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Donna on the Side
at the Nationals
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T&F's own "March Madness"
Nike Indoor Classic GIRLS
by Donna Dye
(Donna accompanies husband-publisher John Dye to meets and roams the
sidelines.)
March 11-12, 2000 at the Nike Indoor Classic, Bloomington IN and (by remote) the National Scholastic Indoor at NYC
NIC: Devers & Kennedy - Rockford girls - Lashinda Demus - Alejandra Barrientos - Girl Pole Vaulters - Colonie girls - Zeigle sisters - Rachel Sigsbury - Race Walkers - Latasha Pharr - Who Else was there
March means "March Madness," to basketball nuts. But "March Madness" does not belong to basketball alone. Track and field has its own madness for High School Indoor Track and Field (T&F) in March. This year there were two championship meets. In the West we had the Nike Indoor Classic (NIC) at Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, the heart of basketball country. And in the East, we had the National Scholastic Indoor meet (NSI) at the New York Armory, in New York City, New York. Athletes crisscrossed in the skies and on the ground: some in the east going west; some in the west going east; some in the north going south and some in the south going north. Oh, yes, we even had our powerhouse Canadian neighbors coming south and east to make both meets international events. Most athletes chose between the two meets. However, two weight throwers, as strong as they are, and one runner chose to compete at both meets back to back thanks to "red eye" flights. "Boy, I love this sport!"
Like the Basketball sideline stories from Dick Vitale, T&F has interesting sidelines too from Donna On The Side. Here are a few T&F stories, highlights, and tidbits from both meets for your Internet viewing pleasure.
AT THE NIKE INDOOR CLASSIC
Nike Star Athletes Gail Devers and Bob Kennedy Congratulate and Inspire
Gail Devers two time Olympic Gold Medal winner, shook hands, hugged and congratulated winners as she bestowed medals, signed autographs, graciously smiled for photos and freely passed out advice to attentive athletes. Bob Kennedy, America's leading distance runner and former NCAA champion at Indiana University addressed the crowd to congratulate, compliment and encourage the athletes to reach for the highest goals. Having them at the meet made it a special event
Rockford,
Michigan Girls Overcome Underdog Status!
Rockford Michigan Team Junior Linsey Blaisdell said of her
team, "We didn't know what others could do. We came in as the
underdog (according to the DyeStat poll question "Who would win the
girls 4xmile?). We were anxious but we knew what we could do." Of
course, we all know what the Rockford girls accomplished at the NIC.
Linsey's mother and father, Diane and Scott, (Diane is the one 
who
cheered them every step of the way) said "It was the best way to end
the season. The girls have worked very hard and now have met their
goal." In addition to the high school the girls run for the North
Kent Running Club and have the support and involvement of the parents and
the community. According to Diane and Scott, parents need to come out and
support the athletes and help them be the best that they can be."
Happy
Birthday Lashinda
Lashinda Demus, (top left, with friends) Long Beach Wilson in California celebrated her 17th birthday in Bloomington on Friday and was given a huge cake by the meet managers. Lashinda says she has been doing track since she was little. "Now I am doing it to go to school." Her accomplishments were recognized last year when she was named the HS Girl's Prep Athlete of 1999 by Track and Field News. While she participates in several events, she likes 300 hurdles the best.
Alejandra Barrientos Had the Desire
Alejandra
(at right with Coach Rob Collins) was "very excited" after winning the girls mile. She ran a
great race winning over Alicia Craig. Alejandra went out on top but
was passed by Alicia Craig. Using mental toughness Alejandra regained the
lead and went all the way to win. Alejandra had the desire, the mental
discipline to help her win. Her advice to aspiring runners and the
athletes that she herself coaches is "to stay with it." "In
my races, I sometime fall behind but I stay with it to make it come out my
way."
Girl Pole Vaulters PR to Win
PA girls PR'd to win 1st and 2nd
in pole vault. Emily Tharpe, jr. Eric, PA (left) came in first with 1 PR. Kimberly
Stuyvesant, jr. of Fairview, PA had two PRs to come in second on a
miss. Emily credits her coach Joe Sanford for her achievements. "I
owe it all to my coach." Why did Kimberly do so well? She says
"It was desire." Leila Ben-Youssef, sr. of Sidney,
Montana came in at 11'5. Given the time she has to practice, Leila does
real well. In Sidney, Montana there are only about 2 months to pole vault.
There is no indoor facility and given the weather in Montana 2 months is
about it.
Colonie Girls Say
Understand the Competition
But Then Relax
The Colonie girls from New York came to compete with the best. Their technique is to understand the competition but then relax and not be too serious. Letting off steam means to fool around. Strangers before track and now friends, they represent the benefits of track: high athletic accomplishments balanced with social development. Their advice to young athletes is to "stay with it; focus and keep working."
Laura
and Jackie Zeigle, sophomores with the Bingham, Utah team, are two hard
working girls. Laura and Jackie are accomplished distant runners who rise
early every day before school to run and/or do weights. They treat their
studies and running as serious business. But at the same time they are
charming, sweet girls who love talking about running. We'll look for
them in outdoor.
Maryland's Rachel Sigsbury and
Coach Grim
Come For The Competition
Rachel came to the NIC from Mt. Airy, Maryland to run in
the 
Girls 400 meter. "I'm here for the competition. At home I run
up against the same runners from 8 area schools. I need the competition to
break out….I don't know what any of the other girls here do. I came to
see if I could set a new school record."
Her coach John Grim, Linganore High School, says the high level of exposure and experience at an NIC type of meet helps athletes develop. Linganore tries to qualify at least one athlete per year for a championship meet. Last year, Rachel participated at the National Scholastic Meet in Boston. John also points out that "It's fun for me!" Well Rachel came to the right place. She was in the same qualifying heat as Lashinda Demus, the 1999 Girls Prep Athlete of the Year. Rachel was fourth in her heat at 1:01.15 and 27th out of 43 overall.
Race Walkers Get Help From The Locals
Mary Elliott and Angela Litzy from Bloomington were in the stands cheering for race walker, Amanda Bergeron who they just met the day before. On Saturday Mary and Angela drove through the Saturday snowstorm to pick up Amanda and John Chasse from Maine so that they could participate in the meet on Sunday. Mary started out doing a favor for her distant cousin and ended up in the stands having a good time. By the way Amanda came in third; John Chasse was second.
Happy for the Medal
Latasha Pharr of North Rowan, North Carolina 6th place winner in the hurdles was bubbly after accepting her award. Latasha is on the DyeStat Elite list. She plans to keep working in outdoor and do as best as she can.
Who Else Was There
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William Fleming High from Roanoke, Virginia
came to compete in the girls 400 and 60m dash. Coach Robert Vineyard
and Athletic Director, John Harris brought the girls for the
experience. Here is another example of a trip made possible by a
generous Athletic Director who drove the group to Bloomington -
Thomas Johnson relay team from Frederick, Maryland went home with two PR's. Coach Paul Flynnn said they were going home happy for accomplishments under such competition.
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Coach Donald Goodwin of Ballard High, Louisville, Kentucky and his team were at the NIC to get the experience and competition that they can't get at home.
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Michele Smith from Bloomington North, in Bloomington, Indiana came for the first time to a championship meet to compete in the long jump. Her mother Linda says that being a track parent means "it seems you're always in the car; sitting in the rain; running to be supportive and just to be there."
