Michael Coe (Cabrillo, Lompoc) mononucleosis

May, 2006
Diagnosis week prior to League Meet forced Michael to take rest period prior to CIF Action!!

---

Michael Coe (Cabrillo, Lompoc)
mononucleosis

May, 2006
Diagnosis week prior to League Meet forced Michael to
take rest period prior to CIF Action!!
Doug Speck - DyeStatCal

 

2006 was a super Track and Field campaign, with much of the interest centered around the distance events on the male and female side!  Athletes competed with class and the last option anyone of a super group of male and female athletes would ever look for is an excuse to explain this or that result.  Michael Coe (Cabrillo, Lompoc), the State CIF Scholar Athlete for the 2005-2006 school year was a part of this super crew, with his battle with AJ Acosta (El Camino, Oceanside) in the State 1600m event one of the most anticipated at the high school level in recent years.  AJ took that state finals contest with an amazing sprint over the final half lap in 4:04.95, with Michael second in the race at 4:08.36.  Both athletes were gracious in victory and defeat.

Coe, a very classy person and athlete, exhibited the characteristics of a sportsmanship award winner after the State Finals contest.  However, it does need to be reported that his May conditioning, and therefore level of week to week consistency since that time was probably affected some by the diagnosis of mononucleosis the week prior to his league competition in May.  Three weeks of positive tests for the condition required a rest period in training, and Coe was able to move on through the qualifying process all the way to the state finals.  This situation was not even reported to us the week after the state meet contest by Coach Peter Anderson, so the last thing the Cabrillo group was using was an excuse for any particular result.

As one who has had family members and athletes I have coached and observed with the condition of mono along the way the first realization one has is that this is potentially a very serious health condition that can affect one for a very, very long time.  Obviously Michael Coe was under the best of medical care, with his performances quite amazing to us in light of the obvious need to adjust training during that crucial May period of the season. 

With the Doctor's okay, Michael competed, with some super results that championship portion of the season in May and June, with the above described condition making whatever he was able to do even more impressive to us!       

Michael is entered in the Mile at the Nike Outdoor Nationals in a week, with AJ Acosta deciding to move up to the two mile in that competition off the choices in events by others around the nation, so the big match-ups once again will have to wait until College, where Michael will be at UC Berkeley and AJ at the University of Oregon in the Pac 10 Conference. 

Again, excuses were not offered along the way, but from the standpoint of total information the above is nice to know.