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Taking the distance of each event, and multiplying that by the number of teams that successfully completed these events, and finally, by adding the sub total of the distances/heights accumulated in events thus compiled, we get a grand total of 237.6 miles (or 382.2984 kilometers for those metrically inclined) in total distance achieved. If the Big D Relays were redefined as a singular event (i.e., The Big D Relay), our choice(s)—according to http://www.distance-calculator.co.uk/towns-within-a-radius-of.php?t=Deland&c=FL--might be head due north to Savannah, Georgia and perhaps see a statue of Florence Martus, the Waving Girl. A northwest track would bring us to Tallahassee, seat of government for our beloved home state. In consideration of the meet’s start time of 10:00 AM, and its 6:00 PM completion, heading south at an average speed of 29.7 miles per hour (237.6 miles/8 hours), would allow us to enjoy a tasty Cuban Sandwich in Miami’s Little Havana, (or be a tasty human one to some venerable reptile resident of its western Everglades neighbor). If one were adventurous and swam like Allison Wilson, we could turn it into a different kind of relay and splash due east for a one-way swim into the Bermuda Triangle…maybe not.
This time, however, everyone just ran in ovals; a conventional approach by the hundreds of athletes from 16 full teams. Eight hours and 1086 laps later, these visitors to the Land of De were right back where they started; riding a big yellow bus--like Dorothy did her Ruby Slippers—straight back home.
The Actual Meet As a matter of record, the aforementioned Allison Wilson is an athlete more familiar—and just as successful--with a linear form of competition. In the 2011 2A District 4 Swim Meet—held on October 28th--she finished third in the 100 freestyle (1:00.36), third in the 100 backstroke (1:09.66), and anchored the third place Leesburg 200 freestyle relay (1:53.6). “Last year”—2011—“was the first time that I ran competitively,” she explained. “I did club and high school swimming—three years at Leesburg—before that.” Judging from her first-year PRs, 5:17.22 in the 1600 (March 12, 2011 at the Monteverde Eagle Invitational), and 11:02.90 in the 3200 (The Golden South Classic on May 28th), she was no fish out of water. “I ran track in the spring, but my brother got married in San Diego on the same day as the Districts (and I missed it). I looked at my time in the 3200, and I think it could have won.” The opposite happened when she decided to run cross country in the fall. “Then I ran and swam at the same time. I had to run the 3A District cross country meet in the morning, and then swam the 2A Regionals in the afternoon, at the Y in Orlando.” On November 5th, 2011 she won the 3A District 4 XC Meet in 19:17.81. Her victory in the 5K run no doubt took its toll, and her finishes in the 2A Region 2 Meet were not strong enough to continue on to the State Swim Meet. But Wilson continued on in cross country. A week later she finished fifth in the 3A Region 1 Meet (18:30.18), and on November 19th she finished tenth in the State Meet (18:40.8). With 28 girls starting the Big D 1600, she might add “road race” to her running experiences. “My coach told me to ‘cruise it’ the first lap, and see how it would go; in the second lap, to glide and not let the wind kill me; in the third lap to pick it up and see what the competition was doing. If I didn’t need to go faster, just finish it out.” Continuing, Allison said, “In the fourth lap, he said to ‘say goodbye to the competition and just bury them.’” But then she added, apologetically, “That’s my coach speaking, not me. I just tried to go faster.” Her primary competition came from Ocala-Vanguard’s Elizabeth Mulford and Father Lopez’s Lauren Gillespy, who, like everyone else, was ducking in and out of a long line of runners to (intermittently) battle the zephyr-like cross-wind. “I could hear them behind me, and could tell they weren’t going to have a tough 800 left.” Well, yes they did, but not as “tough” for Allison, as it proved for them. Wilson finished in 5:29.57, and Mulford and Gillespy--who seemed to barely hang on to the leader’s fading footsteps--finished in 5:39.22 and 5:43.77, respectively.
Perhaps that’s why “flying fish” feel the need to “fly.” A lot of Wilson’s imagery can be quite fitting for Spruce Creek’s Kaley Anderson. She too is on her high school’s swim team—she dives—but is also a cheerleader. Her conflict, as far as where to be at any given time, comes in spades, as she shuttles between different events in the same meet: shot put, high jump, pole vault, and so forth. A gifted athlete, who is physically strong, she might tempt any coach to say, “Okay, now try this too!” “My PR in the shot put is 30’ 5 ½”,” she told me. “I haven’t done the high jump this year, but I did the triple jump for the first time today. I did 32 feet-something.” As far as the “feeling of wind,” nowhere is that be more noticeable than sailing, well overhead, while clearing a pole vault crossbar. “Kristen (Gaines) and I made nine, and went out at 9’ 6”, my current PR,” she explained. “We tied and Spruce Creek won it.” Boys’ vaulters Marcus Blessing and Austin Bubb might be called teammates too, of sorts. “Me and Bubb go back to last year,” Blessing explained. “Sometimes he trains with my coach, Bobby Hick, who is at Pole Vault City, in Melbourne.” At Big D, Blessing and Bubb pushed each other past the rest of the competition, until at 11’6,” only the two of them were left. After 12’6,” it was only Marcus. “Marcus only started the middle of last season,” said his Leesburg coach, Crosby Tuck. “He’s been pretty impressive so far.” (“He did it on a whim,” confirmed his father, Perry. “He got a red card in soccer”—meaning he had to sit the next game(s)—“the last game of last year. To serve it, he came out for track.”)
A look at Leesburg’s Blessing certainly underscores his coach’s last statement. His first jump, on February 22, 2011 (Wildcat Open), was 8’6”. On the following April 7th, he beat that by two feet in the Lake Sumter County Championships (10’6”). Two days later, on April 9th, he went over 11’ at the Brian Jaeger Elite Classic. Marcus leveled off somewhat for the rest of 2011, but returned in 2012 as “Air Marcus.” (Hey, isn’t Marcus the name of Michael Jordan’s youngest son?) At the Jimmy Carnes Indoor Meet this past January 29th, he reset his best height at 11’6”. He added another foot on February 20th (with 12’6”), and yet another at Big D (13’6”). How does he do it? “Skill and power,” he explained. “I do a lot of weight lifting, which helps a lot. As my coach explains, it’s the converting of potential energy to kinetic energy. Bobby coaches the pole vault like it’s a physics lesson.” Of course, much of his success in such a technical sport comes from mental preparation. “I like to get rid of all of my mental quirks during my warm ups, and then ‘dial in,’ as my coach says. What we try to do is keep consistencies in the jump and in the run; make adjustments in the standards. When I’m on the runway, I hit the pole as hard as I can, and then swing back, and let it recoil.” His goal for the remainder of the season? “15’…but I still have some work to do, as you can see.” Ditto on that for sophomore Keneth Pineiro, miler extraordinaire at host school De Land. With a solid 2011 behind him—he set track PRs of 4:25.3 in the 1600 and 9:54.11 in the 3200, and a 16:12.90 for 5K in cross country—he looked forward to this season with even bigger running goals in mind.
“Three or four weeks before track season we were doing ‘the Kansas workout,’ (repeats where we were) running hard up, and easy down, on a series of hills on Kansas Ave,” he recollected. “When I was going downhill, I kind of twisted it,” he said, and pointed to the outside of his left ankle. “It felt kind of sore, and then moved up to here,”--he pointed to the calf above—“so I went to the doctor. “I had to stop running, and then started training again the week before track. It went slower than I had hoped, but little by little….” In the three meets thus far, he has run a 4:38.79 mile PR in the East Coast Classic on February 24, a 4:47.36 in a February 28th quad meet, and a 4:41.60 in this Big D, a race with 42 finishers. “I’m not there yet, but it’s getting better.” And, lap after lap, the meet wore on…and wore people out. With heat coming from a bright sunny sky, and shimmering off the red, reflective, rubberized track, even the breeze seemed warm. On their feet for hours in and around the infield, and few places to sit, athletes, coaches, and spectators began to find the pull of gravity too much to resist. (See the slumped figures in our photo montage.) Vanguard’s Vonkie Brewer knew the feeling. “I started at 5’6”. I usually try a little earlier, but we had a lot of jumpers,” he explained. With 14 female and 42 male jumpers—12 of which had the initials “NH”--not to mention trackside temperatures near ninety, it was a loooong competition.
Hisbest—6’ 0”—was the best. And next year he hopes to be Oklahoma Panhandle’s best at linebacker. The two best jumpers in the Girls’ competition are from opposite ends of Volusia County, and opposite ends of their high school career, but both wear orange. Allison Lampert is a senior competing for Spruce Creek, in Port Orange; Kia Pooler a freshman from De Land, competing for Orange City. Kia, who is 5’ 8 ¼” tall, played volleyball and basketball this year, and was told she should “try” the high jump. “I never had any coaching until Coach Eggert, in high school,” she said, “but I was told that I had a high vertical leap. In practice I jumped five feet a couple of times.” And likewise in meets. That was the height she made in her first (February 22nd) competition at De Land, and she duplicated it at Big D. Lampert has raised her bar to 5’6”, which sometimes she makes and sometimes she doesn’t. “I cleared that a few times last season…at Districts, and I can’t remember where else,” Lampert told me. “I keep reminding myself that it’s not that high.” In this meet, with conditions that were less than ideal, she couldn’t get past 5’2”. “There was the heat…but I had my tent, and the wind helped.” Kia Pooler, as mentioned, cleared 5’0” for second.
Many Guests A track meet offering “just relays,” attracts the attention of teams that wish to include as many of their athletes as they can, and with a “16 team limit,” Big D filled up fast. Where else, after all, can the freshmen compete both with the varsity, and on their own? There were F/S relays, a thrower’s 4 X 1, a co-ed 4 X 2, and a “XC style” 1600. And, while most of the relays scored on four athletes’ performance, some even did on three, such as the 1600. “Relay meets are good for the kids working together,” confirmed Ocala-Vanguard coach Danny Gilman. “They do a good job of putting together this meet.” In addition to winning the Boys’ F/S 4 X 1 (45.76) and the Girls 3 X 1600 (17:52.19)… “We had a few thirds.” In particular, Vanguard took bronze medals in the Boys’ and Girls’ F/S 4 X 4 (3:43.68 and 3:53.19, respectively), the Boys’ 800 Sprint Medley (1:37.27), and the Girls’ Distance Medley (13:59.62). “I’ve got some good hurdlers—such as Jamerius Quari, who may win conference—but couldn’t run them because kids were doing other things; and Najee Jamerson,” who jumped 5’10” in a four-way tie for second, “may also win.” “Our kids had a good time.”
Special Guests
McCoy, born in Daytona Beach, was a twelve-time All American at Florida State University, and a school record holder and NCAA champion. His college times include a 20.99 in the 200, 45.57 in the 400, and 1:10.79 in the 600. He was a member of the USA 1984/Los Angeles 4 X 400 team that won the gold medal. He coaches at Seabreeze High School. Rouser, who had a personal best of 44.77 in the 400, won gold medals at both the 1993 and 1997 Indoor World Championships as a member of the USA 4 X 400 teams. Jason was a member of the USA 1996/Atlanta team that won the 4 X 400 gold medal. He now coaches at Zephyrhills High School. Brauman, a ten time winner of the Florida Track Coach of the Year award—and has coached 57 H.S. All Americans—was named the 1997 National H.S. Coach of the Year. He is also a member of the Florida Track and Athletic Coaches Hall of Fame. He has coached at Sanford-Seminole H.S. for 28 years. Feetnotes: I guess this is as good a time as any to make the announcement, hinging upon its immediate success, to retire as a track correspondent. Sorry track fans, but the entrepreneur in me has always burned bright with corporate greed. With global warming and eight hour track meets—not to mention photographic evidence of a noticeably aging population of coaches and referees--it’s time to live a “retirees’ dream” and start a trackside business: “Ralph’s house of Seats and Shade.” I figure, that for five bucks a meet—and no time limit--the hoi poloi will beat a path to my “Palace of Relaxation” and rent chairs, umbrellas, and team-sized sunscreens. Plus a full line of sunglasses, sunscreens, sunbonnets, combination (motorized) fan/squirt bottles, and non-alcoholic margueritas. Be the first to take advantage of a public offering in this investment of a lifetime by entering www.restfulralph.net, and click on “make a bundle.” You will thank yourself for the rest of your lucrative life. |
Dateline, The DeLand High School Track: No matter where he wheeled it, the Wizard’s track tower seemed surrounded by a speeding swirl of humanity, sending PRs, SRs, DQs, DNFs, DNs, NBs, NHs, NTs, and Fouls spinning off every which way. This was T & F’s ‘twisted sister,’ a non-stop, eight hour, all-relay event that seemed to diminish, in dimension, that already diminutive high school mini-complex. By virtue of this teenage tornado, and all its baggage in and above its vortex, the infield crowd swelled to Woodstock-esque proportions. When at long last, the final golden baton was retired for the day, and Tony Tussing packed his starter’s pistol and retired his gravelly voice, the only question that remained—at least in my mind—was what if it could all be un-twisted?
“The last 400 was fun,” Wilson beamed from behind her sunglasses. “I came into last year’s track season thinking I was going to be a sprinter; 100, 200. But I love the feeling of running the mile, and of the wind; it is my favorite part of running.”
“We had to stay in the sun for awhile, and it was kind of hot; my knees were drained…”
No less than three Olympians, who are featured on our photo album cover holding a golden baton, were on hand to view the proceedings. Pictured are (left to right) Walter McCoy, Ken Brauman, and Jason Rouser.