Rebecca Gregory and Amanda Cope got to experience life on track’s big stage last week.
The Winder-Barrow High School duo competed at the Class AAAA state track meet in Albany for the first time in their varsity careers last week and should both benefit from the experience.
Cope finished eighth in the state in the 1,600-meter run in 5:32 Friday after she had taken eighth in the 3,200-meter run the day before. Gregory, meanwhile, was ninth in the 3,200-meter run.
Cope ran the 3,200-meter in 12:01 while her teammate finished the event in 12:29.
With eight runners earning medals this spring, Cope’s finish in the two distance events earned WBHS a point each in the team standings.
The WBHS duo had to combat several factors during their trip to Albany. They both had to run in temperatures in the upper 80s in South Georgia.
The young runners also had to compete in front of an estimated 2,000 spectators who sit right on the track at Hugh Mills Stadium.
Cope and Gregory advanced to state by virtue of their top two finishes at the recent Region 8-AAAA meet in Loganville.
“Considering it was both girls first time at the state meet, I was pleased with their performances,” said WBHS track coach Sam Stovall. “Of course I would like to have had them place higher and run faster but they both ran as they were trained.”
With the state meet behind them, Stovall said he might should have gone about the training a little differently.
“In hindsight we should have worked a little faster the last few weeks, but there’s a fine line between under-training and over-training,” the coach said.
“We were probably a little too conservative in preparation but that’s my call and sometimes you get it just right and sometimes you don’t.”
