Runners abound in Stanly County

By Jim Lisk, Editor

Tuesday, May 13, 2008 May 14, 2008 09:47 am

— West Stanly’s Daniel Yeakley did himself proud at the 2A State Track Meet last Friday. Yeakley ran his best times ever in both the 1600 and 3200 meter runs to get a fourth and a third, respectively.
On the track, the junior continues to improve and is developing a great rivalry with South Stanly’s Sean Kluttz, who went out and won the 800 meter at Saturday’s 1A Regional at AHS.
Their battle in the 1600 meter at the Stanly County Meet was a true classic as Kluttz ran 4:41.00 while Yeakley ran 4:41.50 and went sprawling at the finish line.
This Saturday, Kluttz will run for gold at the 1A State Meet. Once again, he’ll be looking for his personal best. His 2:03.33 at the 1A Regional would have placed him seventh at the 2A State. Three runners ran below 1:59.
On the girl’s side, Jade Farlow will be running for gold in both the 800 and 1600 meter runs. That feat was accomplished in the 2A by Heather Beichner of Cardinal Gibbons with times of 2:18.61 and 4:57.05.
Look for Farlow to go out with a bang in her last meet for South Stanly.
n There were a lot of other runners hitting the streets of downtown Albemarle last Saturday in the 4th Annual Beach Blast 5K with a couple of Pfeiffer people battling for the win. Current Pfeiffer junior Matt Tyndall ran 16:55 to edge former Falcon all-conference runner Justin Sink by one second.
West Stanly junior Joe Burris was third at 17:52 while South Stanly freshman Alex Thompson was fourth at 17:52.
Maria Bartlett finished 10th and was the top female finisher with a time of 19:28, which shattered the old course record by 23 seconds.
n This Saturday, Albemarle Parks & Recreation will host the Hershey Track and Field youth event for all children ages 9-14. To register, contact Albemarle Parks and Recreation (704) 984-9560 by May 16.
Then get out there, have fun and see how fast you can make it around the track.

Photos

Jim Lisk