Poindexter edges Iwanicki

By Robert Daski

Published: October 23, 2008

Andre Poindexter needed to maintain his speed. He could ill afford to slow down with Forest Park’s Tyler Iwanicki right behind him.
As both approached the finish line in Thursday’s Cardinal District boys’ cross country race, Iwanicki’s final effort to pass the Potomac junior fell short.
Poindexter is a first-time district champion.
“I finally did it,” Poindexter said. “I’ve been wanting this so bad.”
The will to stay in front of Iwanicki and encouragement from a crowd standing near the finish line gave Poindexter his win by a narrow margin: 15:51.05 to Iwanicki’s 15:51.86.
“I was thinking, ‘Man he can’t beat me. This is mine. I’ve been working so hard for this,’” Poindexter said.
Iwanicki did all he could.
“He had a little more left in the tank than I did,” Iwanicki said.
A district title was a dream Poindexter had for three months. To build his brother’s confidence, former Potomac cross country and track runner Jeff Poindexter sent Andre a letter from boot camp, telling him to win the race.
Potomac coach Steve Petrosky also talked with Poindexter during the regular season about winning Thursday’s race.
Prior to the race, Petrosky told Poindexter to run like he knew he could. And if Poindexter was in contention in the late stages, he had a shot to win.
“He went out there and he did it,” Petrosky said. “It was a high goal he set for himself and it’s good to see him succeed at it.”
Iwanicki’s finish was a blessing for Forest Park. It went toward the 38 points the Bruins accumulated to win the team competition and claim the program’s first cross country title under coach Andy Tramel.
Tramel coached Hylton’s cross country teams last year before accepting the job as Forest Park’s cross country and track coach in December after John Rock resigned.
He used last year to develop Forest Park’s young athletes so that their performances and confidence would improve this year and beyond.
“I was focused on working toward this year and even working toward the future,” Tramel said.
“When we get to the region, it used to be Forest Park was first. Right now when we get to the region, we’re hoping to get fourth. So I need to keep building this team to gear toward being a regional power.
“The seniors I have on this team are the ones who bought into what I was trying to do and they helped the other ones come along.”
RESULTS
TEAM SCORES
1. Forest Park 38, 2. Hylton 57, 3. Woodbridge 64, 4. Gar-Field 99, 5. Potomac 125, 6. Freedom 163.
INDIVIDUAL SCORES
1. Andre Poindexter (Potomac) 15:51.05, 2. Tyler Iwanicki (Forest Park) 15:51.86, 3. Gabe Wentlandt (Woodbridge) 15:59, 4. Ryan Dominguez (Hylton) 16:10, 5. Mark Flores (Woodbridge) 16:14, 6. Patrick Cobb (Forest Park) 16:15, 7. Prince Owusu-Mensah (Gar-Field) 16:18, 8. Brandon Torress (Hylton) 16:21.10, 9. Tony Bango (Forest Park) 16:21.55, 10. Alex Cord (Forest Park) 16:22, 11. Josh Colcombe (Forest Park) 16:26, 12. Kyle Swanson (Forest Park) 16:27, 13. Eric Esquivel (Hylton) 16:29, 14. Nick Jones (Hylton) 16:30, 15. Justin Pittman (Forest Park) 16:33.
TIGERS TAKE TITLE
Brentsville’s boys’ cross country team won the Northwestern District title on Thursday.
Senior Grant Burress led Brentsville by finishing second. Brentsville’s Chris Cunningham was 13th, followed by his teammates Zach Morrow (14th) and Matt Earman (15th).
“What was exciting about this team is we were expected to finish seventh in the district,” Brentsville coach Rob Dulin said. “For the guys to leapfrog everybody and get a high finish is a tribute to how hard they’ve worked.”
Official times and team scores were not available at press time.