Southeast's Birkel wins four golds

 No comments  
 E-mail Story
 Print Story
  Share

 digg it!
 Facebook
 del.icio.us
Seed Newsvine
Fark It
Reddit

Text Size: 

Tools Sponsor

By RON POWELL / Lincoln Journal Star

FREMONT — Millard North hurdler Kianna Elahi and Lincoln Southeast sprinter Katie Birkel haven’t yet recorded the times they ran at the end of the 2007 track season, but they’re well ahead of the pace they used to get there last year.

Elahi, an Iowa State track recruit, swept the girls hurdle events Monday in leading Millard North to the girls team title at the Fremont Invitational. Elahi won the 100-meter high hurdles in 15.20 seconds, upsetting Lincoln Southeast’s KK Houser, who finished second in :15.75. Houser beat Elahi in both head-to-head matchups last season and won the all-class gold medal with the :14.56 (eighth all-time) she ran at state.

Elahi, a senior who broke the 300 low hurdle state record with a  :43.03 last year at state, broke the tape Monday in :45.29, the fastest time in the state this season.

[+]Enlarge

Lincoln Southeast’s Katie Birkel races to first place in the 200-meter dash in Monday’s Fremont Invitational. (Matt Gade/Fremont Tribune)

Lincoln Southeast’s Katie Birkel races to first place in the 200-meter dash in Monday’s Fremont Invitational. (Matt Gade/Fremont Tribune)

“I’m faster than I was at this time last year, so that’s a good sign,” Elahi said. “I don’t know if I can break that (the :43.03). My goal is at least to run close to it. I’m happy with my time today because that head wind was tough coming down the stretch.”

Elahi’s goal in the 100 highs is to eclipse the school record of :14.95.

“I haven’t beaten KK (in the 100s) since my sophomore year, so that was really exciting,’’ Elahi said. “I’ve been focusing more on my technique, working my arms better and bringing my legs down faster. That little stuff can make a big difference.”

Although both Millard North and Southeast are in Thursday‘s Harold Scott Invitational in Lincoln, neither Elahi nor Houser will be competing. Elahi is running this weekend at the Kansas Relays,  along with teammate Emily Sisson, the sophomore standout  who moved into second on the state’s all-time 3,200 chart with the 10:21.71 she ran Saturday at the Arcadia, Calif., National Invitational.

Sisson did not run Monday, but teammate Megan Oddo won both the 1,600 (5:21.90) and 3,200 (11:44.19).

Houser, a Super-State basketball player who has scholarship offers from Iowa, Iowa State, Creighton and Michigan State, leaves Thursday with the Cornhusker Shooting Stars to play in a weekend basketball tournament in North Carolina.

Birkel, a North Dakota State basketball recruit and Super-State basketball player, won four gold medals Monday. The senior won the 200 (:25.63) and 400 (:57.63) and ran on Southeast’s victorious 400 and 1,600 relays.

Monday’s condensed running schedule allowed little recovery time between events. That’s why Birkel had a positive view of the day, even though she was off her season bests of :25.20 in the 200 and :56.71 in the 400, both of which lead the state.

“My goal was to pick up where I left off last season and I’m way ahead of what I was running at this time last year,” said Birkel, who’s eighth on the state’s all-time chart in the 400 with the :55.96 she ran at state last season.

“I want to PR (personal record) from what I did last year, and I feel like I’m on pace to do that.”

While Millard North won the four-team girls competition by a 176-164½ margin over Southeast, Fremont took the boys crown among five teams by outscoring runner-up Norfolk 151-118.

Southeast, third in the boys team competition with 98 points, stood out in the sprints. Jon Zabel won both the 100 (:11.50) and 200 (:23.36), while teammate Mike Pettiford took the 400 (:52.50). The Knights also won the 400 and 1,600 relays.

Reach Ron Powell at 473-7437 or rpowell@journalstar.com.