By By BRIAN HAINES, Brian@wdnweb.com, Sports Writer
Washington’s first indoor track and field season since the 1990s ended with three athletes making it to the state meet, and two of those athletes finishing in the top-10 of their respective events.
The Pam Pack sent Janell Griffin, Raheam Patterson and Kevin Chapman to the indoor NCHSAA state meet, which was held at the Reid Ross Sports Complex in Fayetteville and combined 1-A, 2-A and 3-A schools on Saturday, and got a great effort from all three athletes.
Senior Kevin Chapman placed second in the shot put with a throw of 46-feet, 1-inch, while Janell Griffin finished seventh in the 55-meter high hurdles. Raheam Patterson competed in the 300-meter dash and would have placed 11th had he not been disqualified for a lane violation.
“I’m really pleased with the way things turned out,” said Washington track and field coach Jon Blank. “This was our first season competing indoors in quite some time and I would say it was a successful season.”
Heading into the meet Chapman had been a little rusty but the WDN all-area defensive lineman was able to dig deep and pull out a good effort.
“He went out and got one good through and that’s the key; if you can get one good one you can separate yourself from the rest of the field and they have to play catch up to you,” Blank said.
Griffin, a junior, also shined bright on the big stage as she finished the 55-meter high hurdles with a time of 9.61.
“I was very proud of Janell,” Blank said. “She was one of the underclassmen that was there and she has really come the furthest this winter. For her to make it to the finals and place is a big confidence booster for her. Now she knows what to do to for the outdoor season.”
The Pack’s Patterson would have placed 11th, but his time was thrown out after he was flagged for a lane violation.
“When we left the meet we were under the impression that he was in 11th place out of the 20-something runners that were there,” Blank said. “We had a time for him but I guess he left his lane at some point in the race … I was surprised to find that out, I was very pleased with the way he ran the race.”
After a long layoff, Blank said he helped resurrect the indoor program with hopes that his team would hit the outdoor season running. After completing the indoor season, Blank said he felt his mission was accomplished.
“Absolutely,” Blank said. “Our veterans that ran, I think they are starting the season better than when they left last outdoor season. And the new kids that never ran before, they are starting this season five steps ahead of where they would normally start.”
The Pam Pack have already begun practice for the outdoor season this week and are schedule to compete in its first meet of the season on Feb. 28 at home against Hertford.