The Redlands’ relay, which includes San Benito High graduate
Ryan Shorey, narrowly figured into a top-16 spot in order to
qualify to nationals, then narrowly survived a near-false start
during prelims to clock a time of 41.19 seconds during Saturday’s
finals and finish in fourth place at nationals, which were held in
Delaware, Ohio, on the campus of Ohio Wesleyan University.
HOLLISTER
Despite several close calls, each of which nearly prevented the University of Redlands’ 4×100 relay team from competing on the final day of the 2011 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, the Division III foursome nevertheless managed to qualify to Saturday’s finals last weekend, where it didn’t take its position for granted, nor did it disappoint.
The Redlands’ relay, which includes San Benito High graduate Ryan Shorey, narrowly figured into a top-16 spot in order to qualify to nationals, then narrowly survived a near-false start during prelims to clock a time of 41.19 seconds during Saturday’s finals and finish in fourth place at nationals, which were held in Delaware, Ohio, on the campus of Ohio Wesleyan University.
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The time — the fourth fastest in Redlands history — supplied the team with All-America status and capped an historic season for the Southern California school, which, prior to nationals, won the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship for the first time since 1964.
“We’ve accomplished quite a bit — the whole team,” said Shorey, a 2009 graduate of SBHS, who received All-America status along with relay teammates Seth Drake (Ramona), Ross Blanchard (Novato) and Andy Green (Seattle).
“It’s been a crazy year,” he said.
Previously recording a time of 41.42 seconds on April 2, which stood as the fastest recorded time in the nation among Division III schools for three straight weeks, the Redlands foursome improved upon its time later that same month when it finished with a time of 41.30 seconds at the SCIAC Championships — a time that was tied for third fastest in the nation for roughly the remainder of the regular season.
The time was more than enough to qualify to nationals, too. But wanting to bring an alternate to nationals that wasn’t part of the team that had recorded the 41.30 — NCAA rules stipulate as much — Redlands instead submitted a time of 41.68 seconds in the final week, placing them 15th in the nation and just barely inside a top-16 qualifying spot.
“We took a risk on that one but it ended up just being enough,” Shorey said. “And we obviously ended up doing well.”
The close calls weren’t done just yet, though. During prelims on Thursday, Redlands was flagged for an “unfair advantage” in the starting blocks. Shorey said the Redlands’ first runner was moving his leg in the blocks, which forced officials to stop the race.
Luckily for Redlands, though, they were not disqualified from the competition.
Recording a time of 41.36 seconds during Thursday’s preliminary round, which placed it second in its heat and fourth fastest in the field, Redlands easily figured into the top eight in order to qualify to Saturday’s finals.
Two days later, the foursome registered one of the fastest times in school history.
“Once Thursday was over, everybody’s nerves were pretty much gone,” Shorey said. “Once we figured out how it worked, it was easier getting by.”
“We knew going into Saturday, we’d be good,” Shorey later added. “That built our confidence going into Saturday.”
Although finishing in fourth place, the Redlands relay team wasn’t far from a top-three bid. In fact, the team’s 41.19 on Saturday was shy of second place by 15 one-hundredths of a second, shy of third place by one one-hundredth of a second.
“All four of us, we knew what we were capable of at that point,” Shorey said. “I don’t think any of us were surprised, but we were definitely extremely happy.”
