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Meet Index
So where's Nicole? (How four underclassmen step up and discover their
power after their star misses warmups for a record attempt at the Sprint
Medley Relay).
"So where's Nicole?" asked several meet officials and media as the West
Catholic Sprint Medley team lined up to take an anticipated shot at the
National Record of 3:53.17. As they announcers introduced the teams in
the hot heat, the questions continued. "Is she leadoff? She's not in the
line. Is she injured?"
The answer was surprising, at best, and somewhat disheartening for track
fans who were hoping to see one of the best all-time performances for
the 1600m event.
 Well, they weren't disappointed.
And that's the main part of the story.
All that four underclassmen -
three juniors and one sophomore - did was
to run the #4 all-time best of 3:56.47,
winning by almost four secondsover
Baton Rouge Magnet LA. In all, three
other schools surpassed West
Catholic's previous US#1 of 4:01.24.
"All of them surprised me", said a
very hoarse head coach Lenny Jordan a
few hours after the race. "We had a lot
of commotion before the race in not knowing
who was running, and the four girls
just stuck together."
"A taste of next year." That was the sentiment of the team, voiced by
Kneshia Sheard shortly after their win in the 1600 Sprint Medley Relay.
The growing confidence of Kneshia was balanced by Latavia Thomas. The
soft-spoken but fiery competitor, allowed this, "It was surprising. We
had a lot of doubts, but we put it all together."
First, the race. Christiana Taylor, the only sophomore, leads off in
26.1, and keeps the Burrs in the mix. But Long Beach Wilson was out to
a good start, and it was up to Nia Ali and Kneshia Sheard to maintain
contact. Ali - coming off an injury that caused her to miss her PA state
meet two weeks prior - ran a strong 25.1, and then it was Kneshia
Sheard's turn. She had PRed big-time at her state meet, running 56.65 to
take third behind Leach and Wissahickon's Krista Simkins. She PRed
again, running the final turn like an athlete on a mission, running for
her finish and the team's hope for the win, Latavia Thomas. Sheard's
split was 55.6.
Thomas didn't panic, and used the first two laps to gradually reel in
her target, before blowing by on the way to a 2:09.6 split and the
all-time mark.
Jordan, who had been sick for a few days leading up to the meet, said he
felt a lot better knowing that these four girls had worked around the
turmoil and "did everything they needed to do."
And that gets us to the subplot in the story. Nicole Leach did not make
it to the meet in time for warmups for the Sprint Medley. She had been
in school, but then unexpectedly did not travel with the team on
Thursday afternoon. They anticipated her arrival Friday morning, but she
didn't walk into the track with her family until 2:30. The race had been
scheduled for 2:25, but by then the meet was a half-hour late. Not that
it mattered. Jordan had his four girls, and they were ready to run.
"Sometimes, people have different agendas," Jordan commented. He says
he didn't want to take out his frustration on Nicole, so she's
still a member of the team for the meet. Nicole has a big day Saturday
with qualifications for the 400 individual race - the Sunday final her
focus where she will take a shot at the national record in the 400,
having come within .09 at NSIC in 2004 with her #2 all-time 52.19.
Could the team have captured the NR with Leach in the lineup? Take a second
off for Sheard switching to one leg of the 200, and Leach knocking two or
three off in the 400, and you're in the vicinity.
As for the 4x400 finals, Jordan says he'll leave that to a vote of the
girls who ran the Sprint Medley and 4x400 Trials on Friday. "It's their
team. What people forget is that it's the kid's team, not the adult's
team."
NSIC index page
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