Pioneer qualified in three events: the 4 x 800 relay, the 3200 and the long jump. Gabe Sanders medaled in the long jump, taking 5th place. Way to go Gabe. Unfortunately, we do not have any pictures of Gabe. Oops!

4 x 800 Relay

Dan Wucherer was the first runner for Pioneer. Dan was sensational, as he ran a personal best of 1:59 for his leg.

James Naughton was the second runner. He received the baton in second place and moved up to first place after 200 meters. However, he had started very quickly (about 56 seconds for the first lap) and he faded a bit at the end, getting passed by two runners.

Joe Anderson started in about third place. He started fast, like James, and covered the first lap in roughly 56 seconds. Similar to James, Joe weakened a bit during the last 200 yards.

Robby ran the anchor leg. When he started, he was near the front of the pack. He held his position well for one lap. But like James and Joe, he also ran 56 seconds for the first lap. It proved impossible to maintain this pace in the second lap. Robby had a tough task because Pioneer had started with the fastest runners, while other teams were saving their fastest runner for the anchor leg. So in the last lap of race, Robby was passed by several runners.

Since Pioneer was running in the slower of the two heats, it would have been necessary to win the heat to have a reasonable chance of placing. This did not happen. Nonetheless the team ran a season best time of 8:10, which was a commendable effort.

3200 Run

The featured performer in the 3200 race was Dathan Ritzenheim of Rockford, Michigan. Dathan was attempting to establish a new national record. It was quite an effort and a lot of fun to watch. After three laps, as shown above, Dathan was already 100 yards ahead of the #2 runner, Tim Moore from Novi (who is also a nationally ranked runner). The crowd cheered wildly for Dathan. Ultimately, Dathan was unable to set a new national mark, but he easily smashed the existing Michigan record (which he set last year). Dathan's time was a sensational 8:43.

Pioneer's Matt Johnson also ran in the 3200. Matt had a tough job running against this very talented field. Although Matt finished well back in the field, he can be very proud of his 2001 season. You have to be a very talented runner to even qualify for the state meet.