Indoors 08

Meant to bridge the midweek interval between the meet-intensive weekends during the season, the DyeStat Interval Sessions are an opportunity to get to know some of the top male and female high school athletes from around the country. Each week, we'll head out for a quick interval session with one boy and one girl making headlines on the indoor national scene this winter.

	Interval Session #42 - Kathleen McCafferty NJ "To tell you the truth, it still hasn't fully sunk in that I am a national champion. That day was probably the greatest day of my life thus far. Ever since my freshman year, I have been working so hard and to finally reach this goal is amazing to me. At my school, a really small, all girls private school, running isn't really the premier sport. Usually people only join the track team after getting cut from one of the other sports! We don't even have our own track." READ MORE
	Interval Session #41 - Michael Barbas TX "My older brother was a thrower in middle school, and his coach, Paul Gates, saw me and said that I was a really strong kid who should learn how to throw. Through my brother and Coach Gates, I have had a passion for the sport for years. I had been a basketball player my whole life and just gave it up my senior year so that I could focus on track. I draw inspiration from my parents, who bust their tails to give me a good life." READ MORE
	Interval Session #40 - Jillian Smith NJ "The one thing that my parents always say is, 'Do what makes you happy. Whatever that is, we will be behind you 100%.' ... I know a lot of kids that can't experience and participate in the things that they love because of lack of family support. I owe a lot to my family, as they spend hours of their weekends coming to track meets. Even my ten-year-old brother would rather come to a track meet on a Saturday morning than hang out with friends. In my eyes, he's my biggest fan, and I'm more than thankful for having that." READ MORE
	Interval Session #39 - Stephen Michel WY "I certainly have missed having Brendan Ames push me. He gave me the motivation to work my hardest because I knew I would have to have a phenomenal day to beat him...The experience I gained from competing with him was priceless, not only because trying to beat him was such great motivation, but also because he was an all-around good guy. He was always very humble when it came to winning, and it set a great example for me, which is something I have tried to duplicate." READ MORE
	Interval Session #38 - Becky O'Brien ME "Being given the opportunity to represent the U.S.A. was the highlight of my career thus far. I felt a great deal of responsibility wearing the red, white, and blue and knew that I was going to do the best I could to represent my country. Being in a competitive atmosphere like in Ostrava really taught me how to mentally prepare so that I could go after a big throw. After coming within 6 centimeters of 15 meters, I knew that I was going to have big goals my senior year." READ MORE
	Interval Session #37 - Erik Kynard, Jr. OH "As far as the national meet, I just want to win. It doesn’t matter what I jump. I’d rather win with 5 feet than jump 7 feet and lose any day. Outdoors is the least of my worries at this point. I’m taking it one meet at a time and will cross that bridge when the time comes. Personally, I think I’ve got a lot more big jumps left. I don’t think I’ve PR'd just yet. I think I can go higher. I just want to win, break records and get on the World Junior team." READ MORE
	Interval Session #36 - Ashton Purvis CA "I was very disappointed with my results this summer in the Czech Republic, so I reviewed the film of my races and really worked on the things that I didn’t do well in those races. Also, every year my coach, Curtis Taylor, adds a new thing for us to focus on. This year, for me, it has been my starts and my strength that we have concentrated on. He introduces new drills to get the result we are looking for. Also, last year I was a freshman and everything was new to me, but after competing internationally I have a little bit more experience in big races ... " READ MORE
	Interval Session #35 - Elijah Greer OR "Indoor races seem to go by much faster. Also, the environment inside is much more controlled, so from one race to another in the same facility is very similar. I’d say I prefer outdoor races more, but running at one or two indoor meets is also fun. The shorter track adds a different aspect to the race which makes you think and prepare for it differently." READ MORE
	Interval Session #34 - Tasha Stanley MD "Our commitment to relays comes from just having a close team that loves participating in relays. We definitely believe in the idea that greater feats can be accomplished as a team than as an individual. There’s nothing like four athletes willing to do whatever it takes in order to run for their team on a relay. I think about running individually all the time, but I will have plenty of opportunities to race these key athletes in the future. An opportunity to run on a relay with your teammates and go after national records at key meets comes rarely." READ MORE
	Interval Session #33 - Jeremy Rankin CO "In my first meet of the ‘08 indoor season, I lost at the USATF All-Comers Meet to Colorado sprinter Joe Morris by .02. After the meet my coach told me that “this was a character test.” So, I just used the loss as motivation and came out the next week ready. During my practice sessions, Coach Edwards and I like to put a lot of emphasis on every section of my race plan, start to finish. As a sprinter, you’re only as strong as your weaknesses. If you can’t start, finish, or accelerate well, other athletes use that as leverage against you." READ MORE
	Interval Session #32 - Emily Jones MA "I think that many distance runners enjoy the mental challenge of working through that pain. For me, what’s almost more satisfying than the track times, is what I can push myself to do when I am doing a training run – and the only person challenging me is myself. It’s important to find joy in everything you do, and running is no exception. I think that the most valuable thing I can pass down to the younger runners on my team is a love of the sport." READ MORE
	Interval Session #31 - Ricardo & Roberto Vergara TX "Ricardo: I think being part of the South Texas Walking Club has really changed me. I used to be a very quiet boy that would keep everything to myself, but being part of this team, meeting new friends and traveling to different places, has really made me open with people and able to start a conversation with them. This all has to do with our coach, A.C. Jaime." READ MORE
	Interval Session #30 - Victoria Flowers RI "As a freshman in high school, I tried out for my school's basketball team because I had played basketball in middle school and, along with football, basketball was a big sport in my family. I actually made the team, but one of the coaches for the team told me that I looked like someone who could do well in Track & Field. So he told me to try it out and people began to tell me certain things about Track that I couldn't find in basketball. I ended up sticking with it.." READ MORE
	Interval Session #29 - Wayne Davis NC "Winning at NON was an unbelievable feeling. The year before my win in NON, I was a volunteer at the meet just watching the hurdles thinking I should be in that race. The victory blew away my reality to what was possible for me. I am working to win it every year until I graduate." READ MORE
	Interval Session #28 - Brittany Borman MO "I started track at the age of six competing in the triathlon – and fell in love with it. After moving from the triathlon to the pentathlon, and later the heptathlon, I became knowledgeable in the event. Being a heptathlete, I always looked up to Jackie Joyner Kersee, who is from East St. Louis and competed at UCLA. Having such a strong program, with dedicated and talented coaches for so long, made UCLA even more of a dream opportunity." READ MORE
	Interval Session #27 - Mike Alleman NJ "After finding out the shots were light, we immediately contacted the reporter who posted the story about the record-breaking throw. My father and I went through the various track websites that reported the record-breaking throw, including Dyestat, to contact the appropriate people to get the story corrected...I was a bothered about it at first, but in the end, I wanted to earn that throw the right way.." READ MORE
	Interval Session #26 - Shade Weygandt TX "I have landed in the box, landed on concrete instead of the mat [got a minor concussion], hit a standard on the way down, my grip has slipped during a vault and I did a complete flip and got a nice welt, I have landed on the top of my pole and been stabbed by it, and I have been caught in a bungee that broke, and when it broke, it ripped the skin connecting my right ear to my head [used surgical super glue to put it back together]." READ MORE
	Interval Session #25 - Isaiah Ward MI "One thing that inspires me is my old teammates coming to me and letting me know I that I can be the best to come out of Mumford. And that’s a big deal, because at Mumford we have a great tradition of 800 runners: Tim Kinney, Anthony Spires, Brandon Jiles, Jimmie Jones, Isaiah Marshall, and Blake Figgins … They all ran inside 1:53 outdoors and most were state champs." READ MORE

Interval Session Index