By By DAN WEISS / Niles Daily Star
NILES -- There's a good reason why the Niles High School track and field programs have shown steady improvement over the past few years.
It's because the Ring Lardner Middle School track and field program has been on an upswing in the last five years and has served as a training ground for young athletes.
Since 1999, the Ring Lardner track and field teams have beaten 448 out of 471 opponents, a winning percentage of .951.
The Ring Lardner boys and girls teams, which total about 80 athletes, are coached by Joe Zdziebko who is assisted by Chad Gardner and Bev Daugherty.
So far this season, the Ring Lardner boys have beaten 56 of 62 opponents and the girls have beaten all 62 opponents. Should the girls finish out the season without a loss, it would be the first time a Ring Lardner girls team has ever gone undefeated..
Don't be fooled, the Ring Lardner teams have their share of speed. They also have some strong athletes, as evidenced by their results in the shot put this season.
Sierra Haines and Josh Beers have both set new school records in shot put this season. Haines set the record at 35-5 and Beers' record is 48-9.5.
The Ring Lardner girls have broken eight records in all this season. Sarah Tyler broke the record in the 800-meter run three times this season. Her current best time is 2:46.62. Camia Allen broke the record in the 200-meter dash twice this year and currently holds the record at 27.77. She also holds the record in the 70-meter dash with a time of 9.37. Brawley holds the record in the 3,200-meter run with a time of 12:06.32. The 800-meter relay team of Karly Kennedy, Charlene Griffin, Autumn Grayson and Allen hold the record with a time of 1:58.41. The 3,200-meter relay team of Briana Cramer, Alyssa Pingel, Brawley and Tyler hold the record with a time of 11:30.87. The 1,600-meter relay team of Kaitlyn Touhey, Nellie Coquillard, Jamecia Moffitt and Grayson also set that record at 4:41.0.
The Ring Lardner boys have broken seven school records this year. Ben Brandstatter broke the 400-meter record twice with his current best time of 57.07. The 1,600-meter relay team of Matt McNitt, Demetrius Phillips, Grant Cramer and Mike Dodd broke the school record three times and currently own a best time of 4:01.03. Allison's time of 11:32.98 is a record in the 3,200-meter run. The 800-meter relay team of Beers, Dodd, Bandstatter and Luis Delmuro own the record with a time of 1:43.25. Phillips holds the record in the 200-meter hurdles with a time of 29.09. The 400-meter relay team of Brandon Thomas, Beers, Brandstatter and Delmuro on the record with a time of 48.57.
Since 1999, the Ring Lardner girls have broken 13 of 16 school records and the boys have broken 12 of 16 records.
In the process of defeating all opponents this season, the Ring Lardner girls have also won three tournament titles. The Vikings took first at the Bender Relays in Niles, the Edwardsburg Relays and the Buchanan Invitational. The Ring Lardner boys took second in all three of those meets.
The Ring Lardner boys and girls also teamed up to win the St. Joseph Co-ed Relays this season. The Vikings broke three meet records on their way to the victory. The teams have one more invitational this season, the Allegan Co-Ed Relays.