GunderKline 10th at state
- Published: June 11, 2009
As the lone Yellow Springs High School representative to run at the state track meet in Columbus on Saturday, June 6, Brock GunderKline finished 10th in the 800-meter run in 1:59.4. That time was a tad slower than the personal record of 1:58.95 he set at the regional meet the previous weekend, but GunderKline beat David Curtin, the Cincinnati Hills runner who finished ahead of him at regionals, and earned a laudable spot in his event as the tenth fastest Div. III runner in Ohio.
GunderKline got a slow start to the race and after 300 meters found himself in last place, he said on Monday.
“I was hoping it wasn’t me who was going too slow but that they were all going too fast to start out,” he said. “It turned out it was me.”
So in the second lap he kicked into higher gear and was able to pass five runners. He headed into the final stretch on the heels of regional competitors Curtin and Jeff Kremer from New Breman, who both beat him the previous weekend. And in the last two meters, he passed Curtin by a hair and finished sandwiched by less than a tenth of a second between the two.
“It all happened very fast, but somehow I got right between them — timewise we were really close,” he said.
Though he was hoping to finish in the top eight for a medal, GunderKline said he was grateful for all the support he got from teammates, friends and family who came to watch.
Seth Butler from Findlay Liberty-Benton won the 800 state title, finishing the event in 1:52.86. As a team, Findlay finished sixth in the state, behind state champion Garfield Heights Trinity, second-place finisher Pandora Gilboa and third-place finisher North Robinson Colonel Crawford.
GunderKline, a senior, will continue running track and cross country next year at Goshen College in Indiana.
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