Braves,
There were some pretty awesome performances at the meets on
Thursday and Saturday. I won’t be able to highlight each one because it seems
like nearly everyone had PR at some point this week. Updating the performance
lists and all-time lists is going to take me longer than usual this week, which
is what we love seeing. Given the performances, brace yourselves for along
post. There are important announcements to be had at the end so please read
them carefully.
We entered most of the team on Thursday, but a bunch of you
couldn’t make it due to orchestra competitions, but many missed for
unexplainable reasons. That is unfortunate given that there are only one or two
meets left for those who do not qualify for region or state. There are two
weeks before region, and three before state, and the end of the season. I have
tried to convey a sense of urgency throughout the season, and if you haven’t
felt it yet, now is the time to get it. The time for killer workouts is passed,
and the time for fine tuning our speed and fitness is here. In general we have
put in the work, but we can’t let up now. I have to work just as hard these
three weeks, but we have to work smart as well.
With all the absences on Thursday I was pleased to see a
number of you step up and ask to race in other events for people who weren’t
there. For example Leslie threw the javelin and ran the 300H in addition to her
normal events. We even had Isaac Bills run a 4x400 at the end of the day, and
honestly he dominated it. The 400m has bested many men and women, but Isaac
powered right through it. Our distance runners ran a 4x100 right after running
a grueling mile. Andrew stepped in and ran a 400 in addition to his distance
races. It is that kind of attitude that makes our team better. These kids who
volunteered to do more are the ones who are working hard each day in practice,
so it wasn’t really a surprise by any means. Essentially they epitomized what
our team needs to be about to be successful. We cannot be a team of common
people; we have to be uncommon. Their desire and work ethic makes them
uncommon.
Saturday was an awesome day for track & field. Adam and
Hunter both made the podium in the 300H after posting BIG PRs. Those two are
poised to do some serious damage at the region meet in that race. Adam came
back in the 110H in the afternoon and had another PR. He has improved 3 out of
the last 4 times he has done that race, and cut off nearly a second. Ashley and
Julia also PR’d in the 300H, with Ashley cutting off nearly a second, very close
to the state qualifying mark, and finishing 3rd overall for her
second consecutive meet. In the boys mile Dallin decided to beast by some
people over the final lap finishing in 3rd with a 5 second PR. Blake
did the same thing in the 800m, passing (or rather charging through) a group of
people over the last ten meters to finish 4th, but less than a
second out of 1st. Laurie ran yet another gutsy 800m race. With 200
to go a group was coming alongside her ready to pass her when I looked away so I
could navigate to a better spot to see the finish. I totally thought I was
going to look back and see her in 3rd or 4th, but I
couldn’t see her there and for a split second I thought maybe she had been
tripped or something. Then I saw Angry Laurie coming off the turn in the lead
and flat out leaving the girls that had the audacity to try and pass her. I
said/shouted in that moment, “oh man, Angry Laurie!” much to the confusion of
the random kids around me. I say “angry Laurie” but a more accurate term would
be “determined” or “driven”. I’m not entirely sure that she even has the
capacity to be angry because she is always so nice and polite, but man, on the
track when she is determined to compete, her expression is legitimately terrifying.
Of course she finishes the race and is as kind to her competitors as ever, but
for a moment in that race, her determination manifests itself as fury.
Rachel had 3 events in the invited section in the afternoon,
but she ran the 4x400 in the morning. That team of Ashley, Kiwi, Laurie, and
Rachel ran the second fastest time out of the relay teams I’ve coached here at
Bountiful. If you haven’t seen Rachel race, you have missed out, and you need
to pay attention the next time she steps on the track. She got the baton in 6th,
50m behind the lead runner (not an exaggeration), and proceeded to blow by 3
girls in the first 100m. Typically, running that aggressively that early in the
race is a recipe for disaster, but when I saw her go by that first group I had no doubt that she was going to make this
into an awesome race. She always finishes her races strong so I knew it was
going to be interesting. She moved into second with little resistance and came
up next to the lead runner with 100m to go. They ran side by side until about
15m left when Rachel couldn’t quite hold on and she nearly collapsed before the
line, running herself into exhaustion. When I looked at the clock to see that
she ran a 58.11, I was slightly surprised because she had never before run
sub-60s in the 400. She had an enormous PR and coach of the team that took
first looked at her and said, “wow, that was an incredible run.” I’m not sure
Rachel heard that as she laid on the ground in agony. When you run the 400,
pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional (that is Coach Caitlin’s mantra).
I can tell you there was no suffering amidst the pain after running that hard
for her team. I highlight Rachel’s effort in that race because it was
exceptional, but her teammates ran hard and smart to even get Rachel into that
position. If they hadn’t ran as hard as they had the team could have easily
ended in 6th as opposed to 2nd. Great team performances
are comprised of awesome individual effort; it takes the entire team.
On that note, it is going to take the ENTIRE team giving
awesome individual effort for us to have a chance at winning region. I’ve said
it before, we are not the favorites to win it, so we have to do something
uncommon to come away with the win. Having coached this team long enough we can
see that you all have the ability to do just that. The opportunity is there,
but you have to embrace it. Each individual needs to battle and move up just a
place or two. Obviously not everything will go our way, but if we have just
enough people moving up instead of back, we can win this thing. We need people
sneaking in to the top 8 when they weren’t projected to be there. We need
encouragement from teammates when they are warming up or racing or about to
throw. Whatever it takes, we just have to find points that we weren’t “projected”
to get. That is one thing I love about this sport: it take innumerable
individual efforts to make the team great. We have standout athletes on our
team, but standout athletes cannot win a team title in track & field on
their own. Everyone is needed. We need 8th place finishes that were
supposed to be 10th. We need two people to go 1st and 3rd
when they were projected 1st and 4th. We have to overachieve.
And you know what? This team can do it; this team has what it takes; this team
can overachieve. That is why we have made you run all the 400s at the meets. That’s
why we make you run an extra set even when you’re not feeling it. That’s why we
practice in the rain or even the snow. That’s why you come to practice each day
ready to work even when you know you have loads of homework waiting for you.
That’s why we did 20 short rest 200s inside. That is why Dallin ran a 1600,
800, and 2 400s yesterday. That’s why
Leslie ran an extra race or why Andrew volunteered for an extra 400 or why
Isaac was willing to run a 400 when the team was a man short. That’s why Rachel
nearly passed out at the end of the 4x400. That’s why Kohle snuck away from a
wedding to get in a couple races yesterday. That’s why Losee and Amelia came
back and forth from choir/orchestra competitions to compete in the discus and
medley relay. That’s why Adam stays late to hurdle and improve his trail leg. That’s
why Dodds ran hundreds of 400s to try and break 60, and when he finally did he raised
his sites to 56. That’s why Stobbe asked me what he can do to get on the 4x100
team. That’s why coach Caitlin carries the baby all over the field while
yelling splits and encouraging the distance runners. That’s why Dave goes back
and forth across the field for hours with the Javelin throwers. That’s why
Coach Magalei meticulously works with the discus throwers and finds time to
communicate with his throwers even while trying to fulfill his familial
obligations right now, and calls me nearly every day so we can talk about each
of you and figure out how to give us the best shot at region. That is why the
discus throwers get to practice early to get in some reps before the baseball
team has yet another game to make up from the rain. That’s why our distance
runners go for 50 minute runs or do seemingly hundreds of sets around the
track. It’s why our sprinters do never ending 200s or 150s. That’s why our
hurdlers are constantly setting up and taking down loads of hurdles. Everything
we have done thus far was to make each team member better, and to give us a
shot at overachieving. You’ve embraced what we have asked of you, now another
opportunity awaits. Whatever the outcome, I’m confident that you will look back
with positive memories of what we have done as a TEAM this year, because
ultimately, while we work for a specific goal, it’s in the journey from day to
day that we really find the joy in what we do. How lucky we are to still have 3
more weeks of the season.
We have a meet on Thursday at East High. Friday and Saturday
will be the BYU invitational. This is a highly selective meet so only a few
athletes will be going. We can only enter 25 events per team, meaning very few
will be able to go. We will give more information about BYU over the course of
the week, but most of the races, excluding relays, and competed on Friday, with
finals and relays on Saturday. Everyone can compete on Thursday so I hope you
all plan accordingly. Because of the difficulty of BYU, the meet on Thursday
becomes even more important. Everyone can compete there so I hope you plan your
schedules accordingly. Region is on Wednesday and Thursday of next week,
meaning less than 14 days away. We have 5 – repeat FIVE – days of practice
before region. Workouts will become more specific this week so please be on
time and have your spikes and other necessary items so you are ready to roll.
Looking forward to a final 3 weeks of the season. Thanks for
all you do.
Coach Jacobson
