800trackmom

Kendall Stokes (hope I spelled it right) of GPS ran under 15 at Optimist last Friday. She was definitely blazing. I can't wait to see her and Heather Trimiew from CCS go head to head (least I hope we get to see it at Best of Preps). They are definitely setting the standard in the Chattanooga area. And both are young.

Found out today that illness can wipe out a track season just as quickly as injury. In this case the illness is mono and it will probably cost my daughter at least three weeks of track. She was diagnosed last week and went back to the doctor today, hoping to be released to run. No such luck. Even though the mono was a little better, she now has strep. Apparently that is very common, because mono makes such a hit on the immune system. Now if your track team is like ours, everyone is always "sharing" drinks. Don't do that. If one member of your team gets mono or strep, you could sideline the whole team. The bad news for her is she will definitely not run this week and maybe not next. You can't make up three weeks of training this late in the season. The good news is that she has two more years. Both mono and strep can be serious and they will definitely hurt your season. Don't share your drinks.

I have mentioned Ms. Rives before as an awesome runner. Wasn't aware of the field events. Do you know if she does pentathlon, too?

Wow! How can anyone not be impressed? Congratulations. Truly incredible.

I did know about Ms. Harris doing especially well at hurdles last year. Glad to hear she is a good at many things. Hopefully someone who knows her will update us on how she is doing this year. I did get to see Ms. Washington run at Tullahoma the other day. She has improved in a lot of areas from last year (this is her senior year) and I expect her to make a good showing for our section in pentathlon. She won every event that she did (3 running and at least 4 field). Apparently she also has top notch academics and has several options for college. I agree that until someone proves otherwise Ms. Stewart is the woman to beat. Everything I read about her is praise. Who knows how far she will triple jump before she graduates? Liz is not in the same league with these girls. She is a very blessed runner, who can run just whatever the team happens to need, but she really hates most of the field events. Julie is very good but she happens to be in the same region as Trimiew who is very dominate in A-AA. I hope Julie does have a really good showing for her senior year, because she is a top notch young lady who has a lot of class. Good luck to all

Since there is a similar topic started for the guys, I thought I would ask the same question about the girls. Who are some of the girls that are good at field events as well as running? Just to throw some names out for consideration: Lauren Stewart and Anajare Washington from AAA and Heather Trimiew from A-AA. There is also a girl from Baylor but I can't think of her name (my apologies). I'm sure there are girls from the west that I know nothing about, so let's hear who is doing well at a variety of events and what events are their strongest?

I saw a lot of kids at tonight's track meet that kept toss the shot up or tossing the discus up, while waiting for their turn. I just kept waiting for someone to get bonked. Must not have happened, since I didn't hear any screaming (or laughing from the spectators). So is that how you keep loose between throws, or what?

OUCH. Just don't juggle them too high or you might hit your head next time.

As much as I love Lamar Thompson at Bradley, I have to vote for Michael Bingham. He is good at everything. Bet he'll be worth more points to McCallie than Bumbi will to his team. Sounds like Bingham's hamstring problem may be ok.

With track in full swing, I'm starting to hear about some key injuries here and there. Which teams are fighting this plague and what are the prospects of the injured being able to compete this season? I hope there aren't a lot of replies to this topic cause that should mean that most everyone is healthy?

I heard something about some injuries at this meet. The high jump winner from Baylor got hurt and then didn't Bingham pull out of some of his events because of injury? I hope both young men recover soon.

So now how fast is the girl from Ooltewah running in the 100 meter hurdles? The Owls should have some good girls distance runners too, if any of your xc girls are running track. Has Ooltewah found someone to replace Mike Wright for the guys?

Are the teams required to have any female runners? Or will there be a prize for best girl team?

Maryville's track is at the middle school and it didn't appear short. Bradley ran there last week. Most of the times were pretty much in line with what they had been other places. If you are running there, you might want to take some chairs. They have bleachers but their track is not around a football field so there is not a lot available seating. They do a well organized meet.

Hopefully the news will continue to be good. Everyone involved is in my prayers. Farragut always has a talented team. Hope all the girls are running again very soon.

Are you a guy or a girl? It gets even more complicated if you are a girl. There aren't many choices for girls. My daughter has usually ran in Nike but this year she is trying some ASICS Rocketgirls. They seem to work ok for 300 hurdles too. Nike works really well for narrow feet. If you don't have a local store with much selection, you might try Eastbay.com. Good luck.

GPS has a great track and really good facilities all the way around.

That's why I ask if Scooter ran. I know the guy that won the 400 at that meet and while he is good, he hasn't been running for long and I didn't think his time was anything exceptional. Thanks

I'm curious, did Scooter Houston run on Thursday at Maryville?

Ooltewah, Brainerd, Soddy-Daisy, Central, Cumberland County, Cleveland, Red Bank, and Rhea County--Where are you guys? I've seen Brainerd, Rhea and Cumberland County run this year. Don't know who the young lady is that anchors Brainerd's 4 by 100 relay but that girl can fly. I'm sure Cleveland's girls should be awesome in the 4 by 800 this year. And of course the head to head between Jackie and Tiffany is always fun to watch. Let's hear how everyone is doing. Good luck to all of you and to McMinn and Bradley. Hopefully I didn't miss any of the schools, if I did, it was totally an oversight of stupidity on my part and not deliberate in any way. Good Luck to everyone in Region 3.

Please follow up on this if you even think you might possibly want to think about running track (did u get that?) Seriously, McMinn has a great coach and some wonderful talent. I'm sure they can answer any questions you might have.

I don't think Bradley is going to the Vol Classic this year, but then our schedule seems to be changing a lot. We've got something in Atlanta next Saturday and then we are suppose to go to Memphis on the Saturday before Easter but I'm begging out of that one. Glad to see the McMinn guys back posting. It gets really boring around here without you guys. So where are you running next week? Bradley goes back to Riverdale on Monday to finish last Saturday's meet and then we are in Lenoir City on Tuesday. I guess I need to change my name since Liz hasn't ran the 800 this year. Bradley is blessed with some good distance and mid-distance girls and not too many sprinters and Liz can sprint if she has to. Actually I think she is enjoying it. Anyway I like the fact that she is more concerned about what is best for the team than her personal preference. Have a great weekend.

So how are things going in Region 3 AAA? Runnerboy, I heard you beat Zack McCool in the mile last night? What about the 3200? What about the girls? Also how is Brainerd, Ooltewah, Soddy-Daisy, etc doing this year? Who are some of the people to look for in 3AAA?

Is Rives (hope I spelled that right) from Rossview running the 400 this year? I would think she would be among the favorites in AAA girls if she is.

Michael Bingham is definitely the gold standard. He is an awesome hurdler (as well as pretty much everything else). I look forward to seeing him at Best of Preps.