Pictured (L-R) Cosgrove, Hanshaw, Liviak and Bedree
Submitted by Dan Cosgrove
Mark Bedree, Nathan Cosgrove, Zachary Hanshaw, and Cameron Litviak finished in the medal round, taking 4th place in the 4 x 100 meter relay at the 2011 Track and Field State Championship Meet, Saturday at Laidley Field in Charleston.
The top six finishers (teams or individuals) receive medals.
Calhoun came into the meet ranked 11th in the state for single 'A' teams. Sixteen teams competed at the state level, with 8 teams running in two heats.
Calhoun led their heat from start to finish, crossing the finish line a good 10 yards in front of the other teams. Their time of 46.13 seconds put them in a good position. All Calhoun could do was wait, and watch the second heat with the state's powerhouse teams.
The race was fast and the first 3 teams were neck-to-neck as they crossed the line, the other 5 teams were not far behind.
Calhoun coaches looked grim as they looked at their stop watches. The Calhoun contingent of coaches, athletes and parents were pretty quiet waiting for the results. When it came, smiles broke out everywhere.
Doddridge beat favorite Williamstown for first place. Valley (Wetzel) took 3rd, while Calhoun beat 7 teams ranked higher coming into the finals and took 4th place. In fact, the top 4 teams (including Calhoun) were within a second of each other.
In the 4 x 200 meter race, a nagging hamstring by one of the runners was the probable reason for the team's 9th place finished. They were ranked 5th coming into the state competition.
Cameron Litviak also ran in the 100 meter dash. He was ranked 16th in the state coming into the meet.
The road to the state championships starts at 4 regional meets around the state.
Sixty-five runners competed in the 100 meter dash. In addition to the top three runners from each region going to the states, the next 4 fastest runners, anywhere in the state, also get to compete.
Although Litviak made it to the state's championship, he had to run in a preliminary race Friday night. Only the top 8 finishers would compete in the finals on Saturday. Cameron streaked down the track getting his personal best record of 11.76 seconds, and qualified for Saturday's Final.
Litviak finished just out of the medals on Saturday in 7th place, an amazing feat. This is his second year running for Calhoun. Both Litviak and Cosgrove will be back next year. Bedree and Hanshaw are both seniors and will be missed by the entire track team.
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