A healthy Van Buren repeats as hurdles champ
by PATRICK J. NAGY Reporter

For much of 2008, Allie Van Buren hasn't been healthy but the Williamsville South sophomore made sure she was ready to go at last Saturday's Section VI Championships at Fredonia State College.

Van Buren, who has been battling a slightly strained groin muscle since running in the Cornell University Southern Tier Invitational on Jan. 5, repeated as the section 55-hurdles champion in a time of 8.61.

"I wasn't worried about the injury and I pushed pretty hard," said Van Buren. "I was confident that I could do well and I did."

The finish qualified Van Buren for Saturday's New York State Championships, which coincidentally, will be held at Cornell.

Van Buren isn't sure at what point in the Cornell meet she injured her groin. She only remembers it feeling really tight after the meet.

Van Buren said she went to a chiropractor and got acupuncture and also received certain exercises to build up the muscle. She still practiced with the team but it was only a few weeks ago that she started to train heavily.

"Coach (Sam Hasan) had me not running as hard and I think that worked really well," said Van Buren.

"Over the last week and a half, she has been feeling a lot better," said Hasan. "She started to grab the ground and explode. Her speed was back."

It's the second straight year Van Buren has won the hurdles and the ninth time out of the last 10 years a South girl took first in the event. Van Buren also won the hurdles in the outdoor season last spring.

Van Buren has gone to states every year she has been with South. In seventh and eighth grade, she went as a member of the 4x400-meter relay.

Van Buren is one of three South girls to qualify for the state meet.

Sophomore Amanda Breymeier is returning to states in the high jump after taking second at sectionals with a leap of 5-1. Junior Ashley Ferenczy took fourth in the 600 in 1:43.82 and will run the 600 leg of the intersectional medley relay. Ferenczy missed the state meet by seven hundredths of a second last year.

Other good finishes for the South girls include third place for senior Jennifer Lopez in the shot put (34-2) and sophomore Jenny Mooney in the 1500 racewalk (8:29.50, new school record), a fourth place for Breymeier, Ferenczy, Van Buren and Mooney in the 4x400 relay (4:24.70) and a sixth place finish by Elisa Frazier, MaryCatherine Aungst, Alison Ferenczy and Colleen Hurtubise in the 4x800 relay. Frazier (2:31.47), Aungst (2:41.4) and Ferenczy (2:43.6) each dropped their times in their legs by five or six seconds, Hasan said.

The girls' 4x200 relay of Bethany Syracuse, Skye McCellan, Lindsey Porter and Rachael DiVita also did a good job, Hasan said.

No South boys qualified for the state meet.

Dan Polis missed finals in the 55 hurdles by one place, taking seventh in a personal record 8.37. Hasan said Polis began the season running in the mid 9s.

RJ Grampp hit a personal best 37-0.5 in the triple jump to take ninth.

The boys 4x200 relay of Polis, Grampp, Nick Hoffman and Nick Helmick ran a personal best 1:47.8. The 4x800 relay of Alex Podvezko, Peter Galbo, Bruce Hibler and John Stark ran a time of 9:06.54, two seconds off their best time of the season, Hasan said.

"All of the kids did an awesome job," said Hasan. "Even the ones that didn't make sectionals improved their times. As a coach, that's what I look for."