HUTCHINSON — There were no Region VI event championships for Allen Community College’s track athletes in 2012.
Tegan Michael did capture the Jayhawk Eastern Division championship in the men’s 800-meter run.
Michael was fifth overall at the 2012 NJCAA Region VI/ Jayhawk Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships over the weekend hosted by Hutchinson Community College.
Michael ran the 800 meters in 1 minute, 57.92 seconds. ACC teammate Evan Adams placed 18th overall and ninth in the Jayhawk East in 2:03.86.
In the men’s 1500-meter run, Michael was sixth overall and second in the East at 4:07.32 and teammate Josh Whittaker was 12th overall, fifth in the East in 4:14.62.
Allen’s Tsianina Whitetree claimed the bronze medal in Region VI for the women’s 1500-meter race. She was second in the Jayhawk East with a time of 5:09.36.
Whitetree took ninth in the women’s 800-meter race in 2:29.25, which was fifth in the Jayhawk East.
The Red Devil men’s 4×800-meter relay team of Whittaker, Michael, Garrett Colglazier and Adams posted a time of 8:02.77. That got the Red Devils sixth overall and third in Jayhawk East.
“On the running side for the men, I felt like we were pretty flat looking,” said Vince DeGrado, ACC head track coach.
“I take full blame for that with regards to their preparation. All season we’ve shown progress and gotten better each time we’ve raced. I kind of feel like for the first time this year I reeled them in too much, gave them too much rest.”
Jake Spence competed in the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase and placed seventh overall. He ran the race in 10:37.11, which was second in the Jayhawk East. Colglazier also was in the race but hit a barrier and did not finish.
Ralph Shafer gave the Red Devils points in the javelin. He finished fifth overall with a throw of 171 feet, 10 inches. That earned him third in the Jayhawk East standings.
Travis Venniro placed 13th overall in the men’s shot put with a throw of 41’4 1/2”, which was eighth in the Jayhawk East.
Allen’s Bridget Sears experienced some of the same in the women’s shot put. DeGrado said Sears had a great throw during prelims “that we thought she finally put things together but during competition she just couldn’t find that spark again.”
Sears finished 13th in Region VI competition with a throw of 34’2 3/4”. She was eighth in the Jayhawk East.
