Published: May 13, 2009 11:29 pm      

Okes clears hurdle

Oak Hill girls team claims regional title, wins 10 out of 18 events

OAK HILL — Shady Spring senior hurdler Tommy Okes — despite the ever-present danger and difficulty of his craft — had never taken a tumble at a meet. Not even in warmups.

Until Wednesday.

During warmups for the 110-meter high hurdles, Okes’ back knee caught a hurdle and he went down.

He even had the track burns to prove it afterward.

In the world of high school track, the regional meet is the exact wrong place to have that happen.

But for Okes, it’s been the kind of year where he has turned everything to gold. Now he wants to win the medal to prove it.

With Charleston in his sights, Okes easily won the 110 highs (15.58, winning by a full two seconds) and the 300 hurdles (42.15, winning by nearly two seconds) to qualify first out of Region 3 in those events.

“I thought it might get in my head a little bit,” Okes said. “This meet is important. You fall here, or you false start, you aren’t going to Charleston (in that event).”

Okes has always been a good hurdler. But this year, good wasn’t good enough.

He is teetering on the verge of breaking the school record in the 110 (Kane Gyovai owns the mark of 14.9 with Okes closing in at 15.2 as a personal best) and has the state’s second-best time in the 300.

“We have a case at the school and everybody (who has won a state title) has a picture in there with their medal,” Okes said. “I want to be in that case. I want to be remembered when I leave.”

Chances are good of that happening, regardless of what goes down in Charleston May 22-23.

Just ask Tigers coach Vince Culicerto.

“Since I’ve been here, the best hurdler we’ve had was Kane Gyovai and Tommy is right there with him,” Culicerto said.

“He has a chance to leave here and leave his mark.”

Not bad for a guy who was settling for fifth- and sixth-place finishes in the past.

“The difference for Tommy is that he has a confidence now,” Culicerto said. “He had never been ranked among the top times in the state and this year he is. He’s always jumped hurdles well. He has a great stride, great form and he is real limber. Translate that altogether and I think Tommy has a great chance to do something in Charleston.”

Of course, clearing the hurdle to Charleston hasn’t been the main problem for Okes, who also played soccer at Shady Spring.

The hurdle has been Charleston.

Last year, he finished fifth in the 110. And he false started and was disqualified in the 300.

“It happened at the wrong time for me,” Okes said. “It’s one of those things that does happen.”

It also happened in the Gazette Relays this year.

“Maybe he has gotten those out of the way now,” Culicerto said.

Okes would like to run in college and has received an offer from Concord.

“If I don’t get anything, I’m going to go work out all summer and then try out for a team,” Okes said.

Right now, Charleston and that case is on his mind.

“It’s my last chance, so I want to have a good showing,” Okes said. “I would like to have the school record, that would be exciting. But what I really want is that state championship. I know I’ll get pushed down there. And I think that will help my time.”

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As expected, Oak Hill’s girls team won the regional championship, beating second-place Shady Spring 163-139.

Oak Hill took first place in 10 of the meet’s 18 events.

Those included:

The 100-meter dash (Deja Jones, 13.18), 200 (Mercedes Lawson, 27.52), 400 (Kiy Kiy Cosby, 1:00.34), 4 x 100-relay (Joi Fruit, Hayle Martin, Lawson and Jones, 51.84), 4 x 200 (Cosby, Jones, Shanice McCain and Savannah Robertson, 1:51.88), 4 x 400 (Nearie Miller, Jones, Robertson and Marissa Harler, 4:26.58), shuttle hurdles (Fruit, Amber Koch, Taylor Coleman and Quartney Settle, 1:13.92) pole vault (Robertson 8 feet, 6 inches), discus (Brittney Miller, 123-3) and shot put (Miller, 30-8).

Coach George Smith is hoping for a good showing at the state meet in Charleston. Oak Hill has never won a girls state championship and the school’s last state title was the 1989 boys Class AAA state basketball championship.

“I want to be confident, but I just don’t know what else is out there,” Smith said. “I know Philip Barbour is close and Shady Spring qualified just as many people as we did and they are strong. If we perform like we can, then I think we have a chance to win it. But at this point, you can’t get too overconfident.”

Shady was buoyed by the steady performance of distance runner Chelsea Callaway, who won the 1,600 and 3,200 and was second in the 800. She accounted for 30.5 points in the meet.