Highlights by Pete Cava

Athletes from 42 states are in Raleigh for the adidas Outdoor Championships, the
annual festival of high school track and field that serves as the unofficial national prep
championships.

Thirty-four national leaders are entered, 16 on the boys’ side and 18 in the girls’
events.

For many, the AOC meet is like prom night --- the last big high school event
before blastoff into the world of intense competition, drug testing and, later for some,
agents and prize money. Innocence, like a flower, blooms briefly.

And, for those who truly love track and field, there’s nothing else quite like this
meet.

Jerrod Avegalio of Kahuku High School in Hau’ula, Hawaii, traveled the farthest
distance to be here. The 6-2, 200-pound Avegalia is a 186-10 discus thrower who lives
on the island of Oahu. This is his third visit to the mainland. He’ll attend Arizona this
fall and says he might like to study animal research.

“This is an opportunity to represent my people,” says the darkly handsome
Avegalio, who was born and raised in Samoa. “It reassures me of the hard work I’ve put
into the sport.”

Avegalio started out playing football and baseball. “As a kid I played on a field
named for (former major league baseball player) Tony Solaita,” he says. “He’s the most
famous athlete from American Samoa.”

His track career began his freshman year in high school. “I started off not even
knowing what track and field was,” he says. “I picked up this iron ball and wondered,
What do you do? Roll it? Throw it like a frisbee? It wasn’t until halfway through my
four years in high school that I found out there was a track and field league for elementary
school kids”.

Avegalio says his track and field career is a source of pride for Hawaii’s Samoan
community. “They’re proud of me for taking this step,” he says. “In Hawaii, track is not
the biggest sport. It’s just now building itself up. Hopefully, more athletes will come out
of there. If you’ve been there, you’ve seen the size of Hawaiian kids. It’s just a matter of
coaching.”
Avegalio credits his success to his high school coach, Dwayne Fely, who was a
star powerlifter. “I basically owe him everything,” says Avegalio. “He’s a local boy,
right out of Hawaii. I wish I could do more to repay him.”

Avegalio recently underwent a seven-day tattooing ceremony. The ritual, he
explains, is a thousand-year-old tradition that reestablishes the connection between
Samoans and the universe and their bloodline. The tattoo reaches from his knees to his
lower torso. “It’s a complicated process,” he says. “It almost looks like I’m wearing
pants. The ceremony took 10 to 15 hours a day. The only breaks were to eat and to
relieve myself.”

Avegalio speaks fluent English and Samoan, but sometimes transposes words
from one language to another. “Being bilingual, I mess up words sometimes,” he says
with a sheepish grin. “It’s kind of a joke in the Pacific area. When it happens, they say,
‘He’s FOB - Fresh Off the Boat.’”

Avegalio says the accomplishments of a Hawaiian Samoan are an inspiration to
all other peoples of the Pacific. “We all represent each other,” he says. “We always give
credit to our fellow Polynesians. We’re always proud to see a Polynesian do well. I’ll
always credit my ancestry. That’s where I came from, and that’s where my blood is.”

MILE WALK: Zach Pollinger (Mahwah, NJ) got off to a fast start, coursing the
first lap in 1:27 and going on to win in 6:25.71, well ahead of runnerup John Koziel
(Rock Hill, SC), who finished in 7:42.15.
Third in the three-man field was Mark Dennett (Winthrop, ME) in 8:15.28.
For Pollinger, winner of the open mile walk at this year’s Millrose Games, it was
a little like Jason Kidd dropping in at RVC Center to play horse with with North Carolina
State’s seniors.
“I wanted a 1:25 first lap because I wanted to walk der six minutes,” said
Pollinger. “This is one of my first races in hot weather, so I guess I wasn’t really
prepared for it.”
Pollinger’s next race will be at next week’s U.S. Junior Championships in
Stanford, Calif. “Then for the rest of the summer,” he adds, “I have Youth Nationals,
World Youth Games, Junior Olympics and possibly the Pan Am Games.
Curiously, Pollinger is not a member of the track squad Northern Highlands
Regional High School in Allendale, N.J. Instead, he plays for the tennis team. A
16-year-old junior, Pollinger’s a top student an a potential Ivy Leaguer.

100 METER PRELIMINARIES: Heat winners Michael Grant (Stone Mountain,
GA), Travis Padgett (Shelby, OH) and Kory Sheets (Manchester, CT) advanced to
Friday’s final, along with Kevin Okolie (Dix Hills, NY), Adian Sanderson (Ewing, NJ),
Jamaal Barnes (Decatur, IL), Willie Hordge (Missouri City, TX), John Schenck
(Centreville, VA) and Russ Kempf (Clemmons, NY).
Although all marks were made with legal, non-aiding winds, swirling gusts at
Paul Derr Track appeared to affect the qualifying times.
Grant won in 10.65, the fastest time of the prelims. Padgett’s time was 10.71 and
Sheets won in 11.04. Hordge, running alongside Padgett in the second heat, advanced
with a second-place finish in 10.78.
Ivory Williams (Beaumont, TX), who teamed with Hordge on America’s junior
world record-setting 4x100 relay team at last year’s World Junior Championships, was a
no-show after failing to make his flight.

110 METER HURDLES PRELIMINARIES: National leader Jason Richardson
(Cedar Hill, TX) won the first heat with the fastest time of the qualifying round, 13.75
after crowd noise contributed to a pair of false starts.
Kerron Clement (LaPorte, TX), who figures to be Richardson’s chief rival in
Saturday’s final, won the second heat in 13.81.
Basil Campbell (Ewing, NJ) won heat three in 13.99 while the fourth heat went to
Theodore Ginn (Cleveland OH) in 13.79.
Rounding out Saturday’s final will be Aaron Whitehurst (Tinton Falls, NK), Aries
Merritt (Marietta, GA), Brandys Green (Indianapolis, IN), Verrol Jackson (Schenectady,
NY), and Kedrieck Gibbons (Natchez, MS).
Steve Knight (Huntington, MD), who finished seventh and last in in heat three
with a time of 15.12, fell and was injured half an hour before his race but still warmed up
and competed. Knight suffered a baseball-sized gash on the outside calf of his right leg.
“I don’t know many people who would do that at the higher level, and they do this
for a living,” said Cedric Walker of the National Scholastic Sports Foundation. Walker
literally tipped his cap to Knight’s gritty performance. “I gave him my hat from the
World Championships,” said Walker, a Rochester, N.Y., track official. “He deserved it.”

SPRINT MEDLEY RELAY: Shannon Scherrer ran an unofficial 1:50.5 anchor
split, but had to lean at the finish line to give Vineland, NJ, the win for the second
consecutive year.
The Vineland lineup of Marcus Lee, Dale Coleman, Schafer Sherrer and Shannon
Sherrer finished in 3:22.75, just a few ticks off the two-year-old meet record of 3:22.69,
and just .01 ahead of Mount Tabor of Winston-Salem, NC., the runnerup at 3:22.76. Mt.
Tabor anchor Matt DeBole put on a rush in the final 20 meters on the outside, nearly
overtaking and nearly caught Shannon Scherrer in an oh-so-close finish.
Mt. Tabor’s team consisted of Anthony Polzine, J-Mee Samuels, Jerrod Wiley
and DeBole.
Deep Creek (Chesapeake, VA) took third in 3:23.15 while Willingboro, NJ,
finished fourth in 3:23.56 in a fast, exiting race that had the crowd on its feet throughout.
“I looked up their splits on-line, and Sherrer’s gone 1:51-high in an open already
this year,” said DeBole, a Georgetown signee who’ll run the open mile Saturday. “That
says a lot. He’s certainly a phenomenal runner.”

100 METER FINAL: Experience showed in the final when Willie Hordge
(Missouri City, TX) established himself as the leader at the midway point and cruised to adecisive victory.

Hordge was a finalist at last year’s AOC meet but was shelved by injury. He went on to anchor the triumphant, world junior record-setting 4x100 relay team at the 2002 World Junior Championships in Kingston, but more injuries held him back earlier this season.

Friday, Hordge was in lane three while Michael Grant (Stone Mountain, GA), the
fastest qualifier, was in lane five. To Grant’s right was talented sophomore Travis
Padgett, who lives two-and-a-half hours west of Raleigh in Shelby, N.C.

Out of a bunched field, Hordge pulled ahead at about 50 meters and never looked
back. The 5-10, 185-pound University of Arkansas football recruit finished in 10.49.
Second was the upstart Padgett in 10.55 with Grant third in 10.58. The wind reading for the race was -0.2 meters per second.

“I was just worried about my hamstring,” Hordge said of his preliminary race,
where he finished second to Padgett. “I didn’t want to injure myself. I can’t make an
excuse. He (Padgett) took it in the prelims, but I took it in the final.”

Hordge said Friday’s races were his first in two months. “I did all right, running
10.5,” he said. ‘I looked forward to this track meet.”

Hordge, who pulled up at the Texas district meet, said Friday’s race was
redemption. “But that’s not my goal,” he said. “I’m really looking forward to California (and the U.S. Junior Championships at Stanford) and to make the Junior Worlds. I don’t care what place I get as long as I run under 10 flat. That’s my goal.”

LONG JUMP: Anthony Miles (Winslow Township, NJ) was a repeat winner in
the long jump. Miles outdueled Garden Stater Mike Morrison (Willingboro, NJ) and
national leader Ramonce Taylor (Temple, TX) in a close competition.
Miles jumped 24-5.5 to 24-1.75 for Morrison, with Taylor third at 23-4.75. All
marks were made with legal, non-aiding wind. Miles finished short of his season best,
24-6.5. Morrison had come to Raleigh with an ‘02 best of 24-3.5. Taylor, a junior, leads
the nation with a mark of 25-0.75.

POLE VAULT: Chase Shealy (Cayce, SC) fell short of his season best, but still
won by a foot and set a meet record. Shealy, who came in with an ‘02 clearance of 17-1,
managed a height of 17-0.25.
The blond, crewcut Arkansas State signee won his first AOC title, finishing ahead
of juniors Andrew Rademacher (Heritage, PA) and Scott Duckworth (The Woodlands,
TX). Rademacher, last year’s bronze medalist, cleared 16-0. Duckworth cleared 15-6.25.
The old meet mark, 16-11.5 from 2000, belonged to Texan Sage Thames.
“I was pretty happy,” said Shealy, who had plenty of support from the fans. “It
was great to have the crowd behind me. I started clapping, and they joined me. I love
having the crowd behind me. That always helps, getting that adrenaline rush.”

4x100 METER RELAY PRELIMINARIES: Two teams dipped under 41 seconds
in the qualifying rounds, with Bowie (Arlington, TX) posting a time of 40.79 in the first
heat, the day’s fastest time.
DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, Md.) won the third heat in 40.98.
Rounding out the final will be Winslow Township (NJ) Mount Tabor
(Winston-Salem, NC), Glenville (OH), Deep Creek (Chesapeake, VA), Trenton Central
(NJ), Newburgh (NY) Elite Track Club, and Shaker Heights (OH).
Bowie’s foursome of Brandon Foster, Robert Smith, DeVon Campbell and junior
Ryan Palmer dipped under 41 seconds for the fourth time this year.

4x800 METER RELAY: Tom O’Brien’s thundering anchor leg propelled
Philadelphia’s Cardinal O’Hara to a surprising first-place finish in an elite final.
Bernie Rendler’s 1:55 opening split had Cardinal O’Hara in the lead at the 800
meter mark. Steve Hallinan kept the Philadelphians through the midway point, despite
various challenges from Detroit Mumford, Fordham Prep (Bronx, NY), and Willingboro,
NJ.
On the third leg, Dan Boyle lost the lead to Willingboro’s Ahmad Rutherford.
But Boyle clawed back into the lead and put some daylight between himself and the New
Jersey runner.
Shareef Muhammad moved Willingboro ahead once again on the anchor leg, with
Liberty, MO, moving up to third place courtesy of Adam Perkins. Coming into the
straight, the three teams all had a shot. Then O’Brien put it into overdrive and shot past
Muhammad with about 40 meters left. O’Brien, who’ll attend either Shippensburg State
or St. Francis (Pa.) this fall, had an unofficial split of 1:56.1 to close out the race in
7:41.89.
Perkins’ strong finish gave Liberty third place in 7:43.12, while Willingboro hung
on for third in 7:44.25.

2-MILE: In a replay of last weekend’s Indiana state meet, junior Christian
Wagner (Columbus, IN) outran Stanford-bound Nef Araia (Indianapolis).
Galen Rupp (Portland, OR) rushed into the lead at the start and Josh McDougal, a
home-schooled runner from Peru, NY, took over the lead by the 440-yard mark. Three
laps into the race it was McDougal, Rupp and Wagner in the top three spots, with Araia
lurking in the background like a vulture.
Rupp regained the lead on the next lap, with Araia passing Wagner for third.
Rupp took the field through the mile in 4:27. With two laps remaining Wagner and Araia
took over the top two spots. Then Araia took over, still smarting from a pair of losses
(1600, 3200) at Wagner’s hands last weekend.
Wagner was back in the lead with a lap to go as Justin Scheid (Sparta, NJ) moved
up for third place behind Araia. The penultimate lap passed in 66.4.
Wagner began to pull away on the backstretch with Araia in pursuit, turning the
event into a two-man race. Then the smooth-striding Wagner began to leave Araia
behind, covering the final 400 meters in 62.5.
With a broad smile on his face, Wagner finished in personal-best 8:53.91, a broad
smile on his face. Araia, Indiana’s reigning cross country champion from Lawrence
North High School, settled for second place at 8:57.58. Scheid was third in 8:58.43.
“It was good to have Nef in front,” said Wagner, who attends Columbus North
High School. “It gave me some familiarity and helped me. I decided to go at 600. And it
hurt!”

4x200 METER RELAY: All eyes were on the Texans, but a New Jersey quartet
from Winslow Township won the event in 1:24.49.
Bowie (Arlington, TX) came in with a season best of 1:24.13, followed closely by
defending champion Regan (Austin, TX), at 1:24.95.
The first exchange saw the Winslow team in the lead. By the second exchange
they were about even with Glenville (OH). Winslow, Glenville and Regan were all in
contention heading to the finish line. But it was the surprising New Jerseyites who got
there first in 1:24.49. Glenville (1:24.77) and Regan (1:24.89) also came in under 1:25.
Winslow coach Russell Bates described his team --- Anthony Miles, Reuben
McCoy, Albert Harris and Antraye Miles as a “no-nonsense group” and said they’d be
back Saturday in the 4x100 and 4x400 relays. “We’re going to get something to eat
now,” said Bates. “We still have work to do. We run against the clock, not against other
teams. That’s something we have no control over.”
Anthony and Antraye Miles are twins. Earlier in the day, Anthony defended the
long jump title he won here a year ago.

SHOT PUT: Joshua “Andy” Fryman, a surprise winner at the Nike Indoor
Championships last March in Landover, annexed another national title Friday. On a
sultry night in Raleigh, the senior from Maysville, KY, led going into the final round with
a throw of 65-5. Right behind him was Joe Thomas (Brookfield, WI) at 64-1, followed
by Adam Kellerman (Pickerington, OH) at 63-3 and Steve Huntzinger (Fairfax, VA) at
63-2.
Everyone except Huntzinger managed to improve in the next three rounds, with
no change in the standings. Fryman, a Kentucky recruit, stretched it out to 65-6.25, with
Thomas --- fifth here a year ago --- a 64-10.5. Kellermeyer improved to 64-1.

adidas Outdoor Championships home page