[05/14/01] For the second straight year, Michael Strickland lost the 400-meter dash by 1/100th of a second.

Strickland and freshman pole vaulter Austin Golding finished second to lead the Flashes to a sixth-place finish out of 25 class 1A teams in the state meet.

“We scored well,” St. Al coach Jimmy Salmon said. “I was pleased.”

Strickland finished the 400 in 52.28 seconds. The winner crossed the line in 52.27. Strickland was sixth in the 200 (24.07) and anchored the fourth-place 4×400 team (3:50.5) of Phillip Hattaway, Charlie Rees and Mack Henry.

Henry was third in the 3,200 (11:10), fifth in the 800 (2:19) and sixth in the 1,600.

Golding cleared 10 feet and Kelly Sadler finished fifth with 8 feet.

Bethany Conner, the lone Lady Flash to qualify for the state meet, was fourth in the discus (87 feet, 4 inches).