Plymouth's Warren Buzzard out-kicked the rest of the field in the 1,600-meter run. (photo by Ed Wright)

'Cats Cruise
Plymouth's balance fuels City crown

BY ED WRIGHT
April 23, 2010, 12:15 a.m.

  Plymouth's boys track-and-field team lost some top-notch performers in the days leading up to the 2010 season when first-year head coach Jon Mikosz instituted a more-disciplined approach.

  But those who stayed have become champions.

  The Wildcats handily captured first place in Thursday's Bolger-Mangan Memorial City Track & Field Meet by piling up 81 points to outdistance runner-up Salem (53.5). Canton placed third with 41.5.

  "The guys who stuck around have really committed themselves and it's paying off," said Mikosz, whose squad is 2-0 in dual meets. "This is a nice accomplishment because Salem and Canton both have very good programs.

  "One of the keys today was that we placed in everything. Our distance guys came back and redeemed themselves, too, after not running real well last week against Canton."

  Plymouth distance standouts Warren Buzzard and Matt Neumann were in top form. Buzzard flew around the track in 4:36.6 to win the 1,600-meter race by less than a second over Neumann and Salem's Dan Martin, who both posted times of 4:37.5.

  Buzzard won the 800 in 2:02.1 over Martin, who finished just over two seconds back.

  In addition to his second-place showing in the 1,600, Neumann won the 3,200 in 10:14.5, almost five seconds quicker than runner-up Joe Porcari of Plymouth.

  "Warren and Matt really ran well," said Mikosz. "We needed them today and they stepped up and did the job."

  Mikosz also heaped praise on Jalen Woolridge, who placed in the high jump, the long jump and in the 400-meter dash; and Kyle Brindza, who won the discus and placed second in the shot put.

  One of the afternoon's most scintillating races was the 400, which featured a down-to-the-wire duel between Canton's Kevin Buford and Salem's Zach Gaskell. The smooth-striding Buford prevailed in 50.2 -- the second of his three victories Thursday.

  Buford also won the 100 in 11.6 and the 200 in 23.0.

  "Obviously, we're not happy placing third for the second year in a row, but our boys didn't back down; they gave it all they had," said Canton coach Bob Richardson. "I had guys running up to me all saying, 'Coach, I just PR'ed, which is pretty cool.

  "Kyle (Meteyer) has done a fine job with Salem's program since taking over a couple years ago and Jon has stepped in and raised the bar right away."

  Canton's Nick Alaniva was a double winner in the field events, taking the pole vault (12 feet, 6 inches) and the long jump with a season-best leap of 20-10.

  Salem's excellent throwing trio of Ed Merhi, Ethan Walsh and Dana Baltazar racked up big-time points along with Plymouth's Brindza, Keith Choma and Darrell Cohn.

  Plymouth's Brandon Piligian and Salem's Scott O'Connor waged a couple of compelling duels in the two hurdles races. Piligian won the 110-meter highs by .7 over O'Connor, who bounced back to beat Piligian by .5 int eh 300 intermediates.

  Salem was just two days removed from a draining 69.5-67.5 victory over Novi in a critical KLAA Central Division match-up that unfolded Tuesday in Novi.

HIGH JUMP: 1. Pawan Dhaliwal (P), 6 feet, 1 inch; 2. (tie) Ben Spreitzer (C) and Zach Gaskell (S), 6-0; 4. Jalen Woolridge (P), 5-8.

POLE VAULT: 1. Nick Alaniva (C), 12-6; 2. Grant Senkbeil (P), 12-6; 3. Joe Bockstanz (P), 12-6; 4. John Krutty (S), 12-6.

LONG JUMP: 1. Nick Alaniva (C), 20-10; 2. Jalen Woolridge (P), 20-8.5; 3. Ben Spreitzer (C), 19-10.5; 4. Thomas Crawford (S), 18-6.5.

DISCUS: 1. Kyle Brindza (P), 141-6; 2. Ethan Walsh (S), 124-2; 3. Keith Choma (P), 122-3; 4. Dana Baltazar (S), 121-0.

SHOT PUT: 1. Ed Merhi (S), 50-9.5; 2. Kyle Brindza (P), 50-0; 3. Ethan Walsh (S), 47-3; 4. Darrell Cohn (P), 43-4.

3,200-METER RELAY: 1. Plymouth, 8:17.9; 2. Canton, 8:23.8; 3. Salem, 8:46.5.

110 HURDLES: 1. Brandon Piligian (P), 16.0; 2. Scott O'Connor (S), 16.7; 3. Ben Spreitzer (C), 16.8; 4. Dion Walker (S), 16.8.

100 DASH: 1. Kevin Buford (C), 11.6; 2. William Askew II (P), 12.0; 3. Alex Ruffin (P), 12.0; 4. Derek Draplin (S), 12.1.

800 RELAY: 1. Plymouth, 1.34.6; 2. Canton, 1:35.5; Salem DQ'ed.

1,600 RUN: 1. Warren Buzzard (P), 4:36.6; 2. Matt Neumann (P), 4:37.5; 3. Dan Martin (S), 4:37.5; 4. Zack Spreitzer (C), 4:38.9.

400 RELAY: 1. Plymouth, 44.6; 2. Salem, 45.2; 3. Canton, 46.7.

400 DASH: 1. Kevin Buford (C), 50.2; 2. Zach Gaskell (S), 51.1; 3. Kennth Middlebrooks (S), 53.0; 4. Jalen Woolridge (P), 53.2.

300 HURDLES: 1. Scott O'Connor (S), 41.2; 2. Brandon Piligian (P), 41.7; 3. Ben Spreitzer (C), 42.4; 4. Jose Amado (S), 43.5.

800 RUN: 1. Warren Buzzard (P), 2:02.1; 2. Dan Martin (S), 2:04.7; 3. Justin Heck (P), 2:06.1; 4. Max Schmiel (C), 2:07.7.

200 dash: 1. Kevin Buford (C), 23.0; 2. Anthony LeMerise (P), 23.4; 3. William Askew II (P), 23.6; 4. Kenneth Middlebrooks (S), 23.8.

3,200 RUN: 1. Matt Neumann (P), 10:14.5; 2. Joe Porcari (P), 10:19.2; 3. Steven McEvilly (S), 10:19.5; 4. Derek Gielarowski (P), 10:25.8.

1,600 RELAY: 1. Salem, 3:28.6; 2. Canton, 3:37.2; 3. Plymouth, 3:37.9.



Canton's Zack Spreitzer was the early leader in the 1,600-meter run. (photo by Ed Wright)