Trip to LA brings track team closer to championship (3/09)

By Laura Zhen

Mar. 23, 2009

Lil Wayne’s lyrics, “Take them shoes off ya mouth, stop running ya mouth” does not apply to the track team. Their words were more along the lines of “I’ll crush any team that gets in our way of glory and spit on their soul,” as assistant sprint coach Michael Speech exclaimed.     Lil Wayne’s lyrics, “Take them shoes off ya mouth, stop running ya mouth” does not apply to the track team. Their words were more along the lines of “I’ll crush any team that gets in our way of glory and spit on their soul,” as assistant sprint coach Michael Speech exclaimed.
    Although Speech has been assistant coach officially for five years, he technically has six years of experience under his belt, as his first year coaching experience was his senior year here in 2004, when competing on the Lowell team. Those were his golden years and he does not let anyone forget it. “I left the school a champion, and I’m hoping to teach others to become champions,” he said.
    Speech is confident, but can the rest of the track team afford to talk the talk before they can run the run?
    Wanting to extend their streak beyond the city, 51 selected athletes packed their bags for the Bishop Amat Relays in Los Angeles last Saturday, where medals were awarded to varsity girls 4x100, varsity boys 4x200, varsity girls 4x800 and all five 4x400 meter relays, according to Speech and senior sprinter Michael Wu.
    The outcome of the team’s first meet as a whole last Wednesday at Kezar against Westmoor was just as respectable. The highlight of the meet occurred at the very last event, the varsity boys 4x400 meter relay. Third relay runner junior Shane McCarthy took off so hard that his much needed shoe flew off, but he didn’t pause to pick it up — he continued to finish the lap around the stadium and hand the baton over to the last runner, junior Safa Mannah. Dealing with a dirty sock and a blistered sole paid off for McCarthy because the Cardinals ultimately crossed the finish line first. In fact, all four divisions of the school’s 4x400 meter relays were victorious.
    The Cardinals’ prevailed on March 7 in Santa Rosa at the Big Cat Invitational. Although the main competitors at the weekend meet were veterans, the scores proved positive for the entire team’s morale. The team racked a total of five impressive first places — freshman Melanie Speech in shot put, senior Stephanie Cheung in the long jump, junior Katherine Jarvis in the 400 meters race and juniors Eva Gao and McCarthy in the 4x400 meter relay.
For the past three meets, all 4x400 meter relays were invincible. “We’re eight for eight on our 4x4s,” Speech said.
    The massive team has few concerns, according to head coach Andy Leong. “I don’t really think we have competition,” he said. Other teams “don’t have our numbers — they don’t have our depth.”
    Although Leong is confident about the team’s performance, he is working to beat Lincoln’s frosh-soph girls’ team, who marginally won by seven points, 141-135, at the All-City Championships last season.
    The loss was upsetting to the coaches as well as the team. “It was probably the first time we lost that in years and I felt really bummed about it,” Speech said. However, their biggest concerns are not associated with their opponents, but with themselves.
    Leong admits that managing a team of a whopping 160 athletes is not easy, just taking attendance is a hassle. “Not everyone comes to practice,” he said. Although he understands that adjusting conflicting schedules is a challenge for some, he still expects daily attendance at workout days, as it would only benefit them in the long run.
    While Leong wants the runners to show up for practice, he does not hope for amazing attendance in the case of pelting rain. The weather plays a big part in the sport’s fate. If rain starts to pour, the team is able to utilize the weight room during practice days, but on actual meet days, all events are held outdoors on the field. “Sometimes we run in the rain if it is a light drizzle, but if it's heavy we have to cancel,” Leong said.
    But even a hurricane cannot stop this force. Clear skies or not, come get in the fast lane 9 a.m. tomorrow at Burton High School at the Adam Banks Challenge against various high schools.

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