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Brookfield sprinters looking to Columbus

BROOKFIELD – Seniors Kasey Tingler, Andrew Varga and Marc Kraml, and junior Xavier Bailey remember the moment at Fairless High School quite well.

The yellow baton hit the track on the exchange between the third and fourth legs of the 4×200-meter relay, which forced the Brookfield runners out of the exchange zone and resulted in a disqualification during a Division III regional semifinal heat.

“That’s a bad way to end any season,” Brookfield boys track coach John DeSantis said. “I think all four of those guys had that coming into their mind coming into this season. I think they’re using that as motivation.”

The Brookfield grouping is responding well with a 1:35.3 clocking in the 4×200 during Tuesday’s quad meet with Cardinal Mooney, Campbell and LaBrae. The mark is just shy of the school mark of 1:34.0.

The 4×100 relay school record is 43.8. Brookfield ran 45.2 on Tuesday.

What’s the key for the Warriors speed in both relays?

“We just work real hard at what we do,” Tinler said. “We’re getting rewarded for it.”

Bailey, the anchor for both relays, is benefitting from some great work during the indoor season. He placed seventh in the 60 and 200 dashes during the Ohio Association of Track and Cross Country Coaches state meet in Akron.

“This was our first year doing indoor track in a long time,” DeSantis said. “I think it helped him staying in shape, staying crisp and working on his starts and things like that. That’s going to help him in all the events he does.”

Bailey, who said he’s seeing the benefits of the early competition, runs the open 100 and 200 as well. He broke the school record in the 100 Tuesday with a 10.7. The previous record was set by Lou Scudere in 2001, 10.8.

“Helped me a lot,” Bailey said. “Kept me in shape. Have me do stuff in the winter to keep me going. It was a great experience with state and everything.”

Thinking of the state meet in early June isn’t just for the relays, but for Tingler as well. He went 21 feet, 3 1/2 inches during the April 2 Tiger Invitational in Newton Falls to put himself closer to the school record of 21-8 set by Leon Lewis is 1989.

“Thank God for the wind,” said Tingler, who will play football at Mount Union University next season. “It was real windy. The push gave me a couple more inches.”

Tingler went 21-2 on Tuesday. He said keeping limber by stretching in the colder weather has kept him injury free.

“That’s the biggest thing, stretch,” Tingler said. “It’s cold out, strain your muscles. Just stretching a lot. I have to thank my coach, coach (Adam) Hughes from Mathews. He’s taught me a lot, helped me.”

DeSantis said the 4×100 and 4×200 are helped by Varga, the “hardest worker on our team;” and Kraml, who “brings the spirit to the team and probably the hardest competitor we have.”

Tingler, Varga, Kraml and Bailey are the order this year, a change up from last year’s order.

“We’ve been working on those exchanges and keeping the baton moving, staying patient,” DeSantis said. “That’s going to pay off in the end for us.”

All these four Brookfield athletes want to do is erase the memory of the regional semifinal disaster and etch something else in their minds.

“We’re pushing ourselves every day, practicing every day,” Bailey said. “We want to go to Columbus.”

So far, the Warriors are off to a good start.

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