Lange, Butler headed to state meet

Oak Ridge qualified two athletes for the CIF State Track and Field Championships. Tyler Lange qualified in the shot put, as he placed in the third and final qualifying spot with a throw of 50-09 inches at the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters Championships on Saturday at Davis High School. About 30 minutes later, he was joined at the state meet by senior Brooke Butler, who placed third in the girls' 3,200-meter run with a time of 10 minutes, 54.19. Lange had the second-best throw coming into the meet, so it wasn't a huge surprise that he finished in the top-three to qualify for the state meet, but it was still a nice accomplishment for an athlete who is much shorter than many of his opponents. "Tyler doesn't not exactly have the thrower's advantage (because of his height) but he's worked his absolute butt off and he's got just enough explosive power to get him where he needs to go," Oak Ridge throws coach Kyle Peterson said. "He's put a lot of work in. I'm really proud of this kid." Added Lange, "Last year I came here and didn't make the finals, but this year it turned out good. I threw a 52-7 at the Granite Bay league meet; I've been waiting for that all season. Today wasn't that great, just a 50-09, but I'm really happy to make it to state. That was my goal this year, so I'm happy about it. I was able to make it with my fifth throw, so it all worked out. "I'm not looking to do much, I'm happy to be there. My goal next year is to win this meet." Lange's best throw as a sophomore was 47-5, so if he can improve five more inches on his best throw from this season, like he did from last season, that would put him at 55-09, which would have won this year's meet by nine inches. Butler knew she had a good chance to qualify for the state meet, but even then she wasn't too sure. "All I wanted was a P.R., but then I was in sitting in fourth place and I was thinking, 'Can I get to third? Can I stay in third?' So then I didn't feel fourth place anymore, so I just said go. I tried to push it over there to get in second and held there for a bit, but then I thought, 'if you're third that's great.'" Butler missed out on her personal-best time by five seconds, but she still qualified for the state meet by placing third in 10:54.19 seconds. Last week at sections she placed fourth behind Granite Bay's Emily Allison by two seconds. This week, she finished four seconds in front of her to qualify for state. "I wasn't going all out in that race; I wanted to conserve," Butler said. "So I didn't push it." This week she was hoping to run better than her best time of 10:49, which now is the goal for the state meet on Saturday at Buchanan High School in Clovis. "I'd like p.r.; just keep lowering my best time," Butler said.