By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – Spurred by a surprising performance from an unanticipated source and the expected dominance from the usual suspects, Bedford North Lawrence recorded wins over Springs Valley and Eastern Greene on Thursday afternoon.
With Billy Cline roaring to a victory in the 400-meter dash and anchoring the winning 1600 relay, the Stars posted 78 points to clip the Blackhawks (70) and Thunderbirds (19) in the boys meet. Eastern won the girls meet with 74 points, followed by BNL (60) and Valley (30).
Cline zipped to the line first in the 400 in 55.73 seconds, and he helped the Stars clinch the meet during the final leg of the 1600 relay, which BNL won in 3:46.81. The Stars won only five events, so their depth played a critical role. So did the hurdle wins by Noah Carter (16.15 seconds in the 110 highs) and Zane Thompson (43.23 in the 300 lows).
“The surprise of the meet for me was Billy,” BNL coach Brett Deckard said. “He has really just started running great. Noah and Zane continued their dominance in the hurdles, and Coleton Sears in the long jump (second at 19-6 3/4) was a great surprise.”
BNL’s other win came from Frank Decker (8-6 in the pole vault).
In the girls meet, the Stars had two double winners. Grace Tanksley took the 1600 (5:41.09) and 3200 (12:11.80), while Autumn Hall won the shot put (31-3) and discus (111-4 1/4). They helped BNL record eight total wins.
“Almost in every event, our girls improve their times, distances and heights,” BNL coach Jim Lewis said. ”I’m very pleased with their effort and look forward to continued improvement.”
Other winners for BNL included Jillian Webb (1:05.84 in the 400), Alessia Agostini (55.54 in the 300 hurdles), Lindley Steele (16-7 in the long jump) and the 1600 relay team (4:36.13).
The Stars will host Edgewood on Tuesday.
