The Ypsilanti Courier
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Strong team looking ahead
Experience could hold the key for the success of the Lady Rails team
By Tom Perkins, Special Writer
PUBLISHED: April 3, 2008
The team for 2008 Lincoln girls' track is young but expectations are high.
Advertisement
Last year, the Rails sent six girls to the state meet and with the bulk of the team back, head coach Chaba Kovack believes his girls can compete with just about anyone in the always tough Southeastern Conference.
With only two seniors on this year's roster, it will be no small feat to run with the top schools, but the Railsplitters face a situation much like last season in which they did just that.
"We had a real young team last year and we still have a really young team this year," he said.
"If we stay healthy and work hard and get to our potential, then we could have a pretty darn good year. We're not going to get run over by anyone, and we're in a very tough league."
After a season that saw two girls taken away from meets by ambulance and a couple broken legs, staying healthy is especially high on the Splitters' "to do" list for 2008.
Six girls went to the state meet, and Kovack said it was done without two of his best runners.
"I've been coaching 30 years and I've never seen anything like what happened last season," he said.
Expectations of junior Noriah Williams are high. As a sophomore, Williams finished seventh in the state in the 200 meter with a time of 26.7.
Sophomore Megan Marchildon will be looking to bring her 200 time down below the 27 mark and posted times in the 400 meter under 64.
"She is one of our strongest runners. She's tough and a very good athlete," Kovack said. "She could be a big key to all the relays."
Sophomore Ashley Betts ran the 200 in 27.8 last season and his hoping to bring that number down, and she is also at the top in the 100 with a time of 13.1.
Elizabeth Little, one of the team's two seniors, will be splitting time with the tennis team, but is posting times right around 17 and 27.8 seconds in the 100 and 200 hurdles respectively.
"Elizabeth is a hard worker and if she stays healthy she's going to compete with anyone," Kovack said.
Felicia Jefferson is another sprinter close to bringing her time down below 27 in the 200, and her top time in the 100 is a solid 13.3.
Kovack said Jefferson will run all the sprint relays and has seen steady improvement in the junior each season.
In addition to Jefferson, he said he has seen steady improvement out of sophomore Emily Fink and hopes to have her competing in all the sprints. Fink has recovered from a broken leg suffered last season and will serve as the team's top high jumper, filling in after the departure of Dominique Corley to Ann Arbor Pioneer.
The Railsplitters' weakness has always been distance running, but Kovack said a strong middle school program has produced two freshmen, Alexa Geider and Alli Hadley, who he hopes will compete this year and steadily improve throughout their career.
"They are very dedicated and very hard working young ladies," he said. "I'm looking down the line when they will be developed and I think they will start winning consistently."
Sophomore Sommer Walker has worked her way into the top shot put spot with a throw of 31 feet and 8 inches.
"That's really a pretty good toss for a sophomore," Kovack said.
Lincoln will run their first dual meet on April 10 against Romulus.
"That will be a big test because Romulus is a sprint team and they'll be pretty good," Kovack said.
"As far as our top four or five kids go, we're as good as anyone in the division. It's just a matter of staying healthy and if we develop some kind of leadership. If we, do, then we're in good shape."
Tom Perkins is a freelance writer for the View/Courier. He can be reached at trperkins@gmail.com.
Not all stories are guaranteed to appear
online. The Web edition contains a reasonable
sampling of the print edition stories.
For the most complete news coverage, we invite you to
subscribe
to the print edition of the paper.
TOP JOBS
