The runner to her outside stumbled out the start and in a blink Columbus junior Whitney Fountain devoured her.Then she tore down the back straightaway like a bullet and commanded the homestretch for herself. She grit her teeth for every hundredth of a second she would shave off her personal best.
She crossed the finish convincingly alone, as if the field didn’t include some of the best sprinters around. Fountain won the 200 meters in a dominant fashion, finishing in 23.77 seconds, the fastest time in the country this season. Her time also set a New York State junior class record.
“I just wanted to run my own race, focus on myself and blaze,” she said.
And Fountain did blaze the track, also taking the meet record with her. She entered a new level of sprint class once she ran 23.99 in the trial heats.
“I finally ran 23,” she said. “Now I feel like I can run with the big dawgs.”
Fountain is one of the best sprinters/jumpers in the country but slips under the radar because she doesn’t attend many top invitational competitions. She also leads the country in the 300 after clocking 38.22 at the PSAL Bronx Borough Championships Feb. 15. Tuesday provided her biggest audience this season. She provided the show.
“I’m a crowd’s person,” Fountain said. “Even if they’re screaming for somebody else it still gets me hyped.”
The distance medley relay proved almost as remarkable. Chelsea Cox, Michele Simmons, Erin Horleman and Jillian Smith won in a meet record 11:48.61 for Southern Regional (N.J.), the nation-leading time this season. The team came into the race looking to secure a solid time for entry into the Penn Relays in April but it looked gray on the leadoff leg when Cox started to fall apart with 150 left. Cox said wasn’t feeling well and she grabbed her stomach grimacing once she passed the baton in fourth.
Simmons and Horleman kept the team in the race until Smith took over in second place, but 50 meters behind. Smith took off like a rocket and chewed down the lead in two laps, taking the lead 500 meters into her 1,600 anchor leg. It looked like Smith might falter, after running an aggressive 2:16 for her first four laps then constantly looking over her shoulder for Shenendehowa’s Lizzie Predmore, who never let Smith pull away.
“I know I shouldn’t do it,” Smith said. “But I like to know where my competition is. I never know where anybody is. It helps me if I know where they are.”
Kate Bergin, Horleman, Cox and Smith returned about an hour later to win the 4x800. Cox seemed to shake whatever ailed her earlier and the team dominated in 9:13.30, more than 10 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher.
“We just had our state meet so the last few weeks we’ve been quadrupling,” Smith said. “It’s nice to come in and run two fast races and get out of here.”
The 800 became one of the most exciting races of the night. Ariann Neutts of Roxbury held off Voorhees senior Melanie Thompson to win in 2:13.49. Thompson was second in 2:14.21. Leah Wightman of Chatham led the race through the first 400 with Neutts fourth and Thompson behind her until Neutts started to move up on the third lap with Thompson in tow.
But when 150 left, Thompson made a charge for the front that woke Neutts. They both started a frantic kick where Neutts knew she needed to keep Thompson at bay at least heading into the last curve.
“I never even felt her coming,” Neutts said. “In a race you never know. I didn’t know if she would have another kick coming off the turn. I just tried to hold on.”
Thompson couldn’t hold the surge and Neutts ran her wide off the last turn for the win.
“I felt good today,” she said. “A lot better than I’ve been feeling,”
Suffern’s Jen Clayton won the long jump in 19-5 and finished third in the 200 in 24.74. Dominique Booker of Immaculate Conception finished second in the 200 in 24.66 but won the 55 in 7.01. Colonie freshman Kyle Plant had an inspiring night, winning the 55 hurdles in 8.20 and then just missing a win in the 400, placing second in 55.44.
Reach Christopher Hunt at chunt@armorytrack.com.
By Christopher Hunt
The runner to her outside stumbled out the start and in a blink Columbus junior Whitney Fountain devoured her.Then she tore down the back straightaway like a bullet and commanded the homestretch for herself. She grit her teeth for every hundredth of a second she would shave off her personal best.
Kate Bergin, Horleman, Cox and Smith returned about an hour later to win the 4x800. Cox seemed to shake whatever ailed her earlier and the team dominated in 9:13.30, more than 10 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher.
By Christopher Hunt