Lions 4x8 returns to state with new look
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
The Fairfield Lions are well represented at the 2018 Division III State Track and Field Championships this weekend with five athletes wearing the red and white of the Lions competition on the big stage at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium in Columbus.
Four of those athletes are members of the boys team, as junior Brandtson Duffie (800-meter run) and senior Matthew Mangus (3200m run) each qualified for individual events, with the two state placers from a year ago returning to their respective events. Both Duffie and Mangus join junior Bennett Hodson and senior Andrew Davis in the 4x800m relay race, as Mangus and Duffie raced in that state event one year ago as well. (To read about senior Blake Adams, the fifth state qualifier for the Fairfield Lions, click here.)
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The Lions set the district meet record with a time of 8:20.6 in mid-May, and at regionals last weekend they were third at 8:20.00. Last year at state, the ’17 Lions ran a time of 8:14.49, as that is the school record for the 4x800m relay team.
Davis spoke about this being his first time racing at state and what he’s looking forward to at the event.
“This is my first time being a state participant in the state track meet. It’s pretty exciting. Being able to run really well and being able to go to the state track meet is pretty exciting for me,” Davis said. “I’m the first leg of the 4x8. It’s pretty intimidating.
“Just being on the first lap with all of the 10,000-plus people in the stands at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium – being there last year and watching it, it was a great experience, seeing everyone cheering. That first lap just looked really fun and exciting, and I can’t wait to be a part of that.”
Davis said his season has gone well for him, as he also raced indoor track before the spring season.
“In the 800 and the 4x8, it’s kind of gone well for me,” Davis said. “I improved a lot over the year. From the start of indoor all the way through till now, I’ve really improved in the 800. My mile this year wasn’t what I really wanted. I was hoping to break 4:40 finally and get in the 4:30s and maybe do better at regionals and go higher on the podium, but I just was more focused on the 800 and the 4x8 this year.
“My speed within the year, I’ve probably dropped 14 seconds or so in the 800 from my best time last year to this year. I think I’ve really improved more on my speed. I’ve greatly improved on my 400, too. Running the 4x400 and 800 really helped me with my speed.”
Fairfield coach Bill Mangus spoke about what the process was like in replacing two members from the state team from a season ago.
“Early on in the winter, I saw the possibility that we’d have to replace two of our 4x8 runners,” Coach Mangus said. “I saw the talent level in Bennett and Andrew, knew that they were state meet runners – they’d been the state meet in cross-country other years in high school – and knew they had the competitiveness, determination and drive to be able to achieve the goal of replacing these guys.
“Brandtson and Matthew are the leaders of our team. They set the tone every day in the workouts and in practices. They’re like coaches without the coaches being there. They take the younger athletes and show them how hard work and determination and work ethic get you to high places. We couldn’t be here where we are without those two guys and that kind of leadership.”
Duffie had great success at state last year with a sixth-place finish in the 800m run and is looking to improve on that time, plus he said that having the opportunity to race in the relay event is exciting as well.
“That’s been the goal all year, to qualify in the 4x8 and qualify in an individual event, specifically the 800. I’m happy. I did well last year with running both, and PRed [set a personal record] in both events last year, so I’m happy to be back to help my team and individually race the next day,” Duffie said. “I got a lot faster in distances under the 800 this year. I’ve dropped my 400 quarter time down to about 50 seconds, so I’m really happy about that.”
Duffie also spoke about being a regional champion, as he had a time of 1:57.06.
“Being a regional champ’s been a goal I’ve had since my freshman year, when I was seventh,” he said. “Last year, being second, I really thought I could come back this year and win the meet, and doing so gave me a lot of confidence going into the state meet this week.”
The Fairfield junior, Duffie said he enjoys chasing down other runners in the 4x8 race.
“For the 4x8, being a top 800 runner, I always find confidence in being able to race everyone and being able to chase a lot of people down. That helps you run faster in the 4x8 – being able to chase somebody or being able to race with somebody,” Duffie said. “Running second this year, and Andrew getting us off to a good start, I’m glad to be running with top guys in the 4x8.”
Mangus will also race at two events this weekend, and like Duffie, he is a returning state placer as he was seventh a year ago in the 3200m run. Mangus wants to add to those results from a season ago, and at regionals last weekend, Mangus had a time of 9:42.64 for third place.
“It’s still very exciting. It’s one of the most fun experiences I’ve had, especially qualifying in two events. It’s just great to be up there for two days and to compete at such a high level,” Mangus said. “I qualified for the 4x8 and 3200 last year. This year, I spent some more time working on my mile time and getting that down because it was not that good last year.
“I doubled a lot more this year, because last year, I would just run only the 3200 and try to get my time down in that. This year, I worked on doubling, and I was able to beat some of my times after running multiple events. I can tell I’m a lot stronger this year, and I think that’s a big help.”
Mangus — who has been on three state 4x8 teams —said there were times when there were doubts about whether the return trip was going to happen.
“I didn’t have much confidence for us to qualify this year in the 4x8, but it was a great surprise for us to come down 35 seconds from league to district,” Mangus said. “We even beat our district record from last year. We broke our own record, and that was very surprising for me. I didn’t think we’d be able to do it, but we got it done. I’m very excited to go up there for the third year in a row and compete in the 4x8.”
Hodson will be making his state track and field debut this weekend, and he too is ready to gain the experience.
“It’s a great experience, running with two of the top fastest runners in the state. Especially with running with Brandtson. He’s one of those teammates that wants you to push yourself,” Hodson said. “Andrew and I want to push each other in practice all the time, which motivated me to run harder. Then I’ve got Matthew there, just supporting me in the background.
“The journey was a long and bumpy road, sort of. Me and Andrew, we had to fill in some big shoes from last year, but we stepped up to the occasion and filled it in. This 4x8 team is kind of like my family. We’ve grown together, and it has been a fun experience to be a part of.”
Coach Mangus said there are lofty expectations for the Lions team this weekend.
“My expectation is to go in there and be prepared and compete, refuse to lose your individual battles and try to break our school record that we set last year of 8:14 in the 4x8,” Coach Mangus said. “That time would really be important and a great goal for these kids, if they could break that time for last year.
“As far as Brandtson and Matthew in their individual events, they were both sixth and seventh last year at the state meet. I would expect that Matthew could be in the top five and Brandtson in the top three, based upon their racing abilities and what they’ve been able to do this season.
“We’ve had a successful program for many years now. I say it almost all the time, when I get the opportunity: we would not be here without the support of the community, the school board and the parents. We have outstanding parents in this program, and they make a big difference in how successful we are.”
Four of those athletes are members of the boys team, as junior Brandtson Duffie (800-meter run) and senior Matthew Mangus (3200m run) each qualified for individual events, with the two state placers from a year ago returning to their respective events. Both Duffie and Mangus join junior Bennett Hodson and senior Andrew Davis in the 4x800m relay race, as Mangus and Duffie raced in that state event one year ago as well. (To read about senior Blake Adams, the fifth state qualifier for the Fairfield Lions, click here.)
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The Lions set the district meet record with a time of 8:20.6 in mid-May, and at regionals last weekend they were third at 8:20.00. Last year at state, the ’17 Lions ran a time of 8:14.49, as that is the school record for the 4x800m relay team.
Davis spoke about this being his first time racing at state and what he’s looking forward to at the event.
“This is my first time being a state participant in the state track meet. It’s pretty exciting. Being able to run really well and being able to go to the state track meet is pretty exciting for me,” Davis said. “I’m the first leg of the 4x8. It’s pretty intimidating.
“Just being on the first lap with all of the 10,000-plus people in the stands at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium – being there last year and watching it, it was a great experience, seeing everyone cheering. That first lap just looked really fun and exciting, and I can’t wait to be a part of that.”
Davis said his season has gone well for him, as he also raced indoor track before the spring season.
“In the 800 and the 4x8, it’s kind of gone well for me,” Davis said. “I improved a lot over the year. From the start of indoor all the way through till now, I’ve really improved in the 800. My mile this year wasn’t what I really wanted. I was hoping to break 4:40 finally and get in the 4:30s and maybe do better at regionals and go higher on the podium, but I just was more focused on the 800 and the 4x8 this year.
“My speed within the year, I’ve probably dropped 14 seconds or so in the 800 from my best time last year to this year. I think I’ve really improved more on my speed. I’ve greatly improved on my 400, too. Running the 4x400 and 800 really helped me with my speed.”
Fairfield coach Bill Mangus spoke about what the process was like in replacing two members from the state team from a season ago.
“Early on in the winter, I saw the possibility that we’d have to replace two of our 4x8 runners,” Coach Mangus said. “I saw the talent level in Bennett and Andrew, knew that they were state meet runners – they’d been the state meet in cross-country other years in high school – and knew they had the competitiveness, determination and drive to be able to achieve the goal of replacing these guys.
“Brandtson and Matthew are the leaders of our team. They set the tone every day in the workouts and in practices. They’re like coaches without the coaches being there. They take the younger athletes and show them how hard work and determination and work ethic get you to high places. We couldn’t be here where we are without those two guys and that kind of leadership.”
Duffie had great success at state last year with a sixth-place finish in the 800m run and is looking to improve on that time, plus he said that having the opportunity to race in the relay event is exciting as well.
“That’s been the goal all year, to qualify in the 4x8 and qualify in an individual event, specifically the 800. I’m happy. I did well last year with running both, and PRed [set a personal record] in both events last year, so I’m happy to be back to help my team and individually race the next day,” Duffie said. “I got a lot faster in distances under the 800 this year. I’ve dropped my 400 quarter time down to about 50 seconds, so I’m really happy about that.”
Duffie also spoke about being a regional champion, as he had a time of 1:57.06.
“Being a regional champ’s been a goal I’ve had since my freshman year, when I was seventh,” he said. “Last year, being second, I really thought I could come back this year and win the meet, and doing so gave me a lot of confidence going into the state meet this week.”
The Fairfield junior, Duffie said he enjoys chasing down other runners in the 4x8 race.
“For the 4x8, being a top 800 runner, I always find confidence in being able to race everyone and being able to chase a lot of people down. That helps you run faster in the 4x8 – being able to chase somebody or being able to race with somebody,” Duffie said. “Running second this year, and Andrew getting us off to a good start, I’m glad to be running with top guys in the 4x8.”
Mangus will also race at two events this weekend, and like Duffie, he is a returning state placer as he was seventh a year ago in the 3200m run. Mangus wants to add to those results from a season ago, and at regionals last weekend, Mangus had a time of 9:42.64 for third place.
“It’s still very exciting. It’s one of the most fun experiences I’ve had, especially qualifying in two events. It’s just great to be up there for two days and to compete at such a high level,” Mangus said. “I qualified for the 4x8 and 3200 last year. This year, I spent some more time working on my mile time and getting that down because it was not that good last year.
“I doubled a lot more this year, because last year, I would just run only the 3200 and try to get my time down in that. This year, I worked on doubling, and I was able to beat some of my times after running multiple events. I can tell I’m a lot stronger this year, and I think that’s a big help.”
Mangus — who has been on three state 4x8 teams —said there were times when there were doubts about whether the return trip was going to happen.
“I didn’t have much confidence for us to qualify this year in the 4x8, but it was a great surprise for us to come down 35 seconds from league to district,” Mangus said. “We even beat our district record from last year. We broke our own record, and that was very surprising for me. I didn’t think we’d be able to do it, but we got it done. I’m very excited to go up there for the third year in a row and compete in the 4x8.”
Hodson will be making his state track and field debut this weekend, and he too is ready to gain the experience.
“It’s a great experience, running with two of the top fastest runners in the state. Especially with running with Brandtson. He’s one of those teammates that wants you to push yourself,” Hodson said. “Andrew and I want to push each other in practice all the time, which motivated me to run harder. Then I’ve got Matthew there, just supporting me in the background.
“The journey was a long and bumpy road, sort of. Me and Andrew, we had to fill in some big shoes from last year, but we stepped up to the occasion and filled it in. This 4x8 team is kind of like my family. We’ve grown together, and it has been a fun experience to be a part of.”
Coach Mangus said there are lofty expectations for the Lions team this weekend.
“My expectation is to go in there and be prepared and compete, refuse to lose your individual battles and try to break our school record that we set last year of 8:14 in the 4x8,” Coach Mangus said. “That time would really be important and a great goal for these kids, if they could break that time for last year.
“As far as Brandtson and Matthew in their individual events, they were both sixth and seventh last year at the state meet. I would expect that Matthew could be in the top five and Brandtson in the top three, based upon their racing abilities and what they’ve been able to do this season.
“We’ve had a successful program for many years now. I say it almost all the time, when I get the opportunity: we would not be here without the support of the community, the school board and the parents. We have outstanding parents in this program, and they make a big difference in how successful we are.”