Sandwich girls ready for tough track sectional

Updated: May 11, 2011 10:04PM

They’ve come a long way.

When girls on his team look at Thursday’s Ottawa Class 2A Sectional competition, Sandwich track coach coach Dusty Behringer doesn’t believe they will be intimidated.

“We’ve come a long way,” said Behringer, whose team last week won the Interstate Eight Conference title. “When I think back to when we moved up to Class AA (in the two-class system), we looked like that first Jamaican bobsled team at the Olympics. Now, we look like we belong.”

And make no mistake, it’s a tough sectional, even if it’s in the current three-class system.

“It’s virtually the same teams we had at last year’s Rochelle 2A Sectional, which had the most state qualifiers in 2A with good teams like Sycamore, Belvidere, Burlington Central, Hampshire and Yorkville,” said Behringer.

Senior Jordan Flowers, who will be bidding for her second trip to state, will likely lead the Indians’ effort. She is coming off a conference meet performance in which she tied the school record in winning the long jump (16-5.25), took seconds in both the high jump and 200-meter dash and ran a leg of the team’s second-place 400 relay that included Steff Tassone, Victoria DeFily and Melanie Tassone.

“Flowers had a big meet. She scored 34 points and made all-conference in all four events,” said Behringer.

She cleared 5-3 in the high jump at last year’s sectional but only made 4-10 last week.

“She hasn’t jumped her best yet this year. She’s been real frustrated with her high jumping this year, but at sectional, you need to do it just one time,” said the coach.

Her long jump tied the school mark set earlier this season by freshman Kaylyn Wedra, who was just three-fourths of an inch behind her at conference.

“Both of them have a chance to advance to state,” said Behringer, who thinks more than one of his relays will be in the hunt, too.

He said it’s possible he may shuffle the sprint relay lineups a bit, depending how things shake out in the seeding for individual events.

“We’ve got pretty good depth with our sprinters,” he said. “We may move some girls who have been focusing on the individual events into the relays.”

Wedra could be in that group. Other sprinters who figure to be in the mix include Ashley Jones, Kayla Phillips and Melissa Tassone, the sophomore twin of Melanie Tassone.

Phillips will be joined by Taylor Ciceraro, Ashly Gusman and Megan Olson in the 3200 relay.

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