Brandtson Duffie places 6th at Div. III State 800m run
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
COLUMBUS — In his individual state track and field debut on Saturday afternoon at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium, Fairfield sophomore Brandtson Duffie impressed many, with a finish of sixth place and earning a spot on the coveted podium in the Division III 800m run.
In representing the Lions on Saturday, Duffie raced in the 800m finals with a steady pace, running his first of two laps with a time of 58.065, followed by a second and final lap of 59.892 for a final time of 1:57.956.
“We are very proud of Brandtson,” Fairfield coach Bill Mangus said. “He executed the game plan to perfection. His hard work and smart tactics paid off today.”
[[In-content Ad]]
Duffie spoke about the excitement of not only racing at state, but having the finish he achieved as a sophomore.
“It was the greatest experience of my life. Getting to compete here and running here is really special for me, and I’ve been working all year for this,” Duffie said. “I really concentrated on running my own race. I didn’t want to get caught up or go out too fast, and I did exactly that. I went out about a second faster than usual, which was my plan because I knew I needed it if I wanted to compete here.
“When I went out that second faster, I really put myself in good position. I was in about 10th place after 400, and when I came back with about 200 left I was in about eighth. Then I finished in sixth, which is really special.”
Duffie had a goal when he got to Columbus to be in the Top 8, and that is what he achieved. Before he raced at state on Saturday, last weekend at the Division III Regionals at Fairfield Union he qualified with a time of 1:58.48. At districts, which were raced at Southeastern High School, he had a time of 1:59.4, and at the Southern Hills Athletic Conference Championships, Duffie secured a time of 2:05.00.
“My goal was just to be top eight. That’s all I wanted. To finish two places higher than that – I’m really happy with that,” the sophomore said. “That’s about half a second faster than it was last week, so that’s my new PR for the year.
“I’d like to thank my coaches, thank God and my parents for helping me get here, especially so young. It’s a really great experience.”
In representing the Lions on Saturday, Duffie raced in the 800m finals with a steady pace, running his first of two laps with a time of 58.065, followed by a second and final lap of 59.892 for a final time of 1:57.956.
“We are very proud of Brandtson,” Fairfield coach Bill Mangus said. “He executed the game plan to perfection. His hard work and smart tactics paid off today.”
[[In-content Ad]]
Duffie spoke about the excitement of not only racing at state, but having the finish he achieved as a sophomore.
“It was the greatest experience of my life. Getting to compete here and running here is really special for me, and I’ve been working all year for this,” Duffie said. “I really concentrated on running my own race. I didn’t want to get caught up or go out too fast, and I did exactly that. I went out about a second faster than usual, which was my plan because I knew I needed it if I wanted to compete here.
“When I went out that second faster, I really put myself in good position. I was in about 10th place after 400, and when I came back with about 200 left I was in about eighth. Then I finished in sixth, which is really special.”
Duffie had a goal when he got to Columbus to be in the Top 8, and that is what he achieved. Before he raced at state on Saturday, last weekend at the Division III Regionals at Fairfield Union he qualified with a time of 1:58.48. At districts, which were raced at Southeastern High School, he had a time of 1:59.4, and at the Southern Hills Athletic Conference Championships, Duffie secured a time of 2:05.00.
“My goal was just to be top eight. That’s all I wanted. To finish two places higher than that – I’m really happy with that,” the sophomore said. “That’s about half a second faster than it was last week, so that’s my new PR for the year.
“I’d like to thank my coaches, thank God and my parents for helping me get here, especially so young. It’s a really great experience.”