Canton's Nick Alaniva won the pole vault event when he cleared the bar at 13 feet, 1 inch (Ed Wright photo)

Strong effort by Canton comes up just short against unbeaten Patriots

May 5, 2010, 1:15 a.m.

  Tuesday's dual meet against visiting Livonia Franklin was as close as Canton coach Bob Richardson expected.

  His expectations weren't quite met, however, when it came to the final score.

  The Chiefs were nipped, 72-65, by the unbeaten Patriots, dropping their record to 2-2.

  "I knew it was going to be close -- both these teams match up well on paper," said Richardson. "We needed to win three of the four relays and we only won two; that's what it came down to.

  "The kids gave it their best shot, though. Pat Koelzer is doing a great job over there at Franklin."

  The Chiefs trailed 30-15 after the field events despite a strong showing by Nick Alaniva, who won the pole vault (13 feet, 1 inch) and the long jump (19-9.25).

  Canton sophomore Kevin Buford continued his incredible spring showing by winning the 100 in 11.2, the 200 in 23.6 and the 400 in 50.4.

  Senior Keith Zech also shined, posting a personal-best time of 2:04.7 while winning the 800.

DISCUS: 1. Nate Coleman (LF), 148 feet, 0 inches; 2. McAuliffe (LF), 139-10; 3. Jay Woolfork (LF), 115-1.

HIGH JUMP: 1. Banks (LF), 5-10; 2. Matt Schacht (C), 5-8; 3. Sharp (LF), 5-6.

LONG JUMP: 1. Nick Alaniva (C), 19-9.25; 2. Banks (LF), 18-10.5; 3. Zac Merillat (C), 18-9.5.

SHOT PUT: 1. Jay Woolfork (LF), 46-7; 2. Nate Coleman (LF), 45-9.5; 3. McAuliffe (LF), 44-10.5.

POLE VAULT: 1. Nick Alaniva (C), 13-1; 2. Kaplan (LF), 12-0; 3. Luke Freeman (C), 10-0.

3,200-METER RELAY: 1. Canton (Keith Zech, Max Schmiel, Paul Rakovitis, Zack Spreitzer), 8:31.5; 2. Franklin, 8:50.2.

110 HURDLES: 1. Mike Sharp (LF), 16.2; 2. Richard Duncan (LF), 16.6; 3. Zach Miller (LF), 17.6.

100 DASH: 1. Kevin Buford (C), 11.2; 2. Richard Duncan (LF), 11.3; 3. Ryan Hurt (LF), 11.7.

800 RELAY: 1. Franklin, 1:33.3; 2. Canton, 1:36.1.

1,600 RUN: 1. Zack Spreitzer (C), 4:40.2; 2. Austin Jones (LF), 4:43.4; 3. Gherardani (LF), 4:50.0.

400 RELAY: 1. Franklin, 44.6; 2. Canton, 45.6.

400 DASH: 1. Kevin Buford (C), 50.4; 2. Beasley (LF), 52.4; 3. Jordan Wisniewski (C), 53.0.

300 HURDLES: 1. Mike Sharp (LF), 43.0; 2. Zach Miller (LF), 43.4; 3. Winston Roberts (C), 43.4.

800 RUN: 1. Keith Zech (C), 2:04.7; 2. Paul Rakovitis (C), 2:05.0; 3. Kopohen (LF), 2:05.7.

200 DASH: 1. Kevin Buford (C), 23.6; 2. Mike Edge (C), 24.1; 3. Cal Coplai (C), 24.8.

3,200 RUN: 1. Bradon Conley (C), 10:40.7; 2. Wilson (LF), 10:50.6; 3. Josh Osinski (C), 10:58.1.

1,600 RELAY: 1. Canton (Paul Rakovitis, Keith Zech, Jordan Wisniewski, Kevin Buford), 3:44.2; 2. Franklin, 4:26.0.