By JIM STEELE
mckenzierebels.com

MURFREESBORO - For the fifth straight year, a McKenzie jersey has stood upon the medal stand at the state track meet.

This year, McKenzie's boy's track team finished tied for 18th place with Tellico Plains and Goodpasture, cracking the top 20 for the first time in school history. And, for the second time in the last 31 years, perhaps the second time ever, a McKenzie had a participant place in the top three in an event. And McKenzie's two participants took home three medals.

Rebel junior Mark Cole claimed third place in the 1600 run with a time of 4:37.49, the highest finish since David Duncan's third-place showing in a sprint event back in 2001. Earlier that morning, Cole captured fourth in the 3200 run with a time of 9:52.11. Senior John Campbell finished his prep career with a discus toss of 131-03, which was good for a sixth-place medals.

It was a good day for McKenzie at the Spring Fling.

"Fourteen points is the highest boys' team score in a long time, maybe ever," said McKenzie coach Bert Snow. "We did well and I'm very pleased because our kids worked hard all year."

Cole started the day with the 3200 run and faced a familiar rival in Macon County's Brandon Mahaney, who bested him by 20 seconds in the state cross country meet. It wasn't the only time the two squared off on the day. Mahaney and Cole were in the 1600 field as well.

Cole cut time from last year's run. He had a 10:09 last year in the 3200 for fifth place. He turned on the jets to cross the line at 9:54, 15 seconds faster. Mahaney won the race at 9:47, but he was in Cole's crosshairs. But the 3200 pace was a fast one.

"I set a PR (personal record) of 9:54 and that will barely qualify now," said Cole with a laugh. "I think the whole state has gotten faster."

Cole suffered a mid-season injury and paced himself at sectionals with a 10:13. That was good enough for first place.

In the 1600, Cole cut time again despite a slower pace to start. Cole sagged back and teetered with Seymour's Ryan Pierce for fourth and fifth place. Matt Coniglio of Chattanooga Christian School had trotted to a comfortable third while Mahaney and Ryan Johnson Of Lipscomb set the pace. After swapping places with Pierce, Cole seemed to be comfortable on his heels. Then on the bell lap, Cole passed Coniglio and Pierce and turned on the afterburners.

"The race went out slow and then people started tghrowing surges in the middle of the race and that's when I made my move," said Cole. "I lost to Mahaney by 20 seconds in the state cross country meet and that was a 5K. He beat me by seven seconds here, so I'm catching up."

Cole finished strong to cross the line at 4:37.49.

"Cole did well and ran his best time of the year," said Snow. "He has worked all year on finishing strong and that got him third place. Anytime you can do that, it's good."

In the discus just after noon, Campbell had decent tosses, but nothing like he had at regionals, where he had a pair of 140-foot heaves. But Campbell had been sidelined by illness, sore shoulder, blisters, turned ankles and then a spider bite right after regionals. The spider bite caused some somewhat significant inflammation before sectionals, inflammation that affected his lymph nodes under his left arm. The bout with the arachnid could have scratched him from the sectional met, given that Campbell struggled to move his arm and had to keep it elevated much of the week. Still, he threw well enough to win sectional.

"I didn't throw as well as I would have liked, but when I got sick, it was like I missed a month of the season," Campbell said. "Then I got that spider bite and it hurt bad enough to keep me awake. It took me a while to get back to where I was last year."

The entire field was looking up at Knoxville-Austin East's Kenny Long, who launched it 164 feet and change. Campbell, who finished fifth last year, was hoping for a higher place. He says he had a couple of mechanical flaws in his delivery at state, but 131 feet isn't bad, given the fact the middle of the pack was glutted together. Six inches separated fourth from sixth place.

"I was hoping to do better up here after getting fifth last year," said Campbell. "But I guess there's something to be said about being good enough to get up here and most people would love to be here at state."

"John had a very good sub-sectional and was throwing with an infected bite on his throwing arm," said Snow. "But he placed first with that bad arm and I think it affected his mechanics, but I'm pleased with how hard he's worked all year."

For complete A-AA track results, click here.