Corey Smith is the first CB West field athlete in many, many years to qualify for the Indoor State Championships, as most years only about 20 athletes meet the demanding standards for field events. Coming in seeded 9th in the pole vault did not phase Smith in his first state championship appearance. Opening height was 12 feet. Smith came in at 13 feet and cleared easily on his first attempt - a good sign. He missed his first attempt at 13'6", but then cleared 13'6" and 14 feet, seemingly placing him 9th with 8 competitors having cleared 14'6" or yet to enter the competition. However, showing the difficulty of track and field's most complex event, the top seed in the event did not clear the bar in his three attempts at his opening height. Thus, Smith placed 8th overall and now has some bling to go with his grin. What is more, Smith has now set the bar high for future field event state championship hopefuls at Central Bucks West.
In the 4x800 meter relay, Eric Zoleski led off, tying his PR of 2:03.9 and handed off the stick in 9th place to fellow senior Ben Smith. Smith, after being on the doorstep of breaking two minutes at last spring's Suburban One League Championships and running 2:00.2 at last weekend's Meet of Champions, was poised to accomplish the feat for the very first time in his dedicated career. Not only did the senior pass three teams, but also broke 2:00, 1:59, and 1:58 as he dropped an incredible 3+ second PR en route to his 1:57.1 second leg. Junior Austin Kline also dropped an impressive three second PR (2:00.4) and passed another team, putting the Bucks in 4th as he passed the stick to senior Nico Metzler for the final 800. Metzler ran a gutsy anchor leg, passing some of the state's finest 800 meter runners, only to be repassed in the struggle. Metzler ran a 4 second indoor PR of 1:56.4 for a final time of 7:58.36. On the strength of 4 PRs and immeasurable guts, the 4x8 dropped 8+ seconds to earn their 5th place medals at the Pennsylvania State Championships.
Junior Greg Branch led off the 4x400 meter relay. In just his 3rd time in the event, Branch ran a blazing 23-point first lap to keep the Bucks out of trouble and in the thick of things. He handed off to Ben Smith, who on his monster double dropped a full second PR, splitting a 51.1 and brought the Bucks into contention to win their heat. Senior Nico Metzler took the baton for a 400 meter PR of 52.4, followed by Junior Austin Kline who anchored with a solid 52.4. The squad ran a season best by 3 seconds, placing 16th in Pennsylvania with a time of 3:28.28.
Congratulations to our athletes for continuing the program's tradition of excellence and collecting some State Championship medals to show for your selflessness and dedication! Bring on Spring!