Lucky 13 - A Fan's Perspective

Thirteen young women comprise the entire Oriole girls track roster.

Those 13 young women went to the District/Regional meet in Brooklyn on May 15th, and came home with 13 scored events.  Six with State qualifying gold medals.

Small wonder then, that Coach Abby has taken to calling them her "Lucky 13". Just ask her though, and she'll quickly tell you.... that name means she is a lucky coach, because any role luck played in the Oriole women's accomplishments last night was small.  Skill, speed, endurance, weeks of hard training, and the driving passion to win were the real deciding factors.

The skies were gray, the ground was soggy, and more than a little rain fell, but it was a glorious night to be an Oriole, as the team made their first appearance on the Brooklyn track, after being shifted to the 1A2 District, and undoubtedly made a lasting impression.

Competing in Long Jump, both CJ Fitzgerald and Mattea Otten placed, 3rd and 4th respectively, quickly followed by a 6th place finish for the 4 x 800 girls (Courtney Ruzicka, Gentry Stewart, Kari Prashun, and Erica Ogden) Sarah Franz gave a solid performance in the open 100, as did Carly Robertson in the Shot... and the Distance Medley team of CJ, Courtney, Gentry and Kari followed up with an 8th place medal. Nine events into the meet, the Orioles had already scored 15 points...and the best was yet to come.

In the open 800, Junior Courtney Ruzicka ended a fantastically improved 2009 track season in style with a regional medal, while freshman CJ Fitzgerald showed shades of things to come by winning her heat and medaling in the open 200.

Anne Brokop

finished her American track career in a glorious 400 run, dominating her heat, placing 7th overall & adding a shiny medal in the shape of the state of Iowa to her collection of American treasures. All of these places helped the Orioles score precious points...

.....Then there were the State Qualifying Moments....

Brittany Clarke debuted her new & improved

400 prowess

, with a 59.15 run-away win, and followed that up with a 25.98 gold medal win in the open 200. Immediately following that race, in a moment that caused this writer to feel both amusement and pride, a parent from one of the other teams competing turned around and pointedly asked, "Is she done now?"  When I answered "no", her follow-up question was "How many more things is she in, and what are they?" I almost felt bad for her........almost....

.....And Oh, Those Relays....

The 4 x 200 girls

- Mattea Otten, Sydney Vaughn, April Coppess & Sarah Thies - bested their own time, and came tantalizingly close to the school record, handily bringing home the gold, while the Sprint Medley team (Sydney, April, Sarah & Brittany) outdistanced the nearest competitor by over 100 meters to take that title.

The 4 x 100 team (Mattea, Sydney, Sarah & Brittany) showed a sizable crowd just why they were Drake Relay Qualifiers in a 51.3 "take no prisoners" style blaze of power, speed, and precision handoffs. Finally, in a fitting end to the meet, the sun's rays streaked out from behind the clouds just as anchor Sarah Thies rounded the third turn of the 4 x 400 (Mattea, CJ, Sydney & Sarah) and streaked across the finish line, to take home the Orioles 6th District Championship title of the evening.

Lets take a moment here to sing the praises of the Oriole guys, who went into the meet underdogs, and placed in MANY events, including several relays, along with a great showing by Kahrim Ross  in long jump and the 200, and State qualifier Cody Taylor, who placed 2nd in the Shot, and making us proud.  Low in numbers but great in spirit, those few guys have poured their hearts into every meet, and every race, all season long, and turned in some FINE performances.  Moreover, they have been the girls biggest supporters, and best fans...holding blocks, talking them up, and cheering them on at every turn. The Oriole men have real class, and we are PROUD to be in the stands cheering for them. Great job guys...can't wait to see what you can do next year!

Saturday dawned bright, sunny, and filled with hope & promise...as the Oriole women prepare to take 6 events to the state meet next week, and the Oriole men send Shot Qualifier Cody Taylor.

The Orioles are heading for Des Moines...and they aren't coming to watch!

Way to go Orioles....see you on the track.... in DES MOINES!