NCAA Division II
National Championships
Thursday-Saturday, May 27-29, 2004 @ Mt. SAC

 
Photos courtesy of Kirby Lee, The Sporting Image
According to journalist Kirby Lee, the road to this weekend's NCAA Division II Track & Field
Nationals has not been as easy one for Cal State Chico 800-meter specialist Peter Paplanus.

"I usually do things the hard way. It's not easy when you have to stay up
until 3 a.m. and read something six times before you understand it." -- Peter Paplanus, Cal State Chico's All-American candidate

Long Road for Paplanus to the
NCAA Division II Nationals

By Kirby Lee
      As he has done throughout the season, Peter Paplanus will drop to one knee when he steps on the track for the 800 meters in the NCAA Division II Track & Field Championships at Mt. San Antonio College this weekend.
     He will glance at his beaded necklace and say a prayer before looking skyward. The Chico State senior has dedicated his races to his foster mother Gail, who died at age 52 of a heart attack in 1999 from complications from chemotherapy for ovarian cancer.
     Peter had the necklace made at a bead shop and has worn it, broken clasp and all, as good luck charm since the start of the season. He has had to tie it together to keep it around his neck and is hoping that it will stay on for at least one more race.
     "I am a superstitious runner. It's my good luck charm," Paplanus said. "(My mother) has been a big influence and my biggest fan, I know she is watching me.''
     Gail is no doubt smiling. Her death is only one of the obstacles for Paplanus, 24, a 1998 Calabasas High graduate, has overcome to reach this weekend's nationals championships among the favorites in the 800 meters.
     Gail adopted Peter at birth at a hospital where she worked as a certified emergency nurse. In addition to Peter, Gail adopted two other children. Michael, who is autistic, and Mera, who is dyslexic and was born with fetal alcohol syndrome. Both are now 18.
     "I can always go to a foster home and adopt a blond-haired, blue-eye child who can smile," she said during Peter's senior year of high school in 1998. "These kids needed more than any of the others to reach their potential.''
     Particularly Paplanus. Peter was been born deaf and underweight to a drug-dependent mother. He was placed on a respirator for three days after birth because of his small size and his natural mother died of an overdose when Peter was less than month old.
     His deafness was not discovered until he was six months and later corrected by surgery. But there were other challenges for Peter, who is 50 percent blind in his right eye and 20 percent in his left from severe astigmatism.
     He also suffers from attention deficit disorder, a condition that inhibits his attention span and ability to listen and write simultaneously. After classes, he frequently must copy notes from a classmate. When he took the SAT, Paplanus was given an enlarged answer sheet to help him fill in the bubbles.
     Nevertheless, Paplanus, who was unable to read until he was in the second grade, is three classes away from complete a degree in Kinesiology. It's been a long journey for Paplanus, who lost his track scholarship in 2003 because of grades, and had to work full time to regain his eligibility and scholarship.
     "I usually do things the hard way," Paplanus said. "It's not easy when you have to stay up until 3 a.m. and read something six times before you understand it."
     Responsibility was something that Paplanus learned quickly when his mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 1987 and endured two years of chemotherapy while going through a divorce.
     Gail lost her home for a three-month stretch and lived out of a pickup truck with Peter, Michael and Mera and two dogs while undergoing cancer treatment. Peter helped care for his siblings and taught his brother, who suffers from frequent seizures, how to ride a bicycle.
     Gail remarried in 1991 to Frank Paplanus, an electronic technician, who presently cares for Michael and Mera. Before her death, she had hoped to someday save enough money, for surgery to improve Peter's vision.
"She always talked about it but it was a big pipe dream," Paplanus said.
     For Paplanus, track has provided an outlet from the outside world. After he completes college and perhaps a career as an open runner, Peter would like to return to Southern California to coach.
     "Track and field is my life," Paplanus said. "I'd like to give my knowledge to younger kids."
     Paplanus found refuge in athletics after his mother's death during his freshman year at Moorpark College in 1999. After taking three weeks off, Paplanus returned to win the first of his two Western State Conference titles in the 400.
     "Instead of going off the deep end, he rose to the occasion," Moorpark coach Doni Green said. "He always wanted to be a great runner. He stepped to the plate and blossomed.''
     Paplanus earned a scholarship to Chico State where he concentrated in the 400 in 2001. Paplanus, however, had not competed collegiately for two seasons until returning this spring. He redshirted the 2002 season and grades knocked him out last year.
     In the interim, Paplanus, who competed in the 400 and long jump in high school, took up the 800 at the suggestion of retired Moorpark coach Manny Trevino, who has been a volunteer at Chico State for the last three seasons.
     Peter has the fastest qualifying time of the field with a school-record 1 minute, 48.89 seconds and is less than fourth tenths of a second away from a provisional qualifying time for the U.S. Olympic Trials. Two weeks ago, Paplanus won the 800 in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. Championships to help Chico State to the team title.
     "In 2003 was a big crossroads for him for running and school," Trevino said. "He doesn't have a lot of experience in the 800 but he's headed in the right direction. It's kind of neat to see him turn things around.''