Harding’s?800 relay sets district record
By DAVID BAUGH Tribune Chronicle correspondentAUSTINTOWN - As solid as Warren G. Harding's track and field program has been this year, you won't hear talk of any satisfaction coming from their direction - even as they continue to break district records.
On Wednesday, the 400-meter relay team broke a 28-year-old record.
On Friday, it was time for the 800 relay team of DeAver Williamson, Marvin Logan, Joe Threats and Mitchell Seawood to make history. That foursome finished with a time of 1 minute 27.65 seconds, eclipsing the record of 1:28.5 set by Alliance in 1977.
Williamson, who also won district titles in the open 100 and 200, expects his team to run with their all every race. Even with this week being a great example of his team doing that, he expects his team to do even more.
"The records are nice to have, but that's not what motivates us," he said. "We've done well, but I don't think that we've ran our best race yet. We just want to continue to work hard and get better."
Seawood and Logan have been down similar paths in their careers. Both suffered season ending injuries last year, but they didn't let that stop them from achieving their goals this year. Seawood, who accepted a track scholarship to Kent State University, won the 110 hurdles.
"Winning a district title is a blessing," Seawood said. "Last year was rough, but sometimes you have to be able to overcome those kind of obstacles. Fortunately, my hard work paid off."
Logan, who took the district crown in the 300 hurdles, echoes Seawood's thoughts. He (Logan) is excited about the opportunity to move on to the regional meet.
"Last year hurt," Logan said. "Nobody wants to sit on the side and watch their teammates without being able to help them compete. I want to help my team win a state title, and I can't do that by sitting out."
Overall, Harding's boys finished in third place with 114 points.
On the girls' side, Howland's Nicole Pachol showed no signs of slowing down as she won district titles in the 110 and 300 hurdles. She also helped their 1,600 relay team to qualify for the regional meet. As impressive as she's been running the hurdles, she takes the same pride in leading her teammates in the relays.
"I feel great," she said. "We've all worked very hard this year, and it's good to know that we'll be running again next week. The relays are important to me because I wanted to be able to experience next week's meet with my teammates."
Howland's girls coach Dan Libert is pleased with the leadership that his senior standout has shown this year.
"She's unbelievable," he said. "She's a great competitor, but she has been an even better teammate. She does everything asked of her, and our younger athletes follow her lead. We're much better because of that."
