Bainter paces Norton, MCL
By CONOR NICHOLL
PHILLIPSBURG--Norton's Zach Bainter had faced illness for six days and had practiced little leading up to the Mid-Continent League track and field meet last Friday at Phillipsburg.
At the meet, he faced a strong challenge in the 800 meters from Osborne senior Isaac Sumpter, who ran his season-best time by nearly two seconds.
Even with the challenges, Bainter yielded the same finishes he has had all spring: First place.
"I am still kind of recovering," he said. "I just tried to run a good solid pace and see what I could do."
Bainter finished the MCL meet with three titles, tied with Phillipsburg senior sprinter Gabe Wickham for the most of any male athlete.
He won the 800 meters (2:03.96), 1,600 meters (4:47.16) and was on the winning 1,600-meter relay team (3:37.75).
He matched his teammate, junior Laura Lee Baird, on the girls' side. Baird, one of the best distance runners in the state regardless of classification, won the 800 and the 1,600 at MCL.
The conference meet continued a strong spring for Bainter, one of the area's and Class 3A's top distance runners.
In the area, only Class 5A's Josh Munsch of Hays High has faster times in the 800 and 1,600.
In Class 3A, Bainter's best individual times stack up with the elite runners.
His top 800 run is 2:02.64, while his top 1,600 is 4:40. Scott City's Trace Kendrick is the only 3A runner that is under 4:32 in the 1,600 and 2:01.6 in 800, according to times on the McPherson College's state track and field honor roll.
"I have been seeing a lot of fast times," Bainter said. "In the mile, I have to get my time way down. It is looking pretty close with the first four runners in the state, so I will give it a shot."
State might be the only meet that Bainter will be tested. The Bluejay was 11th last year in the 1,600 and was on Norton's state title-winning 3,200-meter relay team.
This year, he should qualify in both the 800 and 1,600. He has not lost in the 800 this spring and has only been beaten in the 1,600 on two occasions.
"Once you get outside of region, it gets tough," he said.
It was tough for Bainter in the MCL preparation.
He had a virus for six days and just started back practicing on Tuesday, three days before the meet.
On Wednesday, he ran hard in practice, but that was the only difficult workout he had.
"Other than that, I just tried to recover and relax and do the workouts the best I could," he said.
In the mile, Bainter ran seven seconds slower than his season best. However, he still won the race by over nine seconds and was one of two MCL runners that broke five minutes.
The 800, though, was one of the best races at the meet.
Osborne's Sumpter had run a 1:32 for 600 meters in practice during the week and hoped to challenge Bainter.
"If you are going to beat someone that much better than you, you have to roll the dice," Sumpter said.
Sumpter went out strong with Bainter and led for the first part of the race. Bainter, though, took the lead with about 225 meters remaining on his final kick, considered his primary strength.
In the final straightaway, Bainter had a couple steps lead on Sumpter and eventually won by 17-hundreths of a second, a margin of about a step and a half. Sumpter ran a lifetime best of 2:04.13.
"Usually I try to run a good solid first lap," Bainter said. "It just depends on how much I have left, that is when I first start kicking it in. I figured I had a lot left, so I kicked it in early."
After the race, Bainter walked across the infield and Sumpter approached him with a big smile. They congratulated each other on the race.
"I thought I had you on that stretch," Sumpter said.
"I kind of saw your shadow," Bainter said. "Thought I better kick it in."
After the meet, Osborne head coach Kenny Ubelaker was pleased that his runners competed with Bainter, one of the most talented athletes in the league.
"It was real nice to see some kids run with some heart in some races like Sumpter in the half mile and chasing down (Bainter)," he said.
Bainter, though, still pulled off the three victories -- and matched the same result he has had virtually all spring.
