(Chelsea Update would like to thank Eric Swager for the information in this story.)
Chelsea boys track and field finished off another very good season by taking 11 athletes who competed in six different events ate the D2 State Track finals in Zeeland on Saturday.
The team finished tied for 36th with 6 points. Out of roughly 150 schools in Division 2, 58 ended up scoring at the state finals – a solid accomplishment in itself.
This is the 16th straight year we have scored at the state finals, and 19 of 20 years this century said coach Eric Swager.
Individual highlights:
Carson Rabbitt earned all-state honors with his 3rd place in the 1600. The slow pace for the first 3 laps was contrasted with a wild last 400 meters, which Rabbitt covered in 59.1 seconds.
“He finished less than 1 second off the lead, and really showed his competitiveness,” Swager said.
Josiah Fitch capped an outstanding first year by finishing 10th in the Shot Put. He narrowly missed making finals, but will certainly use this experience for next year’s campaign.
The 4×400 team of Colton Trevino, Brennan Van Riper, Mike Tarasow, and Carson Rabbitt finished the year in style, winning their heat and finishing 13th overall – beating their seeded place and running their fastest time.
Jensen Holm fought through an injury that has plagued him the past 3 weeks to finish in the top 20 for the 3200 run.
The 4×800 guys of Foster Thorburn, Zander Hartsuff, Will Scott, and Dominic Green also ran hard, with Zander and Dominic running lifetime best splits, Swager said.
“The last 3 guys return for next year, and vow to make something good happen in 2020 for that relay,” Swager said.
Dominic Guthre, although not clearing opening height, also gained valuable state meet experience, and the sophomore looks forward to improving in 2020 as well.
The entire coaching staff has been great. Zach Snively, Loren Thorburn, Jared Beaver, Vince Detorre and Bert Kruse have done a bang up job all year with the sprints, hurdles, and jumps.
Kari Goorhouse has taken a raw group of big guys and produced some amazing performers, and my long-time distance assistants Jen McPherson and Mike Holik have been invaluable.
“A consistent team of committed coaches are the main thing that keeps us competitive year after year,” Swager said.
Finally, Swager thanked Brad Bush, Tracie Stoffer, all the administration, and especially the parents, who continue to support us in many ways.
