Aledo's Blaser selfless at state meet

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By Jon Gremmels | Saturday, May 26, 2007 4:07 AM CDT | () comments

CHARLESTON, Ill. — In baseball, taking one for the team means getting hit by a pitch to get on base. Aledo’s Darin Blaser took one for the team Friday, and it didn’t hurt a bit.

Even though Blaser turned in the third-fastest sectional time in the state in the 400 meters last week, he scratched from that event to run in a second relay race Friday at the Illinois Class A boys track and field state meet at Eastern Illinois University’s O’Brien Stadium.

“That was a gutsy move by him,” said Annawan/Kewanee junior Tanner Carlson, who took advantage of Blaser’s absence and qualified for today’s finals in the 400. “That was big. He was giving up a spot where he probably could finish in the top three in the state to help a relay. That shows character.”

Even though Aledo’s second relay, the 800, didn’t make it into today’s finals, Blaser said the selfless move was worth it.

“I think that four-by-2(00) got me loose for the 200,” Blaser, a senior, said. “The 400 usually gets me tired. Unfortunately, the four-by-2 didn’t make it.”

Blaser still will be busy today. He qualified for the finals in the 200 and the long jump, and he also is part of a foursome that will compete in the 400 relay.

“I hope to get a good night’s rest,” Blaser said.

Blaser earned a spot in the finals of the long jump for the second year in a row with the 10-best leap overall in qualifying (20-feet-9½). He placed sixth at state last year.

“I didn’t jump very well; I was inconsistent on my marks,” said Blaser, whose first jump was his best in preliminaries.

Later, Blaser anchored Aledo’s 400 relay unit to a second-place finish behind Galena (43.82) in 44.04 seconds. Matt Dawson led off, followed by fellow sophomore John Berthel, and senior Kane Thompson ran the third leg.

“The four-by-1(00) went really smooth,” Blaser said. “We had good handoffs with the exception of the first one.”

Blaser’s other final is the 200, where he edged St. Joseph-Ogden’s Will Lindsey by 1 hundredth of a second, winning the second heat in 22.48 seconds.

“I’m not used to having good guys inside me,” said Blaser, who was in Lane 6 while Lindsey was in Lane 5. “I was lucky I had enough to stay with him.“

Blaser will run out of Lane 4 today in the finals.

“It’s going to be nice (being in three finals today), but I’ve got to come out ready,” Blaser said. “Hopefully, the pressure doesn’t get to me.”

With the way he dealt with giving up an individual event Friday to help his team, it’s hard to believe pressure will get to him.

Jon Gremmels can be contacted at (563) 383-2294 or at jgremmels@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at www.qctimes.com.