By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – Every point counts. In fact, every half-point counts. Bedford North Lawrence proved that point – proved that half-point – during the season opener.
By the slimmest of margins, the Stars debuted with a thrilling victory during the girls half of the meet with Mitchell, Orleans and Barr-Reeve on Thursday evening. BNL scored 73 points, clipping the Vikings by that critical half-point as Barr-Reeve settled for second with 72.5, followed by the Bulldogs (58) and Bluejackets (34.5).
In the boys meet, the Stars roared to a runaway triumph with 110 points. Orleans was second with 56, Barr-Reeve totaled 42, and Mitchell scored 29.
BNL won only five of the 16 events in the girls meet, so depth was critical, especially for a team with so many young athletes stepping into the spotlight.
“We’ll definitely take it,” first-year BNL coach Jason Webb said. “There was a lot of learning. We had kids that weren’t real sure about things, they thought they messed up, and they got better. Some of them had never done it in competition before. They learned a lot about what they can do.”
BNL’s winners included Mary Batz (1:04.16 in the 400-meter race), Ellie Anderson (14-9 1/2 in the long jump, which she won by a scant inch), Kaylin Ritz (6-6 in the pole vault), the 3200 relay (11:43.07) and the 400 relay (55.62).
By contrast, the Vikings posted six wins, which means BNL made up ground by placing more athletes in the top five spots.
“We saw kids who tried to win,” Webb said. “It wasn’t being complacent with where they were, they wanted to win. There was a lot of scoring.”
In the boys meet, the Stars dominated with nine victories. And there were some mild surprises.
For example, Zane Thompson was a double winner, although he did not compete in the 300 low hurdles (which is his best event after he finished sixth in the state last season). That will come later. He was still fast as he claimed the 100 (11.34) and 200 (23.23).
“He needed competition,” BNL coach Brett Deckard said. “I wanted him to compete and get in shape.”
For example, Brayden Patterson won the high jump. That isn’t unusual, but his impressive winning height of 6-4 (two inches better than his best during his freshman campaign) turned a few heads and demanded attention. Before long, he could be challenging for the school record (6-8).
“I was very surprised,” Patterson said. “I went out, and I was confident.”
Other winners for BNL included Hiram Mullis (17.49 in the 110 high hurdles), Cameron Miller (46.77 in the 300 lows), Jonah Bailey (11:30.58 in the 3200), Frank Decker (11-0 in the pole vault), the 3200 relay (9:36.53) and the 400 relay (44.74).
“We had some really bright performances,” Deckard said. “The sprints (BNL swept the top four spots in the 100 and four of the top five in the 200) are where we’re loaded. They were good. I think we’ll be OK.”
Mitchell’s Nate Robertson won the discus with a throw of 130-7.
BNL will return to action on Tuesday at Bloomington North.
