WIld cards, help from an alum, and more.
Wild-card for Hawkins in 200? Phillipsburg sophomore Sydney Hawkins ran 25.28 seconds in the 200-meter dash Saturday afternoon, off her best of 24.93 and good for ninth place in the event run as finals on time from three sections. Hawkins was sixth in the final section, but two girls from the second section wound up second and third behind Williamstown senior Bria Mack’s winning 24.62 time. Hawkins may well get a wild-card Meet of Champions entry, but Phillipsburg head coach Rich Kiley said she may choose to concentrate on the 100-meter dash there.
Helping hand. Phillipsburg senior John Martin will go into the Meet of Champions with some expert advice in the 110-meter high hurdles, (2014 Group 4 110’s state champ) Kiyair Lambert has been working with me and he’s really helped to push me and make me run faster,” said Martin of Lambert, the 2014 lehighvalleylive Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year now attending Delaware State. “It’s fun to run alongside him.” Martin finished fourth Saturday in Group 4's 110's in 14.58 seconds.
Skyland sweep. The Skyland Conference strengthened its claim to be the top track and field conference in the state when the Group 4 team titles went to Franklin boys and Ridge girls. Franklin overcame East Orange Campus, home of hurdler extraordinaire Cory Poole, 71-67 and Ridge topped Kingsway 52-41 for its first outdoor team title.
What a race. The 1,600 boys relay in Group 4 saw three teams – East Orange, Egg Harbor and Franklin – run under 3:13.50, going 3:13.05, 3:13.08 and 3:13.47, respectively. Super-wow. Sign us up for the rematch at Meet of Champions!
Reminder: Meet of Champs is SATURDAY! The meet moves to Northern Burlington and moves from its usual Wednesday to a 2 p.m. Saturday start.
Brad Wilson may be reached at bwilson@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @bradwsports. Find Lehigh Valley high school sports on Facebook.