COAL GROVE – Now that’s a "Going Away" present.

Saturday, May 13, 2000

COAL GROVE – Now that’s a "Going Away" present.

When the track season ends, so will the coaching career of Rock Hill’s Redgie Arden. And since Arden is leaving, his Redwomen decided to give him a going away present: the Ohio Valley Conference track championship.

Rock Hill won the OVC track title Friday night for the seventh time in 10 seasons under Arden as the Redwomen racked up 120 points, well ahead of runner-up Chesapeake’s total of 69.

Coal Grove was third with 57 points, South Point had 52, and Fairland 34.

"This is excellent. This is the only way to go," said Arden. "I really appreciated the girls all year. I’ve been fortunate to have outstanding athletes and outstanding personalities. They’re all extremely coachable. They’re never a problem."

Arden said this year’s team came together quicker than any team he has coached. He said the team clicked early and it was all just fine-tuning after that point.

"We have some great individual athletes like Jessica Kerns, Rachel Hartwig, and Mandy McDonie, but we have a lot of talented players who work hard, give us a lot of depth, and have a lot of pride in our tradition. They really believed in themselves," said Arden.

Kerns, a sophomore, won meet high point honors with 26. Kerns won the 100 meter hurdles and set a meet record in winning the high jump. She was second in the long jump to teammate Lisa Hacker and was third in the 300 hurdles.

Kerns 5-2 1/4 in the high jump was one-quarter of an inch better than the league record of Coal Grove’s Trish Walters.

"I haven’t been feeling that good. I hurt my hip and I didn’t expect to do that good," said Kerns.

The high point honors are nothing new for Kerns who has taken top honors in every meet but one this season.

Hacker went 15-6 1/2 to win the long jump by two inches. Rock Hill’s Crystal Bamer was first in the discus at 104-feet.

Fairland’s Chelsea Walls was tied for second in the high point chase with 24. She won the 800 (2:33.6), the 1600 (5:55.6), and the 3200 (12:37.6).

Hartwig also had 24 points. She won the 400 at 1:05.6, was second in the 1600 (6:29.8) and 3200 (13:11.7), and third in the 800 (2:517).

South Point’s Deidra Layne was a double winner as she finished first in the 100 meters (13.2 seconds) and the 200 (28.1).

Chesapeake’s Laura King won the shot put at 33-4 1/2.

Coal Grove’s Mary Wineka claimed the 300 hurdles with a 51.0 clocking.

Rock Hill’s 800 relay team of Jessica Bonzo, Becky Anderson, Miranda Edwards, and Hacker won with a 1:54.9 time.

South Point’s 400 relay team ran a 53.5 to win as Angela Linthicum, Sarah Stevens, Brandi Thacker, and Layne combined talents.

Coal Grove won both the 1600 and 3200 relays. The 1600 team of Jennifer Christian, Michelle Drummond, Amber Harmon, and Wineka ran a 4:42.2, while Jessica Mabry, Pauline Williams, Christian, and Drummond ran a winning 11:50.7 time.