June 8, 2009

HUNTINGTON (The Hearld-Dispatch, by Grant Traylor) - Two seconds might not seem like much to the normal individual, but for a distance runner, the miniscule amount of time means everything.

Last week, Ravenswood native Andrew Benford found out that he missed qualifying for the NCAA championships by just two seconds in the steeplechase.

Benford, a distance runner for the University of Richmond, enjoyed the other side of the tape on Saturday, sprinting past Portsmouth's Eric Putnam in the final stretch for a two-second victory in the West Virginia 5K Championship.

"It was a really cool way to wrap up my season after a disappointing finish on the track," Benford said. "It was a great race and Putnam pushed me to do my best."

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