By DAVID COOK
To say that Chippewa Hills junior Megan O’Neal earned a little r & r after the Division 2 state track and field finals is a bit of an understatement.
O’Neal competed in four events at the state finals at Forest Hills Eastern High School, and the events in which she competed are arguably four of the most taxing events for a high school runner.
Not only was O’Neal busy, but she was also productive and won a pair of state championships.
Her day started with an 800-meter run as part of Chippewa Hills’ 3200-meter relay team.
After that run, it was on to the open 800-meter run. O’Neal was warmed up and turned in a time of 2:14.88 to win the state championship ahead of Kerrigan Smith of St. Johns, who finished second in 2:16.28.
After the 800, O’Neal competed in the 1600-meter run. She had plenty of energy left, and she cruised to victory in a time of 4:52.21, again beating Smith of St. Johns, who finished second in 4:57.62.
O’Neal then capped her day by running two more miles in the open 3200-meter run.
“By the two-mile I was pretty much dead,” O’Neal said. “I placed around last, but I just wanted to finish.”
For the day O’Neal ran almost four miles, almost all of them at full speed or close to full speed.
“I am glad we run the four by 800 first,” O’Neal said. “You are running real clean and you are running for the team. The 1600 is a real tactical race, and it’s a sprint to the finish. The 800 is a pretty fast race. It’s more of a sprint than a run. Then you have the two mile last, and you just try and finish that.”
O’Neal’s efforts helped Chippewa Hills to a top five finish at the state meet. That effort came on the heels of a third-place finish at the Michigan Track Coaches Association (MITCA) team meet the week before, capping another successful season for the Chippewa Hills girls track team.
“I was real happy with how things went this year,” O’Neal said. “Our team finished third at the MITCA and that was real cool. We also won our regional, and we won our conference for the 11th year.”
With track season completed, O’Neal will have a little down time before getting ready for the cross country season, which begins in August.
“I’m going to take it easy and take a little break,” O’Neal said. “Then I will start building a base for cross country season.”