Gunnerson Has Edge Going Into BRD Champs

By Jim McGrath Sunday, February 07, 2010

With many recent indoor track meets being cancelled due to inclement weather, local teams are in a position of figuring out how to train their athletes and keep a competitive edge going as the championship season begins with the Bay Rivers meet next week.

Grafton senior David Gunnerson is in a unique, but unfavorable position. As the college signing period has recently begun, Gunnerson, like many other seniors, is trying to find high-quality meets to run faster times with the hope of attracting college coaches whose programs have been slightly out of reach. Last weekend, several Bay Rivers teams missed an opportunity to post top-notch times, with the cancellation of meets such as the Virginia Tech Invitational.

Jamestown’s Colin Mearns recently signed with the University of Virginia, a team with a solid distance program and an up-and-coming stable of newer athletes such as New Jersey’s Robby Andrews, who broke the national high school 1000-meter record last February at the New Balance Collegiate Games in New York. Andrews time of 2:22.68 beat Alan Webb’s previous record by exactly one second.

Gunnerson was in that race, placing sixth in 2:30.15, good enough to place 20th all-time in Virginia high school history. His time was also fast enough to make him the top returning 1000-meter runner in Virginia this winter.

Looking to make lightning strike twice, the Clipper returned to the fabled Armory track in Manhattan on Friday night looking to improve on his best time. Although Andrews has moved on, there was still a tough field to contend with, although slightly depleted with the subtraction of  two runners who could not make the trip because of the weather.

Starting within a foursome on the outside part of the track, Gunnerson broke to the inside after 50 meters in seventh place out of eight competitors. Working hard to make up ground, the middle-distance specialist fought his way up to fourth with a strong surge between the 600 and 800 meter marks, passing the 800 split in 1:59. However, his surge faded just a bit as Red Bank (NJ) junior Kevin Byrne ran away from the field with a time of 2:26.78. Like last year, Gunnerson finished sixth, and his time of 2:30.29 was just off of last year’s effort. However, the time will make Gunnerson the #1 seed in the AA state meet, unless his time is bested at the district or regional meets.

The Bay Rivers championships are set to go on Monday (weather permitting) at the Boo Williams Sportsplex in Hampton. With the cancellation of many meets, it is hard to gauge the top teams; however, the Jamestown boys should be favored, while the Lady Eagles should contend with tough squads from Lafayette and Tabb for the girls crown.