STOCKBRIDGE — Charyl Stockwell Academy senior Beckett Fitch collapsed in the grass on the side of the track after winning the 400-meter run.
Yes, he was exhausted after running a hard race in 80-degree heat. But there had to be some relief mixed into the moment, as well.
Fitch nearly lost the opportunity to reach the finish line when he leaned forward and started early.
As an official walked in his direction and uttered the sobering words, “I’m sorry, young man …” Stockwell coach Ron Abner said that a loud clap nearby resulted in Fitch’s early start.
The race officials accepted the explanation and allowed Fitch to remain in the race when it restarted. He went on to pick up 10 huge points for the Sentinels by winning with a time of 51.11 seconds during the Division 3 regional on Saturday, May 16 at Stockbridge High School.
Without those points, Stockwell doesn’t finish in a tie for the championship with Plymouth Christian with 100 points each. It’s the Sentinels’ third regional title in four years.
The girls meet wasn’t nearly that close, as Stockwell repeated as champion by piling up 202.5 points. Wixom St. Catherine was a distant second with 89.5.
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Easily the most stressful moment of the day for the Sentinels was when Fitch was nearly disqualified in the 400. He was the top seed in the event and expected to qualify for state finals.
“That was awful,” Fitch said. “When I got out, I was an absolute nervous wreck that it was over for me. Thankfully, apparently someone clapped and that’s why we went off. I couldn’t be more thankful that I got the second chance.”
Fitch got out of the blocks a tad slower on the restart, just to be safe, then went on to win an event he ran only twice in his first two seasons on the team. He broke the school record with a time of 51.33 the first time he ran the 400 this season and beat a field of primarily Division 1 runners the next time he ran the event at the Brighton Bulldog Invitational.
“Last year, I was just 800s, because I was good at 800s,” Fitch said. “Obviously, there’s not a lot of time between the 4 and the 8. I said to my coach at the beginning of the season I’d like to try at least one. The very first one I ran this season, I broke our school record and I got first at a D1 meet. After that, he said, ‘You can run some 400s.’”
It was the first individual regional championship for Fitch, who was on the winning 4×800 relay team last year and second in the 800.
Two Sentinels made history by winning their fourth regional titles, becoming the first Livingston County athletes to achieve that feat.
There was a bit of stress involved also for senior Becka Lethorn, who needed to clear 8 feet, 3 inches on her final attempt to win her fourth pole vault title. She was the only vaulter at the meet to clear a height. Lethorn is a two-time all-stater who has been vaulting for only two weeks while recovering from wrist surgery following a snowboarding crash.
“I didn’t even think I was going to win regionals my freshman year,” said Lethorn, who had already secured a state berth by clearing 10 feet earlier in the season. “It’s a memory I’ll never forget. My mom was crying, my dad was tearing up.”
Senior Ella Heffner won the 800 for the fourth time, posting a time of 2:30.16 shortly after taking second in the 400 in a school-record 1:01.49.
“I’m happy I was able to manage my anxiety for this,” Heffner said. “I’ve been running track for four years and this is one of my last meets in high school. It’s kind of overwhelming sometimes. I’m so happy and so proud of how far I’ve come. It’s also a little bit sad, definitely bittersweet.”
Heffner also qualified in the 3,200, placing second in 13:28.40, and on the second-place 4×400 relay team with Chelsea Hollingsworth, Tori Vasiloff and Bailey Yates.
Senior Lauren Hammond had a huge day for the Sentinels, winning the 100 in 12.69 and the 200 in 26.19, while anchoring the 4×100 relay team to a first-place finish and the 4×200 relay to a fourth-place showing.
Also running on the 4×100 relay team were Lethorn, Jessica LeFeve and Sophie Lindberg.
Yates swept the hurdles, winning the 100 in 17.02 and the 300 in a school-record 49.31.
Two freshmen won field events for the Sentinels, with LeFeve taking long jump at 15 feet, 9.75 inches and Penelope Usborne winning high jump by clearing 4-8.
In the boys meet, Gabriel Dawson won discus at 117-1 and the 4×400 relay team of Jack Hammond, Fitch, Teigan Chavez and Luke Surowiec won in 3:35.82. Elijah Killinger qualified in the 3,200 by taking second in 10:42.20.
Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@livingstondaily.com. Follow him on X @BillKhan
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Charyl Stockwell overcomes some anxious moments, sweeps track regional
Reporting by Bill Khan, Livingston Daily / Livingston Daily
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