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Thursday, May 10, 2001
Duo carries Pirates' hopes on to state
Spaulding, Burke to represent Rockport-Fulton at 4A track championships
By Javier Becerra
Caller-Times
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| George Tuley/Caller-Times |
| Rockport-Fulton senior Sam Spaulding will run in the 300-meter hurdles at the 4A state track championships in Austin this weekend. |
The philosophy is simple, but Rockport-Fulton High School senior Sam Spaulding knows it has translated into immeasurable success.
"In our minds, we know we might not be the best. But we work hard enough to be the best," said Spaulding, who leads the Lady Pirates' contingent into the University Interscholastic League state track and field championships Friday in Austin.
Spaulding will compete in two events - the 300 low hurdles and the 1,600 relay - while junior Cody Birk has qualified for three, the long jump, triple jump and also the 1,600 relay.
Spaulding's time in the 300 low hurdles of 42.86 seconds, recorded two weeks ago at the Region IV-4A meet in San Antonio, set a new regional record and was the 10th best time in the nation this year for the event.
Even with the best time in the field at state, however, Spaulding remains realistic.
"That doesn't mean there's not going to be someone there faster than me. I just have to compete," said Spaulding, who is seeking redemption after missing state last year.
The senior qualified in the 300 low hurdles as a sophomore and finished seventh in Austin, but missed out on head coach David Rice is finally at ease.
Rice and the Lady Pirates endured three straight third-place finishes at regionals in the 1,600-meter relay.
The Lady Pirates ended their three-year wait with a second-place finish in the event at the Region IV-4A meet two weeks ago.
Rockport-Fulton's time of 3 minutes, 59.47 seconds is the eighth-best time in the eight-team field scheduled to run in Friday's running finals.
"It's a thrill for me, especially after finishing third for three years," Rice said. "I was tired of being in that position. At the regional meet this year, if we didn't get first or second, I would rather have gotten fifth or sixth. Anything but third."
Birk has provided much of the fuel behind Rockport-Fulton's run to state, Rice said.
"All the kids are competitive, but Cody just refuses to lose," Rice said. "She has come through for us so many times this year."
The last time Rockport-Fulton sent a relay team to the state meet was in 1990, when the Lady Pirates qualified their 400-meter relay squad.
Last year, the Lady Pirates failed to qualify in any events for the state competition, which Birk said added more incentive to return to Austin.
"I've been on the mile relay team since my freshman year, and it's real exciting to bring the team in second," said Birk. "Since we didn't have anybody last year at state, it makes it 10 times better."
Spaulding will also be running the second leg on the Lady Pirates' 1,600 relay team. An ankle injury to Nicole Surman, who ran the first leg on the relay at regionals, forced Rice to shuffle the running order for state.
Although Spaulding hasn't run much on the relay teams this season, Rice is confident her experience will benefit the team.
"The kids on the mile relay are the core of the team," Rice said. "Even though Sam hasn't been running, she's still going to give us several seconds. Our speed has been strong this year, and our time should be down even more."
Contact Javier Becerra at 886-3734 or becerraj@caller.com
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a Scripps Howard newspaper. All rights reserved.
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