Published: May 14, 2008 04:49 am         

Local girls go to regionals

OXFORD, Ind. — Lightning caused the suspension of the girls track sectional being held at Benton Central with just two events remaining.

Just as the 3,200 meter runners were finishing the third of eight laps, a flash in the sky caused the meet director to sound a siren and order the athletes and coaches to clear the field and head to their buses.

Realizing that radar indicated that the meet would likely not resume Tuesday, the coaches met and decided to run the 3200m and the 4x400m relay at 5 p.m. EST on Thursday, just prior to the start of the boys’ sectional.

It had been an evening of mixed results for area athletes as some exceeded their seeds while others failed to do so.

Unofficial and incomplete results showed that Lacey Harmon of Covington won the 100, Whitney Shoaf of Fountain Central won the 200 and Lori Bushue of Covington won the 400.

Also advancing to the regional by finishing fourth or higher were Anna Bradley of Seeger with a third in the 800, Mary Mattern of Attica with a fourth in the 1,600, and Rikee Ricketts of Covington and Robin Turner of Seeger, who finished second and third respectively in the 100 hurdles.

The Seeger 3,200 team advanced, but the number one seeded 400 relay team of Covington finished fifth.

Seeger athlete Becca Fowler advanced in the long jump as did teammates Grace Chinn in the discus and Alex Kincade in the high jump.

No results were available for the 300 hurdles or for the shot put, while there were no area athletes competing in the pole vault.

Complete results, including others who may have advanced, will be available after the boys’ meet on Thursday.