This week's blog is a little different from my usual. This is an inside look at my club team's experience competing at one of the biggest meets in the country -- National High School Championships in New York.
It was the club indoor season of 2005, one in which may have been our best ever. We had gone to a couple of AAU national meets in Indiana and Tennessee and had racked up some national titles and stayed on the podium, nationally. I knew from the previous summer and current indoor season, we had a top-notch sprint crew. At one point, one of my sprinters, nicknamed Shrek, was the #1 ranked 55m sprinter in the US. There were some regular meets during the season that had the 4x2. The AUU national meets only held the 4x4. We had won every relay we entered by a landslide. They were usually over after the first leg and somewhere during the season prior to AAU nationals; a conversation came up about a 4x2 team from Philadelphia named Simon Gratz. They were the #1 ranked team in the US and were destroying everybody. One of my guys asked, "Hey coach, you hear about Simon Gratz's 4x2?" I told them I had heard about them. Another asked, "aren't you still going to take Shrek to NY this year?" This time, I asked why? The response was "Coach, we want to scrap with them." I was surprised and asked, "Scrap with who?" They emphatically replied, "Simon Gratz!" Mind you, running the 4x2 wasn't a thought prior to this season. Shrek had just missed the 60 final as a sophomore, so I was determined he was going to do big things. His times said he was ready. The 4x2? The more I looked at their faces, the more convinced I became that they should go. I mean, the chances of us actually facing them weren't good. There are plenty of squads that go, so we would have to make the final.
We practiced a countless number of handoffs during the club season and before and after nationals. The timing and precision of this team said they were ready. Not only were we trying to match up with Simon Gratz, we were taking on the fact that nobody in Illinois had ever gone to National Championships. It wasn't even a thought by any coach to go compete against the best in the US. The closer the meet got the more research I did. Where do we match up? Who else is coming? Who is their best runner? All the names from all the events would be there.
Some meets require that you come twice before you see your best effort. If you haven't been to state, summer track nationals and this meet. In fact, if you go, I recommend that you get there in time to get a feel for the track. There is no amount of practice that you can do in Illinois that prepares you for banked curves. We got very comfortable with the track and that atmosphere that Friday evening. I had been there with Shrek the year before so we were OK. You could see it on the guys faces. It had hit them that there were actually warming up on the track that we had stared at for weeks online. We Have Arrived!
The next morning, things were very serious and very quiet. Athletes are in the lobby, cars and vans were being warmed up for the short drive to the Armory. I remember it being a time of reflection. Fabolous was the music being blasted -- "Breathe" was the cut that stayed on the radio and got us hyped. In my head, I was counting each block; we're almost there. The closer we got the more athletes with bags and headphones we saw and your heart rate picks up. There it is, The Armory. An unassuming brick building, it doesn't really even look like a track could be in there. If you aren't careful, you will drive right by it. As we walked through the front door, you realize this is the Mecca of track and field, kind of like old Yankee Stadium or Madison Square Garden. The walk up the steps, you ask yourself if you are ready, did we do enough. The whole atmosphere is unlike any meet -- real officials, music playing in the background, athletes warming up everywhere.
Shrek would be up first in the 60m. We knew coming in a guy from Canada was coming and some dude named Nesta Carter. Yes, the same Nesta Carter that leads off Jamaica's 4x1. We had already faced a couple of them in Knoxville at the AAU meet. Shrek was in the first heat, top 24 advanced. So we felt good about his chances. He got 3rd in 7.09 and advanced hyping up the fellas. A couple of guys went down to congratulate him and noticed the heat sheets had been put up for the 4x2. Trey came back and just looked at me and said we are in the first heat of the 4x2. Still hyped from Shrek's 60, I asked who we got. He said, "Simon Gratz". There was silence in our camp for a few minutes. What we asked for, trained for and confidently said we wanted, we got, Simon Gratz in the 4x2. The silence turned into excitement. We had come to New York to face the best and we'd get our chance tomorrow.
Shrek would kick off the day with a 60 meter. He got an excellent start and ran a PR of 7.01. Warner of Ontario won it in 6.79. Nesta Carter was 2nd with 6.89. Shrek finished 12th overall but had he been in the final we would have gotten 5th. Regardless, he did well. The matchup was next. We warmed up well and were ready. I took my seat on the 1st curve. I was hyped and nervous at the same time. Can you believe this, we were rep'n Illinois vs. Simon Gratz! The teams lined up for the first heat of the 4x2 and to add extra hype, each team/club was introduced individually and each leg jogged out in front of the main stands like a boxing match. When they introduced Simon Gratz as the current #1 in the US and they jogged one at a time, they looked like the #1 team in the country. The gun sounded and we got out nicely. Brandon did his job, Landon a/k/a Plastic Man, a freshman, ran well. By the backstretch, Gratz had made a move and others were coming behind them. Trey ran well but by then Gratz was opening up and it was clear Shrek wouldn't be able to catch them. We finished 4th but we competed. We executed every phase beautifully, ran a PR and ran the fastest 4x2 in the state. It ended up being the fastest time at the end of the indoor season in Illinois.
Simon Gratz ran a 1:28. After a couple of hours, we realized what we accomplished. We hadn't won but we made history. The first Illinois track athletes to go to New York for National Championships. Good luck to all Illinois athletes heading that way this weekend.
I would like to shout out to Danville and Plainfield South for showing that "varsity" attitude. Special shout out to Trent Sherfield (Danville) who had the ol' skool swag -- hood up, etc. and even warmed up ol' skool type, along with Johnny Leverenz (Danville) for the ol skool varsity performance at the Charger Invitational.