Published: May 11, 2008 12:11 am            

Winfrey claims title

For most people, taking second place in an event at the Class 6A State Track and Field Championships would be a highlight.

But it made Nathaniel Winfrey so angry, he did the only thing he could — win his next event.

The Stillwater High junior won the 300-meter hurdles in 38.3 seconds on Saturday in Ardmore, becoming the first SHS team member to claim a championship since Hallie Hutchens won that event in 2001.

“I felt so achieved,” said Winfrey via phone. “I just feel like my muscles are relaxed. I’m so glad everything is over.”

Earlier in the day, he was leading the 110m hurdles until the final hurdle, which he clipped before stumbling to the finish line in 14.3 seconds. He was edged by Moore’s Derrick Krautlarger on a photo finish.

“That was as close to a tie as you can get,” said SHS coach Craig Church via phone. “We could tell he was pretty disappointed and we were hoping he wouldn’t overcompensate in the 300 and cost himself. It just shows Nathaniel’s maturity that he came out and ran a really determined race and won.”

Winfrey had the best times in each event during Friday’s preliminaries, so he had his sights set on winning two golds instead of a gold and a silver.

“That (photo finish) started off the day,” he said. “From then on, people were trying to talk to me and I didn’t want to talk. I couldn’t smile standing on the second-place podium at all, but this gold really picked my spirits up.”

He is already talking about what he could accomplish next season. If he improves as much next year as he did this season, he could make a run at the state record of 13.97 in the 110m and 36.8 in the 300m.

As a sophomore, he qualified in both, taking 10th in the 300m (40.93) and 17th in the 110m (16.3). Obviously he showed marked improvement this year.

“It’s unbelievable,” Church said. “The biggest thing is this is what Winfrey’s done. Nobody on the coaching staff is trying to take credit for it. He works basically by himself during practice. What a great kid with a great work ethic.”

Three other team members competed on Saturday.

Senior Max Miller took sixth in the 1,600m (4:33), while junior Jessy Murphy was seventh in the long jump (16-51⁄2). Senior Erica Rackley placed 16th in the 1,600m (6:02).

During Friday’s action, Miller was the highlight, taking sixth in the 3,200m (9:57.14). Rackley was 15th on the girls’ side (13:07.24). The boys’ 4x800m relay team of senior Max Johnson, junior Charles Kenna, sophomore Eric Cunningham and senior Kyle Atekwana placed 15th (8:49.88).

        

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