Sparta's Roger Krum leads team to win in Division 2 regional at Zeeland East,
ZEELAND -- Any athlete will tell you "practice makes perfect" is the key to success. While that is true for many atheltes, Roger Krum also credits a good meal as a key to success. The senior from Sparta led his team to its first Division 2 regional victory since 2008 on Friday with wins in the 100-meter dash (11.37 seconds) and 200 (22.70) on a diet of pasta Thursday night and french toast Friday morning. "I've been talking to my coaches all week about granola," Krum said. "They told me (to eat) french toast and pasta." The Spartans scored 128 points. Zeeland West (118) and Zeeland East (68) rounded out the top 3. Sparta coach Ted Smith said one of the biggest keys to the win was the fact that Sparta scored in all 17 events. "It was a real tribute to the effort they put in today," Smith said. "It's been an awesome ride this year. Kids have done a great job; very competitive team." Krum was hoping to have a strong showing at his last regionals of his high school career. "It was everything," Krum said of winning as a senior. "I wanted the 200-meter dash, especially, ever since I could remember." Zeeland East's TJ Beelen won the the discus (188, feet 0 inches) and shot put (56-9.5). Beelen was expected to throw over 200 feet in the discus, but said the weather conditions kept him from achieving that feat. "The wind changed the wrong way," Beelen said. "It changed on us halfway through." On the girls side, Hamilton, which won the OK Green conference title, won a regional title scoring 137.67 points. Zeeland East (85.67) and Spring Lake (82.34) rounded out the top 3. Hamilton coach Travis Pertner credited a deep team to a successful regional win. "It's a symbol of the great dual meet team that we have," Pertner said. Individual girls for Hamilton qualified in 13 of 17 events. Hamilton's Molly Oren won the long jump (16-9.5) and also was part of the winning 3200 relay team (9:42.19) with Cathy Coryell, Brandi Tidd and Emily Oren. Other state qualifiers for Sparta were Clay Weidenhamer, who placed second in the shot put at 54 feet, 4 inches, the 3200 relay team of Austin Jacobson, Brandon George, Adam Birkeland and Tom Willet, the 800 relay team of Adrian Garza, Dan Antor, Nate VanPatten and Krum. Shane Miedzielec qualified in the 300-meter hurdles, Willet in the 800, the 1600 relay team of Kyle May, Antor, Miedzielec and Luke Bradford. George and Birkeland qualified in the 3200 as well. Sparta also qualified in the 400 relay and set a school record and OK Blue conference with a time of 43.69 (Terry Bulloch, Garza, VanPatten, Krum). Other qualifiers in the discus were Keith Rodgers (Allendale), Quincy Byrd (Zeeland East) and Jordan VanDort (Zeeland West). In the shot put Tom Cramer (Zeeland East) and MattKolean (Hamilton) qualified for state. Muskegon: For the boys, Muskegon Orchard View's Justin Hunter-Smith won the 110 hurdles (15.00) and 300 hurdles (38.97). Orchard View finished in seventh with 41 points. Whitehall (39) finished in eighth, Grant (12) finished in 11th, Spring Lake (11) finished in 12th and Fremont (11) finished in 13th. For the girls, Fruitport's Heidi Klinger won the 100 in 13.00. Spring Lake (71.34) finished in third place, Fruitport (57) finished in fifth, Orchard View (13) finished in 11th, Fremont (5) finished in 12th, Whitehall (4) finished in 13th and Grand (1) finished in 14th |