The hot and humid weather couldn’t slow down the varsity boys 1600 meter relay team as they placed third at the state championships on Saturday, June 4.
‘That was a great race, that last race,? varsity track and field coach Bob Blunk said.
At Rockford High School, the relay team of Terrence Webb, Connor Risinger, Aaron Stuk and Darren Lumpkin finished third with a time of 3:22.84.
‘Those kids…went out in the final event and gave it everything they had,? Blunk said. ‘Those kids were all troopers and worked very hard and definitely earned everything they got.?
East Kentwood finished first with a time of 3:19.95, while Hudsonville edged out the Wildcats for second, finishing in 3:22.22.
Stuk also finished eighth in the 300 intermediate hurdles.
‘It wasn’t the day that we had expected, but with this weather being the coldest and rainest and then you go to the muggiest state finals I’ve been to, it affected all of the teams,? Blunk said.
According to his observations, a lot of the all-state performances were off from their usual times during the regular season.
‘We were pretty close to everything we had done,? he said. ‘Our relays were half-a-second off from our best and our girls 3200 meter relay was only a second off from their personal record and school record.?
‘We performed pretty well, but it was a tough day for everybody,? he said.
Overall on the day, the boys team as a whole finished in a tie for 17th with seven points. ‘For the season, it was an excellent year from everybody – the staff, the parents that helped out, the kids who put so much effort into working hard and just following our directions and giving 100 percent effort at the meets, no matter what the weather was,? Blunk said.
‘It was a very enjoyable season,? he added.