Camillus NY - After the success of Jim Vermeulen's XC Journal
in the many falls of Cross Country, we've asked again for him to
provide some news and notes once a month this winter. Think of these as
the thoughts that cross the mind of your average coach. Up from Section
3, we present you with "Thoughts From Three."
Calculated Serendipity
"I don't know," Coach Delsole suggested tactfully after a not-so-stellar girls 4x800 meter performance in early February. Yes, they'd just won the league championship in that event, but the relay time--and the splits--had fallen short of expectations. A week later, after watching Fayetteville-Manlius's 4x800 breeze its way to a sectional championship, Coach abandoned tactful. "We can't beat them," he declared bluntly. By then, I wasn't far behind. With the State Qualifier meet two weeks away--and almost three months of indoor track in the rear view mirror--I was one or two thoughts away from abandoning our traditional attempt to wrest that state championship relay from the Green Hornets.
They had owned it. F-M might have come to believe that a state championship girls 4x800 was theirs to lose--and if they did, they had good reason. In the previous four years, at indoor and outdoor season state qualifiers, they were 8--0 in 4x800 qualification attempts. In three of the previous four seasons, West Genesee had handled the chasing chores, finishing second each time. Our Wildcats came up 1.94 seconds short at the 14-15 indoor qualifier, then 3:08 seconds during outdoor. We got school records; F-M got on the bus for states.
"We think the same," Coach had reminded me again mid-season while discussing possible relay choices. "We can live with losing, but we at least want to be in the hunt."
In the hunt. It's just a phrase that means you demand having a shot at what you choose. Looking up instead of looking down. And our girls 4x800 had had its shots, going back almost two decades to other battles with the Hornets. In all those years, our girls 4x800 did once make it to an outdoor state championship, but even that was as a second qualifier. Being in the hunt was certainly something we could accomplish. And statistically speaking, that's really the best almost everyone at some point along the competitive hierarchy can do. There are, after all, only so many national championships to go around. Still….
Consciously or unconsciously we'd hedged our bets on tradition all season long. Like most coaches, we always believe in the importance of basic foot-speed development in middle distance runners. Our new 4x200 school record relay proved that. It included two middle distance runners and managed to finish this season as one of the better relays in the section. Alternately, extending the sprint range of our fast-twitch team members was also a goal, which meant some sprinters raced further than they'd bargained for. Over the course of the season's experimentations, those two concepts met in the middle at a logical distance--the 400 meter. Training had, of course, been adjusted to follow the aptitudes and strengths of those runners. Racers had been swapped in and out of the 4x400 to find the best fits. We never did get the opportunity to run what appeared our best four together, but like early-season time trials, that wasn't necessary. We knew pretty quickly who we had. Coach Delsole's corollary to his 4x800 pronouncement following sectionals was almost an after-thought. "The 4x400's our best relay."
So our 4x800 'tradition' of chasing the Hornets was shelved. Right up to the week of qualifiers, though, we still had not settled on the final 4x400 roster. Illness intervened, leaving me wondering if neophyte talent should trump proven veteran performances. We ran a race-specific workout and saw enough to stick with experience. Then we fiddled with an order, arguing strengths and weaknesses, instincts and inclinations. Once that was settled, we made them run the baton exchanges more than once, accepting no excuses, demanding polish and precision.
I knew it would feel strange not having a 4x800 squad stepping to the start line at State Qualifiers to chase our respected F-M rivals. But when the 4x400 gun went off and Carly bolted out into the lead, a lead that Kendall, then Megan and finally Maria would never relinquish, I got over that feeling in a hurry. One sprinter and three middle-distance runners going to states--it seemed to be working. I smiled while Coach D. read them their splits.
A week later, they were back on the track in Cornell's Barton Hall, nervous and excited all at once. Eight laps later, they'd made it into the finals. Then they did something no West Genesee girls relay had ever accomplished.
They medaled.
