Brown carries Kinnick to second place finish

TOKYO — What can Brown do for you?

If it’s not UPS, but Brown as in Nile C. Kinnick sprinter/hurdler Donavan Brown, how about winning three gold medals in the Kanto Plain Invitational Track and Field Meet on Saturday at Tokyo’s Oi Peir Ground?

That’s exactly what he did, netting golds in the 400 hurdles, the 200 and even the 400, an event he’s never run before. Brown’s performance paced the Red Devils to their best finish in the meet’s history, second (83 points) behind American School In Japan (128).

"I was nervous" before the 400 for which he was pressed into emergency duty, Brown said. "I kept asking for advice what to do. I didn’t think I could. I’m happy I could come in and do as well as I did."

He fell short of his Kanto league record in the 400 hurdles, running 56.99, but Brown did win the 200 for the first time, clocking 23.34, .4 seconds faster than ASIJ’s Ryan Christianson. Favored Shariff Coleman of Kadena placed fourth.

"I felt good coming off the turn. I maintained and ran my race," Brown said. He added that he’d worked on form a lot during practice.

Brown was one of six multiple winners in a meet featuring 13 girls teams and 12 boys from Japan, Okinawa and South Korea. Four meet and league records fell, all by ASIJ performers. The Mustangs also won the girls team title with 119 points. Kubasaki of Okinawa was next with 86.

"What a fabulous day. Very proud. Absolutely awesome," ASIJ athletic director John Smith said.

One day before her 18th birthday, ASIJ’s Gwen Thornton topped her 400 record, clocking 57.58, beating her time of 57.9 set the week before in the Kanto Plain Association of Secondary Schools finals.

She beat Zion Christian Academy’s Sarah Wilson, who’d topped Thornton in last month’s Mike Petty meet on Okinawa. "She wasn’t going to catch me this time. I gave it all I had," Thornton said.

Earlier, she swept the 100 and 310 hurdles. Later, she anchored ASIJ to a 1,600 relay record of 4:09.87, beating their Kanto finals mark of 4:14.5.

It was the last race of her career, and it left Thornton emotional.

"Running with this team is like running with family," the teary-eyed Thornton said. "Breaking the record is going to be something to remember for years to come. This team, they’re my life."

As if motivated by the girls’ effort, ASIJ’s boys also won the 1,600 relay in a record 3:28.59, beating the 21-year-old mark of 3:28.9 set by Yokota.

Seoul Track Club senior Mark Lieberg and Kubasaki senior Retsel Alvarez swept the shot put and discus, but Lieberg’s throws were shorter than his winning tosses of last year. "I’m happy with the golds, but I’m not happy with the results," Lieberg said.

Bothered by a groin pull, Kadena sophomore Shariff Coleman nonetheless won the 100 and long jump. "I could have done better," he said, blaming part of the problem on the cooler weather. "It’s hotter on Okinawa."

Seoul Track Club freshman Siarria Ingram pulled an 800-1,500 double, outrunning Kanto distance queen Jennifer Stolle of ASIJ at the end.

"She’s beastly," STC teammate Dorothy Krebill said of Ingram.

One star-studded career ended in shocking fashion, as ASIJ’s Sam Krauth finally beat Zama senior All-American Andrew Quallio in the 1,500. Krauth caught him on the backstretch to win in 4:06.5, breaking Quallio’s record of 4:10.3 set in the Kanto finals.

It was Quallio’s first loss in two years. "This is the way I’d rather it end, knowing he did an awesome job," Quallio said. "He’s a great runner. He deserves it."

Kubasaki finishes third in Kanto baseball tournament

CAMP ZAMA, Japan – Kaleb Robinson hit a leadoff triple and scored on a walk-off passed ball, capping Kubasaki’s rally from a 5-0 deficit for a 7-6 third-place victory over Nile C. Kinnick in the Kanto Invitational Baseball Tournament.

Robinson went the distance, allowing six hits and five walks while striking out five. His numbers paled next to those of hard-luck Red Devils starter Eddy Davis, who fanned 15 while giving up five hits and five walks. Davis struck out 29 in two starts here.

"We definitely faced the best pitcher we’ve seen in my four years in Davis," Kubasaki coach Randy Toor said. "We changed our game plan, started taking a few pitches. He did a great job. In tournaments like this, you need guys to come through. The guys wanted it badly."

"Throw 14 innings with 29 strikeouts in two days, that’s significant," Kinnick coach Michael Valenzuela said.

The verdict resulted in an unofficial DODDS-Pacific championship for Kubasaki.

St. Mary’s International beat American School In Japan 5-0 in the final to cap a season in which the Titans also won the Kubasaki Spring Fling Tournament in April.