WINDSOR – Bertie High School had a successful season in girl’s track in 2010.

Second-year Head Coach Lester Lyons led his team to a second place finish inside the Northeastern Coastal Conference and took five members of his team to the 2-A state championships.

“I’m very proud of the girls,” said Lyons. “They worked hard and got what they deserved this season.”

When Lyons took over the program in 2009, the number of females running track at Bertie had dwindled and only two of the track performers – LaQuanshe Bond and Quanisha Perry – earned a place at the state title games.

The Lady Falcons finished fifth overall in the Northeastern Coastal Conference and Lyons said he knew it was time to recruit more athletes.

A year later, Lyons has rebuilt the BHS Women’s Track Team to the point of finishing second in the league and sending five athletes to the state championships.

“Overall we had a pretty good season,” he said. “It has taken me two years to learn about coaching girl’s track. I ran track for Coach (Marvin) Rankins in high school, but coaching is different.”

Lyons said he worked diligently to learn about coaching the sport and to get more young ladies to participate.

“We talked to some of those who should have been running before and they decided to come out,” he said. “We were able to get the kids to work hard this season and we had a good showing at the state championships.”

Bond, a senior for the Lady Falcons, earned a spot in the 100-meter and 200-meter dash at the state title games and also was part of the 4×200 meter relay team.

She said participation in the state championships was one of her greatest moments in the track season.

“I was proud of the 200-meter dash I ran at states where I ran at 26.64,” Bond said. “It was the best race of the season and you could really see the difference from me coming out of the blocks.”

That performance allowed her to finish fourth in the state championships.

Bond was joined on the 4×200 relay team by Perry, Tanisha Golden and Jessica Speller.

Perry, a junior, said she was excited about the season because of her ability to run track with the senior members of her team.

“This season was special to me because it’s my last time running with the seniors I’ve been running with since my freshman year,” she said.

She said the team had an excellent season.

“I feel like we had a better year,” Perry said. “We only lost one track meet, placed second in the conference, went to regionals and to states.”

Speller said while things started slowly for the Lady Falcons, they ended up well.

“What was special about this season to me is that it is my last year in high school and the last sport of the year,” she said. “It was also great to have a team start off so slow and lazy and work hard to win most of our track meets and make it to states. Teamwork makes a difference.”

Golden, a senior, said she felt she improved her abilities which helped her team.

“What was so special about this season for me is that I became a better runner in making it to states in the 4×200 relay,” Golden said. “I enjoy running track and meeting new people from other schools.”

The 4×200 relay team finished eighth in the state, which Lyons said he was pleased with.

“They worked hard and I think they did a great job,” the coach stressed. “My only regret is that our 4×100 team was disqualified in the regional after having been unbeaten all season.”

That team included Bond and perry as well as Kyisha Watford.

Watford said the season was excellent because of the team improvement.

“The special thing about this season was the fact that we came in second place in the conference, three spots higher than last year,” Watford said.

The Lady Falcons will continue their rebuilding effort next season.