It Can Only Get Better

I had planned on writing something sooner about the real end of the track season for Southwest Florida but I lacked both motivation and desire.  The high school and collegiate post season landed like a thud.  And don't even ask me about the Olympic Trials.  Add the events of this week which was truly awful and well.

We'll start with the good.  Canterbury's Jessica Edwards ended her storied career at the end of May clocking a 2:08.06 at the Golden South series for the win.  Arkansas's Krissy Gear a, Fort Myers High grad, landed another All-American honor placing 5th at the NCAA 1500 and then sticking around Eugene, Oregon for the Olympic Trials.  The wear and tear of a long season was in evident as Gear soaked in the experience of running the 1,500 and Steeple heats while failing to advance at the Trials.  We're predicting fireworks for Gear in 2022 with the World Championships being hosted in Eugene.

Least we forget Sierra and Moriah Oliveira, mere freshmen at the University of Miami, helped lead their 4x400 squad to the NCAA's.  Unfortunately the Hurricanes didn't make it into the finals.  Finally Fort Myers grad Jacob Lemmon scored All-American honors with a fifth place finish in the discus for the University of Virginia.

So there was plenty to write more than two weeks ago when the Trials wrapped up but inspiration was lacking.  Then this week happened.  Dunbar coach Guy Thomas died from COVID.  News quickly followed that Lely coach Mark McGarity had lost his battle with cancer.  I didn't know McGarity.  I just knew that he was a driving force in the Collier County running community.

Coach Thomas I had gotten to know about six years ago.  I had gone to him at a cross country meet offering him help with his kids who didn't have spikes.  I'm pretty sure he thought I was a loon.  It took a couple of years but Coach finally came around and believed me when I said I would do what I could to help his program.  Guy Thomas was a force of nature.  He worked hard to help his community and to help his athletes achieve their best.

This past season may have been his crowning achievement as his boys team finished 3rd and his girls 6th at the Florida State High School Track and Field Championships.  Hurdlers Leonard Mustari and Lucheyona Weaver were the two jewels of the Tiger program.  Both athletes are headed to collegiate spring powerhouse, North Carolina A&T.

Given the weeks events one wouldn't have been surprised if Mustari and Weaver might not put in good performances at this week's AAU national championships.  But both athletes captured their respective events and Mustari added gold in the long jump.  It was a fitting tribute to their great coach.  It was an uplifting way to end the week.  

It's going to be a long month of introspection as we head to the high school cross country season which begins in a mere month.