More than Moore headed for state from Bay
By Zachary Dzurick
Sports
Published June 1, 2005

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Bay senior Kelley Moore isn't very confident right now. If she digs deep and finds that confidence this week, the rest of the state of Ohio will be in a lot of trouble.

Moore believes she is not throwing to her potential. She doesn't feel very consistent. But she does have enough experience to find just enough to win. So even though not at her best, she swept the D-II Ravenna regional shot put and discus titles.

It didn't come easy. Moore only had one big throw in the shot put, but her mark of 41-10.50 was enough to win on Wednesday last week. On Friday, the sweep was looking shaky after the preliminary round. She was in seventh place with only 117-4. However, her first throw in the final round changed everything. She threw 134-10 and then increased her total to 138-1 on her sixth and final throw of the meet. Moore said last week's adversity at districts helped her focus when she was struggling.

"I think last week made me stronger," Moore said. "Last week I was second heading into the finals; this week I was seventh. I knew I could still do it."

Yes, she won. But Moore knows she has to have a more consistent technique.

"My friend was saying it only takes one throw," Moore said. "And I guess I only needed one throw. I had two good throws in discus, and in the shot I only had one good throw and that was it. You look at it and you say she threw far but in my head I am like I had a 90 something and 30 something in shot. It is hard. I don't have a lot of confidence."

But she does have experience.

"I have been through tons of track meets. It has given me a lot of experience that I can pull through in the end. Like last year at states, I came through in my last throw in discus. It has happened too many times, actually, but it does give me confidence that I can pull it out."

Another thing Moore will have next week in Columbus at Jesse Owens Stadium will be teammates as Hillary Feather, Erin Kana, Caity O'Hara and Halle Plagens, who qualified in the 4x400 relay.

"That was my first thought -- thank God they qualified," Moore said. "Now it is a track meet. I will have teammates, a coach and a school bus. We are now in the same boat. We all want to do well. And they are my friends who I can relate to and not random people. It makes it more of a high school track meet."

Kana and company were happy to oblige.

"Kelley said she would be bored without us," Kana joked. "It was a really big deal for us to qualify for states. It was a tight and intense race. Our practice paid off."

"We really wanted it," Feather said. "I think we gave everything we had. It was awesome."

Freshman Hannah Farver did not qualify in the 1,600 meters, but she did learn a valuable lesson.

"It was really hard," Farver admitted. "It was more than I expected. The girls were really fast, and on the third lap a girl tripped and hit me. That threw me off. It was a nice race but it was challenging. It will encourage me to work harder this summer to prepare for cross country."

Sanker's triple propels Pirates to sixth place

Rocky River senior Caroline Sanker qualified for the state in three events. (Photo by Larry Bennet)

Caroline Sanker has made it a habit to qualify for state meets in both cross country and track. But she pulled off a first, even for her. The Rocky River senior qualified in three events for this weekend's state meet in Columbus. The triple started with a surprise on the meet's first day. The Pirate's 4x800 was not striking fear into too many opponents with their qualifying time of 10:05.

But then again, Sanker doesn't always run the lead lap of the race. She came out blazing.

"When Caroline went out on that four by eight and ran like she did, that was it," coach Julie Achladis said. "She put that team in position as the first runner and they responded to her. With her being in the lead, I knew they would pull it out. They went from a 10:05 to 9:47. The three girls who ran it last year went to state last year and they ran like they wanted to go state again. It was outstanding."

Sanker, Jade Braden and Kelly Peters were the three runners, Achladis mentioned. They were joined by Braden's freshman sister Jasmine.

"We were not seeded too well in the relay and we surprised everyone," Sanker said. "We dropped a lot of time. It will be a great time having everyone there."

It is no secret that Sanker's favorite individual event is the 3,200 meters. She runs the 1,600 meters as well, but in the past she has concentrated on the two mile come money time. Achladis, however, believed Sanker could excel in both.

"She had some concerns about doubling," Achaldis said. "I thought she could do it and I wanted her to do it."

Sanker was second in both races.

"I didn't know whether to double or not, but I took my coach's advice and it turned out OK," Sanker said. "I was told to do it and I did what I was told."

Sanker's presence has had a positive effect on her younger teammates.

"I get encouragement from Caroline," Jade Braden said. "It helps us because she sets an example and it motivates us too. It is comforting to have a senior like Caroline. She pushes us through and still makes us feel better about ourselves."

Sanker is humble about her leadership, but she loved the fact that so many of her teammates were competing at the regional meet.

"I don't know if I am wiser, but I try to give whatever advice I can. They are all just as smart as me," Sanker said. "Since we had so many more people competing at this meet, it was definitely more fun to have your team with you."

Rocky River just missed having two more athletes join them at the state meet. Freshman Ellie Brandt was sixth in the 300 meter hurdles. She was only one stutter away from Columbus.

"It was a big learning experience for me," Brandt said. "I concentrated on my warm-up. I stuttered on one of the hurdles, and after I did it I realized it wasn't happening this year for me. But I didn't expect this at all. I put in a lot of hard work and my coach really helped me. She pushed me to do well."

Senior Lauren Mikula was fifth in the pole vault. She tied for fourth but lost on attempts. Achladis wanted both to experience state but could not fault their efforts.

"Ellie stuttered on one hurdle but still tied the school record. She is a just freshman," Achladis said. "Lauren also broke the school record. It was 9 feet and she went 9-6. It was a good day for everybody."