CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa – Ryan Bugler isn’t the only one in his family striking a winning note on the Pacific track and field circuit.
Known as Kubasaki’s senior distance specialist’s little sister, sophomore Erin Bugler, won the discus Friday in the first day of the 10th Mike Petty Memorial Meet. She threw 79 feet, 7 inches.
“Don’t mind it at all,” she said of stepping out of Ryan’s shadow, adding that the Petty meet is the perfect way to step up her game. “It allows you to see where you are and how much improvement you need.”
Improvement by just under three-tenths of a second was all Ryan Bugler needed to break the Petty 800-meter meet record of 2:02.1. In the rain at Kadena Air Base’s Ryukyu Middle School, Bugler was timed in 2:02.49, rallying past Yokota freshman Dan Galvin for the victory.
“That was a great race; I’m not complaining,” he said, adding that he was thinking, “If I can make it around the turn and not die on the straightaway, I knew I would win.”
Friday was perhaps the most unusual day in the meet’s history, in that it was held at two venues because of the first rain delay in the event’s history.
Heavy squalls halted sprint qualifying at 1:15 p.m. and the rest of the day’s bill was moved to Ryukyu, which has an all-weather track far less slippery than Petty’s. Saturday’s hurdles are rescheduled for 9 a.m. Kadena High School, with running finals to follow at 10:30 a.m. at Ryukyu.
The meet also featured a mixup on the lap count of the boys 3,200, the results of which were voided after the bell rang for the last lap on Lap 7 and several runners pulled up at the finish line, while others continued. Officials were considering rerunning the 3,200 after all other events are done.
The other 800 winner was the lone runner from Nile C. Kinnick, Carydaliz Fontanez, who traveled with Yokota and ran unattached. She took charge on the second lap, passing Yokota’s Sam Arnold for the win in 2:24.4.
“That was hard,” Fontanez said of being a lone Red Devil in the meet, “I wanted to get experience running with these girls before Far East. I was hoping for good weather. But it’s worth it.”
The last event completed before the heavens opened up was the girls 3,200. Several runners took turns with the lead before Kubasaki’s Allie Reichenberg, vanquished last year by Seoul American’s Amanda Henderson, rallied late for the win in 12:06.75.
“I was just trying to qualify” for Far East, she said. Reichenberg succeeded by more than a minute, crediting Kadena’s Rachel Burchill for “inspiring” her. “When the actual race began, the competition set in and I said, gotta go. I’m really glad for the competition. It makes me a whole lot better.”
In other events, Kubasaki’s Justin Clemenson threw the shot 41 feet, 10 inches. Grant Robinson of Morrison Academy repeated his win in the high jump, leaping 6-1. And Sonya Hagberg of Faith Academy won the long jump with a leap of 16-1½, more than a foot longer than her nearest competitor.
