Newton North boys inspired by coach's courage

By Brian Towey for DyeStat

New York -- The Newton North MA boys 4x400 relay team gathered for a group picture at New Balance Nationals Indoor, with assistant coach Shawn Wallace snapping the pic. It's been a triumphant winter for Newton North, as the team won its 13th Massachusetts indoor state championship.

But without head coach Jim Blackburn, the picture was incomplete.

"Our coach couldn't be here," junior Theo Burba said. 

Blackburn has pancreatic cancer. 

“He stayed with us through cross country season until he couldn't do it anymore. He couldn't walk," Burba said.

Blackburn has overseen the widely respected Boston-area program, which won indoor and outdoor state championships in 2017. His absence has been felt by runners like senior Andrew Mah, who finished fifth in the 5,000 in 14:50.50 and sixth in the 2-mile in earn All-America status.

"He's really amazing," Mah said. "In all of my races, he'd never get on me if I (went) out hard and died. He wants me to go for it. And if you die, you die."

Blackburn was diagnosed with cancer last year and spent time in the hospital. He returned for cross country before undergoing surgery and was forced to step away.

"He would go from chemotherapy to practice every day,” sophomore Raghav Kadambi said. "His fight gave us passion. If he can do this for us and still go to practice every day straight from chemotherapy, we can work even harder." 

Mixed gender relay debut

A new and intriguing event made its first appearance at New Balance Nationals Indoor on Saturday as boys and girls worked together on the mixed 4x400 relay. 

"It was a more interesting relay because it was guys running against girls," Bullis MD's Ashton Allen said. "Big leads turned into little leads. It was fun to watch." 

Team War (Nansemond River VA) edged out Allen, who fell in the final turn, and won the event in 3:32.4. In theory, that might now serve as the new unofficial national record. 

The three sections of mixed gender relay closed the day's schedule. 

"It was nerve-wracking," Team War's Tre'Bre Scott-McKoy said. "There was good competition so we had to push people around." 

Bullis loaded up, sending out Allen brothers Ashton and Eric Jr, Shaniya Hall and Sarah Walbrook. Others did likewise. 

"We had no idea what to expect," Bullis coach Joe Lee said. “I loved it. I think the thing that made it so nerve-wracking was you go through every variable – guy/girl/guy/girl, girl/guy/girl/guy, girl/girl/guy/guy – what do you!?” 

Pole vault showdown 

For many of the elite athletes competing this weekend, nationals offered a welcome chance to face off with peers who can ratchet up the level of competition. 

For KC Lightfoot and Zachery Bradford, elite pole vaulters and good friends, meeting at NBNI brought out the best in one another. 

"I have to go to a lot of these (national) meets for competition," said Lightfoot, who jumped 17-9 to finish second to Bradford (18-0.50). "If I go to a local meet, second place is maybe 14 feet. I open at 16 feet." 

For Bradford, a senior from Bloomington IL and Lighfoot, a senior from Lee's Summit MO, their camaraderie pulls each other up. 

"We've been competing for four years against each other," Bradford said. "We push each other to go to bigger poles. We're just friends on the runway going against the bar." 

There's also an added social benefit. 

"It's a lot more fun," Lightfoot said. "You can jump a lot higher. You have a lot more adrenaline. You have someone you can talk to."