By By SCOTT NOVAK / Dowagiac Daily News
Area track standouts get one more chance to shine before the state finals this coming weekend.
The 46th annual Rotary Track and Field Meet will be held today at Benton Harbor's Filstrup Field. The field events and running preliminaries begin at 4:30 p.m., with the running finals slated for 6:30 p.m. The open 5K run is set for 5 p.m.
The annual Rotary Meet gives runners and field events specialists from both large and small schools a chance to compete against each other.
It also provides many of the state qualifiers a chance to tune up one last time before Saturday.
Dowagiac will have several standouts competing today.
J.J. White is among the area leaders in the 110-meter high hurdles, the 300-meter intermediate hurdles and the long jump.
White is tops in the area in the 110-meter high hurdles with a time of 15.2. He is tops in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 39.6. White is second in the long jump with a leap of 21-8.5.
Justin Bennett had a strong regional at Middleville, and could place today in both the shot put and discus. Brother Kyle Bennett is currently tied for fifth in the area in the pole vault with a height of 12-feet.
Devon Jackson is tied for fourth in the 100-meters with a time of 11.1. He qualified for the state meet in both the 100- and 200-meters. He ran 22.9 at the regional, which would tie him for fifth in the area.
On the girl's side of the meet, Ashley Urbanski and Ann O'Keefe are expected to perform for the Chieftains. Urbanski missed the Big-16 Conference meet with a minor foot injury, but ran extremely well in the regional.
Urbanski just missed qualifying in several events. She is fifth in the area in the long jump with a leap of 15-7.5.
O'Keefe, who is just a freshman, already stands fourth all-time on the area honor roll for pole vault.
O'Keefe is tops in the area entering the Rotary Meet with a height of 9-feet.
Rotary Scholarships
Three $2,000 college scholarships will be awarded again to area track and field athletes during the annual Rotary Meet. Begun in 1977, a total of 59 Rotary Meet scholarships have been given.