Close But No Cigar... Revisited

An email from an old running rival prompted me to revisit a blog I wrote 12 years ago.  The original intent was to point out that Estero's Erick Montoya, a sub 9:10 3200 runner, never won a state title.  He reminded me of a particularly outstanding Kansas high school distance runner, Steve Shaad.

I can remember the first time I raced against Steve.  It was at an AAU meet in Lawrence to qualify for the AAU State Championships. We raced over one mile.  Steve won and I was about 15 seconds behind him back in fifth or sixth place.  Because our schools were in different classifications we never raced in high school competition.

But we did race again at the same AAU meet the following summer in blazing hot conditions.  Steve easily crushed me in the mile and two mile running something under 4:40 and 10 minutes.  I was second in both races a good 50 yards behind in the two mile.  It was so hot I went from 130 pounds to 118 pounds in four hours.

Shaad was a stud in the early 1970's at Bonner Springs High School.  The town sits just to the west of Kansas City.  He was a competitor that I feared and respected because he was tough as nails.  On the flip side he was incredibly humble and friendly.  Everyone liked him.

Steve had the misfortune of coming up against some other awesome prep runners that he raced in the same classification, Terry Glenn and Jerry Peffly.  I don't remember Steve's best times but I know he ran in the low 4:20's for the full mile and in the 9:20's for two miles.  It seemed Steve was always running second or third behind those two.

One race I remember in particular occurred in 1973 at the Kansas Relays.  Shaad was a senior and had entered the boys mile steeplechase, skipping the two mile, figuring he could pick up the prestigious title.  Unfortunately Bob Christensen, who had won the boys mile the day before, had entered as well.  The two waged a great battle both bashing the meet record running 4:36 with Christensen coming out on top.  Ironically both runners ended up at Wichita State as teammates and became top steeplechase competitors, both breaking 9 minutes.

Despite the crushing disappointment Shaad toed the line 20 minutes later for the boys 4 x 800.  If my memory serves me Steve ran the third leg, handing off to his 880 state champion teammate Mark Denning, who crushed his anchor leg giving Bonner Springs the Kansas Relays title. 

It was great to see Steve Shaad celebrate.  It was as good as a state title for him.  It's a memory I will always carry with me seeing his joy because he knew his lack of a kick would probably keep him from ever topping the victory stand at state.

Steve ran 8:51.34 in the steeplechase while he attended Wichita State.  That was an outstanding collegiate time in the 1970's.  He's stayed in Wichita after graduating where for years he was a major part of the minor league baseball team that plays there.

A Razorback Farewell

A major chapter will close on Saturday for the greatest distance runner ever produced by a Lee County high school.  Fort Myers grad Krissy Gear will toe the line at 5:41 p.m. to race the 1,500 meter finals at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.  The Arkansas senior has a superb chance to earn her sixth All American honor and should all the cards fall right, claim a victory to end her epic career.

Coming out of high school Gear was an under-appreciated budding star.  She appeared on the scene in the fall of 2014, an unknown sophomore who grabbed a surprising second place at the county cross country championships.  The icing to that cake came with a medal winning 19^th place finish at State helping her team to a second place podium finish.

By the end Gear had set every record at Fort Myers High from the 800 to the 3200.  At her final State Championship she ran an incredible triple to earn three gold medals to end her career with six state championships.   Even at the New Balance Nationals Gear was overlooked and put in the slow heat.  Gear turned the tables reeling off a 4:49.36 placing third overall.  She should have been looking at scholarships from top five distance powers but having gone unnoticed landed at Furman.

Her time at Furman was fruitful but failed to fulfill the promise she had shown at high school.  Gear won the USATF junior title in the 3000 meter steeplechase as a freshman making the national team that competed at the World Junior Championships in Finland.  Gear was a second team All-American in the steeple her sophomore year.  As an outside observer I felt that Gear wasn’t being given a chance to show what she could do in the 800 and 1500.  From my perspective I think the Furman coaches saw her as a steepler and nothing more.  Suddenly Gear was gone and off to Arkansas, a distance power.

It didn’t take long for Gear to make her mark.  Just as she was prepared to show how Razorback training had transformed her into a formidable miler COVID hit.  Her chance to show the quick progress she had made at NCAA Indoor Nationals was gone and we wouldn’t get to see what she was capable of for a full year.

What she did in the space of four days in March of 2021 is the stuff of legend.  Gear anchored her Arkansas team at the NCAA Indoors to a silver medal in the Distance Medley Relay.  She capped the meet off my grabbing second in the mile for her second silver running 4:32.27.  Earlier in the year she had broken the school indoor record for the mile running 4:31.83.

After her exhausting Friday/Saturday double Gear made the trip from Birmingham, Alabama to Stillwater, Oklahoma for the NCAA Cross Country Championships.  Never a cross country standout in college, Gear ran the race of life finishing 21^st to claim All American honors.  That made three All American awards in four days.

Outdoors was just as impressive.  Gear ran the second fastest 1500 in Razorback history running 4:09.00 in Modesto, setting a meet record in winning the SEC steeplechase clocking a 9:38.62 which also topped the Arkansas school record.  She closed the 2021 season out with a fifth place finish in the 1500 at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

While her senior year hasn’t been as magical, so far, it’s been more rewarding in some ways.  Indoors Gear ran the 800 on the Razorback’s school record setting and national champion Distance Medley Relay team at the NCAA Indoors.  Outdoors Gear anchored Arkansas to a collegiate record 16:53.87 in the 4x1500 battling North Carolina State star Katelyn Touhy for the victory at the historic Penn Relays.  The Razorback squad crushed the old record by nearly 15 seconds.  Gear’s anchor leg was emblematic of her Arkansas career, winning for her team.  Krissy always shines brightest when she’s part of something bigger than herself.

Saturday in Eugene she will take center stage against the best collegians over 1500 meters.  Regardless of the outcome, she will have cemented her place as a Razorback great.  What comes next is another is the great unknown.  Which shoe company will see the potential that others have overlooked too often? The world of professional track and field awaits Krissy Gear.

Week 11 State

Sure... let's run 18 kids in a final.  Sure it's a great idea to watch 18 kids fight for space in an 800 meter race.  What a farce.  The FSHSAA should be ashamed of itself.  There were so many things wrong with the way this meet was handled I can't even begin to get into it.

As I noted last week, Florida needs to have at least two more classes in track and field and run two to three classes simultaneously.  Last week's hot mess made tripling difficult to nearly impossible for distance runners.  If you want top performances, the schedule has to be more forgiving for all of the athletes.

We'll start with the good and finish with the bad.  The good, Ava Povich of ECS scored an outstanding double in Class 1A claiming seventh in the 1,600 running 5:07.51.  She faced an uphill battle against the legion from Cambridge Christian.  The 3,200 went before where the junior star ran a big PR in 10:53.51 to finish third.  It was the only top three finish by any Lee County distance athlete.

Bishop Verot's boys and girls brought down school records in the 4x800 in Class 2A.  The girl's finished seventh in 9:50.50 and the boys placed 4th in 8:06.79.  The other Verot distance podium came from freshman MacKenzie DeLisle who took 8th in the 3,200 in 11:19.82.  More on Verot when we get to the bad.

The Fort Myers boys scored a big school record with their 4th place finish in the Class 3A 4x800 thanks in large part to a massive lead off leg from senior Colsen Palmer.  Later in the evening Palmer doubled back in the 1,600 running a PR of 4:22.01 to finish 12th with teammate Joseph Koraya one place better with a PR of 4:21.36.  

SFCA's boys also came home with a podium finish and a school record in the 4x800 with an 8:17.26.  Junior Hayden Tank fresh off a school record in the 3,200 ran a respectable 9:50.98 to finish 11th in Class 1A.  Another season of training and Tank will be ready for his place on the podium.

While I focus on the Lee County kids I want to point out a couple of strong performances from Collier County distance runners.  The Naples girls 4x800 squad ran a super fast 9:29.5 to finish 4th thanks to a strong 2:14 anchor from Tara Watkins.  The freshman star later finished a respectable 8th in the 800 running 2:19.73.  Palmetto Ridge junior Bernardo Barnhart also podiumed with a big PR in the 3,200 of 9:23.04.  Barnhart also ran a leg on the Bears' 4x800 squad which finished 8th.

Now on to the bad.  Undefeated Estero senior Kolton Pickard ran into a lot of it in Gainesville.  He was battling for the lead in the Class 3A 1,600 when he tightened up to finish 4th in 4:17.09.  Then came the 800 where he was perfectly position with 200 to go when the eventual race winner decided to pinch Pickard into another run causing Pickard to tumble to the track.  It was a perfect example of why you can't run 18 athletes in an 800 final.  The track was overcrowded and it was a veritable traffic jam with 200 to go.  

Bad luck also cost Verot junior Cooper Banks a third place finish and a big PR in the 800.  As Banks was sprinting to the finish chasing two other runners, one of them tumbled to the track in front of Banks forcing him to stop and hurdle the fallen runner.  Even putting on the breaks couldn't stop Banks from clocking a fine 1:56.07 but the loss of momentum caused him to go from third to eighth.  A cruel way to end his season.

Listen up FSHSAA... 18 runners in a two lap final is ridiculous.

 

Week 10 Survival

Let me start by saying Florida needs more classes in track and field.  Four classes for a state this large is ridiculous.  For goodness sakes, they have nine classes for football whereas track and field has only four?!?  It doesn't make any sense.

And while I'm at it I think the qualification system is a mess.  There are too many time qualifiers.  It should be the top top three from each region with the next four fastest qualifying.  It would force kids to actually race in weak regions.  Getting third should count for more than just holding your breath waiting to see where your time falls.

Finally spreading the championships over four days is a bit much.  I don't understand why they can't run two classes on Friday and two on Saturday instead.  If you ran two classes simultaneously you would give the athletes more time to recover between races.  It's a head scratcher.

Enough complaining and time to sort through the Lee County qualifiers in the distance races.  Starting with boys 4x800 relays. 1A SFCA qualified, 2A Bishop Verot qualified, 3A Fort Myers, Dunbar and Ida Baker qualified.  The best shot at making the podium (top 8) are Verot and Fort Myers.  Verot has an incredible tandom of Grayson Tubbs and Cooper Banks.  Fort Myers will be gunning for a school record but it will take 1:57 splits from Joseph Koraya and Colsen Palmer for that to happen.  The dark horse in all of this is Ida Baker.  

On the girls side the girls from Bishop Verot qualified in Class 2A as did the ladies from Fort Myers in Class 3A.  Verot has a legitimate shot at a podium finish.  A late season injury to the Vikings Julia Reitz may deny Verot a top three finish but they should land in the top eight.  Fort Myers will need some major PR's to make the podium.

The 800 is sizzling on the boys side with a couple of qualifiers from Bishop Verot in Tubbs and Banks.  Banks ran a season best 1:55.6 last week.  A podium finish is within the junior's grasp but it will take a big PR to make the top three.  Tubbs would need a PR to get in the top eight in Class 2A.  The usual suspects will line up in Class 3A.  Kolton Pickard of Estero clocked a 1:55.68 with Ida Baker's Jacob Fritz hot on his heels at Region.  Both could reach the podium, Pickard will have to clock a PR to hit the top three.

Only one Lee County girl made it to the 800 finals.  Fort Myers High freshman star Giana D'Altrui ran a big PR of 2:21.61.  It will take 2:19 or better to make the podium.  She's got the wheels to do it.

Pickard dominated the 1600 all season.  He has a legitimate shot at winning the 3A title but he will have his hands full against Belen's Julian Rodriguez.  Fort Myers super sophomore Joseph Koraya also qualified and in a talent laden field he will need to break 4:20 to hit the podium.

The lone girl to qualify in the 1600 is Ava Povich.  Talk about timing your peak right.  The ECS junior ran a sparkling PR of 5:04.29 to finish second at her Region.  She will have a hands full in Class 1A trying to fend off the four girls from Cambridge Christian who have all broken five minutes.  I look for Povich to break five in Gainesville.

A boat load of runners made it in the 3200.  We'll talk girls first where Povich leads the way after scoring her second PR in one day with her 11:04.62 last week.  Honestly the best she can hope for is a sub 11 clocking as Caroline Lehman of Cambridge is a good 40 seconds faster than the Sentinel star.  Canterbury junior Gabriella Santucci should be in the picture for a podium finish.  Class 2A freshman sensation MacKenzie DeLisle from Bishop Verot seems a sure bet for a podium finish.  A big PR could land her a surprise top three finish.

The biggest surprise PR came from the boys in the 3200.  Hayden Tank of SFCA rolled to a 9:42.48 last week.  Tank seems assured of a podium finish and another PR could land him a top three finish.  Finally I got to see what I had expected to see last fall in cross country.  Ida Baker's distance duo of Declan Ziomek and Matthew Speruta both qualified in Class 3A.  Both ran PR's last week with Ziomek clocking the fastest time of 9:40.92.  Both would have to run big PR's to reach the podium in Gainesville.  Hey, some guys like Ziomek, Speruta and Fritz are just better at track than XC.  I know that was the case for me.

Here's hoping to a slew of medals for the county's high school distance elite this week!

Week 8/9 Three Things

I'm cramming a couple of weeks worth of running into one blog as their was a couple of meets prior to the start of Districts and now we've hit the mark where all of qualifying for Regionals has wrapped up for Lee County track and field athletes.  I'm going to chop this up a little differently because we are at the point where getting to State is going to be a tough go.  Only the top two places at Regionals move on plus if I understand the confusing FHSAA's rules for qualifying, as many as ten at large relay relay teams/athletes will get invitations.  I personally think they should take the top three from each Regional with the next four fastest marks getting invites but that's just my opinion.

1.  The sure bets to advance of teams/athletes that will advance to State among Lee County distance runners looks like this.  Estero senior Kolton Pickard is a lock to make it in the 800 and 1,600.  He's been running consistently 1:55/4:20 and appears on the verge of a big break through after a sparkling 400 anchor in the District 4x400 that appeared to be sub 50, outstanding for a distance runner.

The other lock is Ava Povich in both the 1,600 and 3,200.  The ECS junior has been running like a Rolex snapping off a 5:10.24 and 11:19.53 at Districts without any competition.  Canterbury's Gabriella Santucci should be able to advance in the 3,200 as well.  1A is stocked with the top girls in the State thanks to super squad Cambridge Christian serving up four of the top five girls in the distance races.  

The other sure thing appears to be Bishop Verot's girls 4x800 along with super frosh MacKenzie DeLisle in the 1,600 and 3,200.  Verot's boys should also advance in the 4x800 because of absolute 800 studs Cooper Banks and Grayson Tubbs.  As good as these two middle distance runners are both are going to have to run PR's if they hope to make it to State as individuals.

2.  The bubble individuals are an interesting mix.  SFCA junior Hayden Tank has really improved over the course of the season.  He's got a shot in the 1,600 or 3,200.  Fort Myers senior Colsen Palmer has run PR's in both the 1,600 and 3,200 this season.  Can he run a PR in one of these two events to slip into State?  Teammate sophomore Joseph Koraya will need a huge race to make it in the 1,600 but Palmer and Koraya could help the Green Wave 4x800 team make it to Gainesville.  The Green Wave girls also appear to have a 4x800 squad capable of qualifying as well.

In the 3,200, Declan Ziomek appears to have a solid chance to advance to Gainesville but he'll be chased by teammate Matthew Speruta and Cape Coral's William Canales.  Something tells me it will take some major PR's by any of those three to make it through and that includes Palmer and Fort Myers freshman Craig Allard, Jr.

3.  I wanted to point out a couple of comebacks.  A year ago Canterbury's Charlie Meagher was racing on a stress fracture.  The 800 specialist battled injuries ever since last spring and finally got healthy in the last couple of months.  Meagher ran 2:05.18 to qualify through to Regionals which is heartwarming to see.  Good things should happen to good people.  The same thing can be said of Fort Myers sophomore Elizabeth McHugh who also spent the better part of the fall, winter and early spring battling injuries.  She's been healthy the last six weeks and split a sub 2:30 leg for the Green Wave 4x800.  We expect big things from both of these athletes next fall.

Track Week 7 Three Things

The high school track and field season is racing to the finish line in Southwest Florida. Two championships dominated the scene over the past season. Friday night featured the Private 8 meet at ECS which is made up of eight private schools from around Lee and Collier Counties. Saturday afternoon saw the public high schools of Lee County take the track at Dunbar for the LCAC meet, obstensibly the county championships. The best individual performance came from a Collier County athlete at Private 8 where FBA's Jacob Panzarella scorched a 48.44 400. 

 1. Ava Povich appears to be headed to an amazing peak to the end of her season. The ECS junior started her day with a strong second leg for the Sentinels 4x800 clocking a split well under 2:30. She came back in the 1,600 peeling off a squeaker over FBA's Katie Beam in 5:16.19. Later in the evening running even splits Povich tracked down Verot freshman star Mackenzie De Lisle running her fastest time of the season winning with an 11:16.29. 

 2. Verot junior Grayson Tubbs tripled up at Private 8 helping the Vikings win the 4x800 before winning the 1,600 and 800 in 4:38.24 and 2:05.21 respectively. While the times aren't super fast Tubbs has had a surprisngly consistent season which features a 1:58.87 open 800 earlier in the season.

 3. A major abscence opened the door for Ida Baker senior Jacob Fritz to take two LCAC titles. Fritz ran 4:27.44 to take the 1,600 title and then lost a shoe in winning the 800 in 2:00.67. Fritz has run 1:58.0 and 4:24.05 for the season and has a shot and making it to state in one of those two events. Estero senior Kolton Pickard was a LCAC no show deciding to save his racing for the post season in two weeks.

Track Week 6 Three Things

Championship season is at hand. Conference meets dominate the upcoming schedule and fortunately cooler weather should drape itself across Lee County this weekend after a scorching temperatures last weekend. The Pepsi Relays headlined the four meets where Lee County athletes competed but the trip to Gainesville was only for a select few and for reasons beyond comprehension the area's top distance runner didn't make the trip north and competed instead at Cypress Lake High School. 1. Kolton Pickard continued his march through an undefeated season. He handily took the 1,600 and 800 in less than ideal weather conditions clocking a 4:20.51 and 1:55.73. It's going to be interesting to see if he can be pushed in any meet outside of the State Championship. Fort Myers sophomore sensation Joseph Koraya did run in Gainesville running 4:22.22 could force the Estero senior to run a little harder than he would like when they face off at next Saturday's County Championship at Dunbar.

2. Welcome back to the 800, Cooper Banks. The Bishop Verot junior was focusing on the 400 but showed he's capable of decent 800's with his second straight week of crashing under 2 minutes with his 1:58.42 in winning the Tarpon Invitational. Banks prefers soccer but if he would commit to another season of cross country he could be a sub 1:55 800 competitor. Meanwhile teammate Mackenzie De Lisle ran the fastest 3200 by any Lee County girl in Gainesville with her 8th place finish in 11:16.71. She traveled back to Charlotte County to help her 4x800 team to victory later in the day. 

 3. Ava Povich appears ready to roll. The Private 8 meet promises to be an incredible match up between De Lisle and the Sentinel junior. Povich ran her best double of the season in Sarasota recording a 5:15.78 1,600 and tripling back (yes, she ran the 4x800) in the 3,200 with a 11:17.6. Don't count out Canterbury's Gabriella Santucci this Friday either. The meet should be chalk full of good performances.