Salute To Seniors: Jaymes Cole - Vero Beach High School

 
What was your most memorable race/moment?
 
My most memorable moment was cross country districts my junior year. The gap between the top four going in was less than 10 seconds and I ended up winning by 38 seconds.
 
Who would you consider your biggest competition over your four years?
 
A few names come to mind, but my good friends Mark-Anthony Bozzo and Tyler O'Brien stand out. We live in the same area and go to many of the same meets. Tyler is a much faster runner than I am, but we still have a friendly competition. Mark-Anthony is a better cross country runner. I've only beaten him twice over the four years of running, one being districts, but I always get him during track season.
 
What was your greatest accomplishment?
 
My junior year I won the individual district title and we won the team title, along with coming back track season and winning the 4x8, 16, and 32 along with another team title. 6 district titles in one year, I would call that a pretty good time.
 
If you could do it all over again what would you change about your running career in high school?
 
I would have focused more on summer training. A lot of newer runners over look this part of the career but its amazing how much off season training actually helps.
 
What were the most difficult obstacles you had to overcome?
 
My senior year of cross country I started running a really high fever and was out sick the week before districts. I almost never left bed the whole week. I had two days of running when I got back before districts. I was a contender for top two before I got sick but I was so weak and only got 9th. This also hindered my performance at regionals. I was ranked in the top 15 (10th I think) but fitness just didn't come back to full yet. The plan was to negative split and qualify. I ran 4:58 for my last mile and its easy to say that I was moving the fastest on the last mile, but I was too far behind and got 20th. Track season comes around and I'm in the best shape of my life and then I catch the flu the week before districts again. I only qualified in the 4x8, but I'm so thankful that I got to spend my last race with those guys at regionals. For those of you still reading this, I cannot stress enough how important it is that you keep healthy and eat right and make sure you stay away from sick people. You are most vulnerable during season!
 
What will you miss the most?
 
I will miss all the friends I have made over the years. They have helped push me to do my best and I cannot thank them enough.
 
What advice would you give to younger athletes?
 
Stay healthy, eat right, stay away from sick people, make sure you get enough sleep, and DO SUMMER TRAINING.
 
What influence has your coach had with respect to your performance and overall life goals?
 
I have had many coaches over the years. I had a coach for cross country my freshman, sophomore and junior years. He coached some of our best teams. The coach I had my senior year butted heads with me a lot. We didn't see eye to eye on most things, but he made me faster nonetheless. Track season I had a different coach every year and my mom coached me my senior year. She did amazing! Almost every kid on the team ran a lot faster in comparison to their old times and everyone got better.
 
What are your college plans?

I will be attending Defiance College in fall. Its a small D3 college in Ohio and they offer so many great opportunities.
 
Who would you like to say thank you to?
 
I would like to say thank you to everyone really. You never really understand how easy it is to make friends in the running community until you try. Everyone shares a common bond and sometimes you find some of your life long friends.
 
Is there anything else you'd like to add?
 
Flrunners has been amazing over the years. You guys have almost anything you want to know about running.
 

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Do you know a class of 2014 track and field or cross country athlete? We'd like to salute them! Have them answer the following questions plus send 2-3 photos (can not be from another website or publication) to Todd.Grasley@flocasts.com.