West Ottawa sprinting at record pace
PARK TWP. - The West Ottawa boys track and field team continue to grow, sprinting into the upper echelon of programs at a record-setting pace.
The Panthers broke the school record in the 4x200 at the Von Ins Invitational on Saturday and are building toward a fast postseason.
Bryce Buckner, Ben Monger, Allen Payne Jr. and Ruben Esparza broke the 4x200 relay record with a time of 1:29.70. The quartet broke the previous record of 1:29.73 set in 2015 by Ryan Homik, Carlos Alcantar, Jesse Grover and Justin Freeman.
Buckner got the relay started.
"We have gone through a lot together and It feels pretty cool. It felt like a really good race and I new we were going to do something special," Buckner said. "We were close last year and I knew we had the potential this year."
Enter Monger, who was not on the relay last year.
"It is a pretty big deal. I wasn't on the relay last year and I knew they were close. I wanted to help contribute to something they were so close to. I am really glad I got to be a part of that," Monger said. "I knew it would happen, it was a matter of when."
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Payne Jr. saw the time as he took the baton and knew what was possible.
"I knew that Bryce and Ben got out really strong and it was my turn," Payne Jr. said. "It pushed me even harder to get it to Ruben. We are just going to break the record again as we get faster working toward state."
Esparza, a sophomore, took the baton last and brought the record across the finish line.
"This group is a blessing. We get after it every day in practice. I am going to miss this group of seniors. I don't know what I am going to do without them," Esparza said. "We have a lot of young talent, so we are going to keep rising. And if we want to be where we think we can, we are going to have to shatter this record. "
It is part of the trajectory of the program the past few years.
"We are faster than ever. Last year we were really good," Payne Jr. said. "But we took it to a way different level."
Contact sports editor Dan D’Addona at Dan.D’Addona@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanDAddona or Facebook @HollandSentinelSports.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: West Ottawa sprinting at record pace
