Track Dogs headed to Michigan for AAU meet
Posted on Friday, July 18, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/Sports/67248/
In the unpredictable endeavor of track and field, performances can vary dramatically from one event to the next.
Such was the case for siblings Jessica and Trevon Boyd. The two Ramay Junior High students posted a pair of indifferent times at the state AAU meet in Little Rock but still qualified for the regional competition in Joplin, Mo.
Those times transformed from mediocre to spectacular at Joplin, with the Boyds conjuring personal records to advance to the AAU national meet later this month in Detroit. The top four times in each event qualified for the national meet.
Jessica needed 38 seconds to negotiate the 200-meter hurdles in Little Rock but covered the distance in 31 seconds at Joplin. Brother Trevon required 1: 07 to span 400 meters at the state meet. He whittled the time to 1: 01 at the regional competition.
Such disparity in times isn’t an uncommon occurrence, said Chandun O’Neal, one of the coaches of the Boyds ’ Fayettevillebased AAU track club, Track Dogs United. He said certain performers can summon their best when the occasion demands it.
“ You can always tell who the good athletes are, ” said O’Neal, who ran track at the University of Arkansas and serves as a volunteer sprint coach for Fayetteville High. “ They always perform and step up to the competition. ”
The ranks of Track Dogs United are flush with the type of athletes O’Neal made reference to. Eleven of its 23 members qualified for the national meet July 26 through Aug. 2 at Eastern Michigan University.
In addition to the Boyds, Fayetteville High’s Jessica Potter qualified in the high jump along with her younger sister, Jenna.
Fayetteville High’s recordholder in the triple jump, 2008 graduate Robert Rolfe, qualified in the triple jump and 400. The runner-up in the state decathlon has shaved four seconds off his 400-meter time since working with O’Neal and the other coaches at Track Dogs United.
Alma sophomore Austin Wofford qualified in the high jump, and Fayetteville senior Caroline McCombs notched a qualifying mark in the long jump. A quartet of Ramay Junior High freshmen posted the fastest 4 x 100-meter relay time at the regional meet, qualifying Eric Simmons, Kamen Moore, Deondre Jones and Bryce Gahagans for the national meet.
Only four of the 11 qualifiers will trek north for the national competition. Rolfe, Wofford and Jessica and Trevon Boyd will represent the Track Dogs in Michigan. Track Dog coach Calvin Davis said the road to nationals was paved with hard work.
“ Track’s not one of those sports where you can train once or twice a week and get something out it, ” said Davis, a former UA track star who took the bronze medal in the 400-meter hurdles at the 1996 Olympics. “ We work five days a week. We work very hard, and we’re very disciplined and dedicated. ”
Davis said the Boyds ’ personal-record times at the regional, significantly outstripping their performance at state, was unusual but not an anomaly. Performances can vary from event to event.
“ Track is strange, ” Davis said. “ Sometimes people just reach down. I didn’t expect it to be that big of a drop, but they’ve definitely been working hard throughout the season. ”
Times are given to fluctuation, but O’Neal said consistency is what athletes strive to obtain. The Track Dogs have been working since May to achieve that end. He said the preparation for the national meet has shifted from conditioning to speed training.
“ We want to tighten up the things they do well and make them better, ” O’Neal said. “ If you’re not in shape now, you’re not going to be in shape in one or two weeks. ”