Boys track and field: Borman, Schmidt lead Burlington Central to 5th at state

CHARLESTON - Burlington Central junior Zac Schmidt finished in second place in two events on Friday.

But Schmidt displayed two vastly different reactions toward his second-place showings at the Class 2A boys state track and field meet at O'Brien Stadium.

Schmidt expressed a tinge of disappointment over taking second in the 400-meters despite a personal record time of 49.42. When he crossed the finish line, Schmidt struggled attempting to find anything positive in his performance.

"I knew I was running good, but was really close to winning," he said. "I'm happy with my race, but I was also right there and almost got it."

Just over an hour later due to the rolling schedule, Schmidt was all smiles when he completed the anchor leg of Burlington Central's second-place 1,600 (3:25.50). Schmidt hugged several teammates after helping his team secure a fifth-place finish in the team standings with 39 points.

"In my individual 400, I was ranked fourth I think, but I knew I could do better, but in this (1,600 relay) we were ranked in eighth place but we all stepped up and this was a good feeling," Schmidt said.

Burlington Central's Nolan Milas sparked the relay by overtaking numerous runners in the third leg to put Schmidt into a position to nearly beat first-place Eureka (3:23.86). Jacoby Haynes and Leighton Dietz ran the first two legs for the Rockets.

"Eureka ran great and did great, so did we," Schmidt said. "I'm very happy with this result. It was a great race. I tried to give everything I had, but I was still winded from that open 400."

"I knew I had to go as hard as I could," Milas said. "I turned it up a notch on the first 300. I've been waiting to do that all year, so to do that in the state final, there's no better feeling."

"Since we were in lane nine, it kind of felt like we were ahead, but we weren't," Dietz said. "I had to hustle to get out of that curve and out in that straight way. I had a pretty good spot. My goal was to finish in the top three or four spots, to put my teammates into a good spot. This is a great feeling. We were fighting for that trophy spot."

The Rockets' 3,200 relay of Dietz, Javarius Foreman, John Huaracha and Schmidt notched a fourth-place medal in the 3,200 (8:14.12). Aurora Central Catholic's team of Patrick Hilby, Jose Lopez, Max Meyers and Armando Acosta collected a ninth-place medal in the 3,200.

Earlier in Friday's session, Burlington Central senior Jake Borman was one of the premier throwers. Due to the heat, the running events were pushed back three hours later to a 5 p.m. start, but the throwing and field events all started at noon.

With his grandfather in attendance, Borman achieved history by winning the state title in the shot put with a best toss of 16.64 meters. Borman, in his first trip to state, doubled his medal count with a fifth-place showing in the discus (47.48). Borman won the state shot put on his final attempt, overcoming a stomach flu that was bothering him all morning to earn the first shot put state title in program history.

"I wasn't thinking and just worked on what I practiced and let it rip and wanted to go out on a good note," Borman said. "I wasn't feeling the best before the meet. Once I got there, I just tried to get after it. I only ate a few apple pieces."

"I have a pretty good competitive side to me, and feel I can pull it out when I really need to. I didn't feel any pressure and just dug deep and got after it."

Junior Yusaf Baig contributed to the Rockets' medal total by taking home eighth place in the 3,200 in a time of 9:43.38.

St. Francis senior Jackson Gerard had a busy morning on Friday.

Not only was Gerard preparing to compete in his first Class 2A boys state track and field meet, but he was also doing some homework.

Gerard, who committed to Dartmouth for football, said he spent part of the morning handling calls with his college coach to learn the football playbook.

"It's been a crazy (morning) especially with the weather," Gerard said. "Track is pretty complementary for me with football. It goes into football, but I felt I could compete this year and it was fun competing this year and being really good in track and getting to go to state was a whole new experience."

On the track, Gerard made sure to add some final touches to his memorable final season for the Spartans. After playing a key role in the Spartans winning all six of their games in football, Gerard capped his career with a highlight-filled track season.

And there's no better highlight than earning a state medal.

Gerard earned a sixth-place medal in the long jump with a top leap of 6.83 early in Friday's meet. As temperatures soared to a steamy 92-degrees and winds of 15 miles per hour, Gerard said he cherished his uncomfortable but memorable first time to state.

"It's kind of surreal to be down here at state since it's been a dream of mine since I was a little kid," Gerard said.

Gerard, who placed 13th in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.15 seconds, said he cherished competing against the best in the state.

"I thought I hit some pretty good marks," he said. "This was crazy and the weather definitely hindered some performances, but it was fun to compete. Track has really helped me with football. I missed just a personal record in the long jump. Coming here with my teammates and coaches for the first time was an awesome experience."

St. Francis' Shane Anderson helped his team score a few points with an eighth-place effort in discus (46.30)