With his strong final kick, Alameda’s Shaun Ervin ran his way to a 400-meter state title last year at Jeffco Stadium.
In his final race on his home track May 17, Ervin’s signature kick failed him. The Pirate senior was unable to defend his Class 4A 400-meter title at the state track meet. Ervin’s time of 49.54 seconds was only good enough for third place.
His state preliminary time of 48.83 seconds May 16 was the fastest going into the final
“Most of the time, I have a kick at the end,” Ervin said. “Today, the competition was very good and I’m glad for it. It was just his (Westminster’s Aaron Billipando) day. He out-ran me.”
Billipando’s time of 48.81 seconds beat Ervin by more than a second. Conifer’s Levi Dunn finished second with a time of 49.39 seconds. Last year, Ervin won the event with a time of 48.57 seconds.
Ervin also qualified for the finals in the 100 meters with teammate Jared Romero. Ervin finished ninth in the final of the 100, .01 seconds behind his teammate. The two-sport athlete wasn’t angry that he failed to qualify for the 200 meters this season.
As a junior, Ervin qualified for the state finals of the 100, 200 and 400 events.
“I’ll always remember running here (at Jeffco Stadium) and winning a state title here,” Ervin said. “I love running here. I’ll never forget it.”
Ervin said that he plans to attend Dana College in Blair, Neb., after graduation and run track for the small college that is 30 miles north of Omaha. Dana College is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics and is a part of the Great Plains Athletic Conference.
“Only thing I can do now is practice, work out more and get faster,” Ervin said.