they could have doubled their place. It wasn’t from a lack of effort. They competed to the best of their abilities."