The trouble with track and field is that a meet is like a smorgasbord. Everything is good, but it's not really possible to take everything in. If you concentrate on the track events, you're going to miss all of the jumps and throws. Turn your attention to any field event, and you're going to be missing three other field events and whatever is happening on the track. There is a reason that athletics at the Olympic Games is spread out over a couple of weeks. But what the Olympics schedules over a ten-day period, the typical track and field meet schedules for a portion of a single day.
But if you can't watch everything then you don't have to try to watch everything. The pressure is off. So sometime before lunch time on Saturday, 6 March 2010, I wandered up the road to Bradfordville and the Chiles Track & Field Championships. Fourteen schools had sent athletes, including several Georgia schools. Before developing any theories as to why Georgia athletes had wandered into Florida, keep in mind that Bradfordville is awfully close to the state line. If you make the wrong turn out of the Chiles parking lot, you're going to be in Georgia before you realize you aren't headed for Tallahassee.
As I arrived the last of the 4 x 800m teams were leaving the track, and Chiles Coach Scott Gowan was bellowing at the hurdle crew to get the barriers on the track for the girls' 100m hurdles. I was in time for the 1600m run. Dessert was going to come first.
With Chiles hosting, the girls' 1600m was loaded. Carly Thomas, the 2009 FHSAA-3A cross-country champion, was in the field, as was Lily Williams, 2009 FHSAA-3A silver medalist in the 1600m. Williams quickly took all potential for competitive drama off the table, taking the lead early and winning by almost 100m, running 5:07.21. Williams teammates--Jodie McGuff, Carly Thomas, and Kendall Williams--took the next three places as Chiles scored 29 points in the event. Some teams didn't score 29 points in the entire meet.
But if you can't watch everything then you don't have to try to watch everything. The pressure is off. So sometime before lunch time on Saturday, 6 March 2010, I wandered up the road to Bradfordville and the Chiles Track & Field Championships. Fourteen schools had sent athletes, including several Georgia schools. Before developing any theories as to why Georgia athletes had wandered into Florida, keep in mind that Bradfordville is awfully close to the state line. If you make the wrong turn out of the Chiles parking lot, you're going to be in Georgia before you realize you aren't headed for Tallahassee.As I arrived the last of the 4 x 800m teams were leaving the track, and Chiles Coach Scott Gowan was bellowing at the hurdle crew to get the barriers on the track for the girls' 100m hurdles. I was in time for the 1600m run. Dessert was going to come first.
With Chiles hosting, the girls' 1600m was loaded. Carly Thomas, the 2009 FHSAA-3A cross-country champion, was in the field, as was Lily Williams, 2009 FHSAA-3A silver medalist in the 1600m. Williams quickly took all potential for competitive drama off the table, taking the lead early and winning by almost 100m, running 5:07.21. Williams teammates--Jodie McGuff, Carly Thomas, and Kendall Williams--took the next three places as Chiles scored 29 points in the event. Some teams didn't score 29 points in the entire meet.
The boys' 1600m followed. Thomasville High's David Daniel, a two-time Georgia Region 1-AA cross-country champion, led the first two laps. Unfortunately for Daniel, he was stalked by Leon's Matt Mizereck--a three-time Florida state cross-country champion, not to mention the defending FHSAA-3A 1600m champion. Mizereck made an authoritative move on the third lap, running away from Daniel and the rest of the field. Mizereck romped to a 4:24.10 win, while Leon's Riley Doherty moved up to finish second at 4:35.99. The fading Daniel held off a late challenge from Chiles' Taylor Buzzard; the two finished third and fourth respectively, 4:42.76 to 4:43.12.
After the 1600m I checked with my brother, Leon High distance coach Andrew Wills, to see what else might be on the menu.
"Mizereck might run the 800m if the wind doesn't pick up," said Andrew. "He wants to go after the school record."
Leon's school record in the 800m wasn't particularly blazing, but admittedly it was (by definition) faster than I had ever run during my tenure at the school. So the 800m could be worth watching--but that was a long way off.
"You should check out the boys' shot put," suggested Andrew. "There's a big guy from Thomas County Central throwing. Football player. Really big guy."
So I walked over to the east end of the track and the shot ring. Competition was already going on. There was a Thomas County shotputter near the ring, and he was big, but still of mortal proportions. In fact, there was a Leon High thrower next to him who was about the same size. I was feeling misinformed, but then all the throwers cleared out. I had been watching the first flight. The shotputters in the second flight started warming up, among them a leviathan wearing Thomas County Central colors--Ray Drew. Drew cradled the twelve-pound iron ball in his fingers, where it looked like a tennis ball, or a piece of fruit. You weren't sure if he was going to hurl it, or squeeze it for juice. Drew looked like he could do either quite successfully. Hurl it he did, though, 50' 7", seven-and-a-half inches farther than anyone else managed. Ray had already won the discus, throwing 150' 9".
During the boys' shot put, the track schedule had come around to the girls' 800m run. There was nothing tactical about this one. The starting gun fired and Lily Williams began running away from the field. After half a lap she already had half a straight on the field, while Kiah Jackson of Southwest DeKalb led the pursuit. Williams continued to pull away, winning in 2:18.20. Meanwhile, Shannon Baker of Leon moved up through the field and caught Jackson on the final straightaway to take second, 2:32.00 to 2:32.28.
The flag at the west end of the track was all but hanging limp, so the wind looked favorable for Mizereck's record attempt in the boys' 800m. Corey Ashbourne of Campbell set the early pace and Mizereck was content to follow him for a lap. After that, though, if Mizereck wanted to chase records he was going to have to do it on his own. Mizereck thundered ahead on the second lap, leaving Ashbourne and the rest of the field farther and farther behind. At the line Mizereck had the win and his new school record--1:55.86. Ashbourne stayed ahead of the rest of the field to take second in 2:02.07.
After a few sections of the 200m dash, it was time for the girls' 3200m run. Florida State University School's Allison Murray took the initial lead but was overtaken on the second lap by Kelley Bahn of Chiles. As Bahn built up an authoritative lead, Leon's Autumn Wable moved up through the field and passed Murray. Bahn went on to win in 12:34.17, while Wable was second in 12:49.23 and Murray hung on for third in 13:07.89. Chiles runners Stephanie Reynolds, Jessica Gillard, Florencia Velez-Cortes, and Sara Lane took the next four places as Chiles scored 24 points in the event.
In the boys' 3200m, Mizereck went right to the front, trailed by Leon teammate Riley Doherty. As the laps mounted Mizereck and Doherty's early pursuers fell away and Thomasville's David Daniel, running more warily than he did in the 1600m, moved into third. Building a large lead, Mizereck ran the eight-lap race mostly alone, finishing in a meet-record time of 9:30.67. The win completed Mizereck's sweep of the meet's distance events. Taken together with his 400m win at Lincoln High on Tuesday, Mizereck had wins that week at every distance from 400m to 3200m. Doherty held on to the runner-up spot with a 10:03.67, and Daniel was third in 10:36.15. Leon runners Ben McMahon and Will Henderson took fourth (10:40.87) and fifth (10:54.10), giving Leon 27 points in the event.
As it turned out those were 27 points that Leon well needed; in the final boys' team scores Leon edged out Thomas County Central for the meet title, 124 to 122. The girls' team scores were not nearly as close, with Chiles playing the role of rude host and winning the team title with 169 points, well ahead of runners-up Southwest DeKalb's 139. But honestly? I read all about the team scores much later. With so much (too much) running, jumping, and throwing going on, where's the excitement in watching point totals mount?
Links:
After the 1600m I checked with my brother, Leon High distance coach Andrew Wills, to see what else might be on the menu."Mizereck might run the 800m if the wind doesn't pick up," said Andrew. "He wants to go after the school record."
Leon's school record in the 800m wasn't particularly blazing, but admittedly it was (by definition) faster than I had ever run during my tenure at the school. So the 800m could be worth watching--but that was a long way off.
"You should check out the boys' shot put," suggested Andrew. "There's a big guy from Thomas County Central throwing. Football player. Really big guy."
So I walked over to the east end of the track and the shot ring. Competition was already going on. There was a Thomas County shotputter near the ring, and he was big, but still of mortal proportions. In fact, there was a Leon High thrower next to him who was about the same size. I was feeling misinformed, but then all the throwers cleared out. I had been watching the first flight. The shotputters in the second flight started warming up, among them a leviathan wearing Thomas County Central colors--Ray Drew. Drew cradled the twelve-pound iron ball in his fingers, where it looked like a tennis ball, or a piece of fruit. You weren't sure if he was going to hurl it, or squeeze it for juice. Drew looked like he could do either quite successfully. Hurl it he did, though, 50' 7", seven-and-a-half inches farther than anyone else managed. Ray had already won the discus, throwing 150' 9".
During the boys' shot put, the track schedule had come around to the girls' 800m run. There was nothing tactical about this one. The starting gun fired and Lily Williams began running away from the field. After half a lap she already had half a straight on the field, while Kiah Jackson of Southwest DeKalb led the pursuit. Williams continued to pull away, winning in 2:18.20. Meanwhile, Shannon Baker of Leon moved up through the field and caught Jackson on the final straightaway to take second, 2:32.00 to 2:32.28.
The flag at the west end of the track was all but hanging limp, so the wind looked favorable for Mizereck's record attempt in the boys' 800m. Corey Ashbourne of Campbell set the early pace and Mizereck was content to follow him for a lap. After that, though, if Mizereck wanted to chase records he was going to have to do it on his own. Mizereck thundered ahead on the second lap, leaving Ashbourne and the rest of the field farther and farther behind. At the line Mizereck had the win and his new school record--1:55.86. Ashbourne stayed ahead of the rest of the field to take second in 2:02.07.
After a few sections of the 200m dash, it was time for the girls' 3200m run. Florida State University School's Allison Murray took the initial lead but was overtaken on the second lap by Kelley Bahn of Chiles. As Bahn built up an authoritative lead, Leon's Autumn Wable moved up through the field and passed Murray. Bahn went on to win in 12:34.17, while Wable was second in 12:49.23 and Murray hung on for third in 13:07.89. Chiles runners Stephanie Reynolds, Jessica Gillard, Florencia Velez-Cortes, and Sara Lane took the next four places as Chiles scored 24 points in the event.
In the boys' 3200m, Mizereck went right to the front, trailed by Leon teammate Riley Doherty. As the laps mounted Mizereck and Doherty's early pursuers fell away and Thomasville's David Daniel, running more warily than he did in the 1600m, moved into third. Building a large lead, Mizereck ran the eight-lap race mostly alone, finishing in a meet-record time of 9:30.67. The win completed Mizereck's sweep of the meet's distance events. Taken together with his 400m win at Lincoln High on Tuesday, Mizereck had wins that week at every distance from 400m to 3200m. Doherty held on to the runner-up spot with a 10:03.67, and Daniel was third in 10:36.15. Leon runners Ben McMahon and Will Henderson took fourth (10:40.87) and fifth (10:54.10), giving Leon 27 points in the event.As it turned out those were 27 points that Leon well needed; in the final boys' team scores Leon edged out Thomas County Central for the meet title, 124 to 122. The girls' team scores were not nearly as close, with Chiles playing the role of rude host and winning the team title with 169 points, well ahead of runners-up Southwest DeKalb's 139. But honestly? I read all about the team scores much later. With so much (too much) running, jumping, and throwing going on, where's the excitement in watching point totals mount?
Links:
- Part 1 of my photos of the 2010 Chiles Track & Field Championships
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2813761&id=5215641&l=1b461b50f4 - Part 2 of my photos of the 2010 Chiles Track & Field Championships
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2813769&id=5215641&l=533190b6cf - Results of the 2010 Chiles Track & Field Championships at flrunners.com
http://fl.milesplit.us/meets/57504 - Video of the boys' 800m run at the 2010 Chiles Track & Field Championships
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EO0wAZaOgaw - Video of Matt Mizereck's 400m win at Lincoln High School, 2 March 2010
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsQ7DX9dV-Y
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