Gold Rush: Room To Grow
3/10/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track and Field
March 10, 2003
By Sam Walker
It's no secret that the Wake Forest track and field program is going through growing pains. Last year was the first season that both the men's and women's teams were combined under one unified coaching staff. It's the concept of coach Annie Bennett, the director of track and field programs at Wake Forest. It also takes time to implement because to field a complete team you have to recruit broadly. So for now, success is measured in terms of quality, not quantity.
Bennett measures success on the number of all-conference performers and number of athletes who qualify for NCAA championships. When opportunity knocks, she wants Wake Forest athletes to answer the call. The 2003 men's team has a chance to have several success stories this season, but all in all this year is mostly about the building for the future.
"We're a mixed bag," Bennett said. "On our sprints, jumps and throws, we're a young team. Our middle distance and distance, it's a mixed bag. A few more of our distance runners are at the senior level, so it's kind of all over the place. The group we have right now is a rebuilding group in the sense that we have to teach a lot to, and they are in the process of hitting some big personal bests. But we feel like the men are close to popping out and hitting some better marks."
Associate head coach Gary Sievers joins Bennett along with John Williams (throws), Jill Snyder (distance), Tom Fish (sprints, and Mike Bennett (multi-events) to form a strong coaching staff. And right now that staff is doing a lot of the legwork it takes for athletes to grow into their roles and events. During the indoor season, the men's team didn't live up to the expectations of the coaching staff for a number of reasons, which included injury and illness. The bright spots for the men included the 4x400 relay team breaking the school record at the Penn State Invitational on Jan 31 and a few freshmen who were able to score at the ACC Indoor Championships on Feb. 21 and 22.
"We're a little disappointed on the men's side," Bennett said. "Some of our distance runners had some setbacks with injuries and illness, and it's disappointing because they have been to the national indoor meet two years in a row in the distance medley relay, and we thought we had a team that could back again this year. But due to some unfortunate injuries, they weren't ready to be there.
"Eric Seely is a freshman and ran the 400 and the 200 and qualified in the finals for both at the ACC indoor meet. Josh Gattis, a football player and a hurdler for us, scored for us at the ACC Indoor meet. Adam Gabrault, one of our young thowers, scored for us in the hammer at the ACC Indoors, and two of our milers, Brad Wharton and Kevin Jones made finals. The truth is that our freshmen in that group were the ones stepping up and making finals for us. The thing is, I think they got a taste of it and want more."
Bennett is hoping that the lackluster indoor season is prompting the men to polish their skills and become more motivated for the outdoor season, which will begin March 21-22 with the Wake Forest Invitational.
Patrick Ladapo, a senior and Raleigh native, will lead the sprinters. Ladapo did not compete last season but will be called upon this year to step up his performances and score. A couple of freshmen, Eric Seeley and Josh Gattis, need to have an impact as well. "Eric Seely, Josh Gattis, Patrick Ladapo, those three are tough competitors," Bennett said. "They're students of their sport and show a lot of passion. We feel like they'll continue to show us character and composure and desire which will result in big marks."
In the jumps, Luke Orman and Fabian Davis will lead the way. Orman may be gearing up for his best season ever as jumper as a junior, and Davis is a fifth-year senior and football player who is quite an athlete. "Those two guys do the high jump, long jump and triple jump for us," Bennett said. "The issue for jumpers and these guys is that they can't just rev up for meets. They need to make sure that they translate what it takes in competition into their practices. At times we feel like they don't practice at the level it takes for the competitions, so it needs to be more of a progression. Luke did have his best jumping season, the most consistent high jump ever at Wake Forest during the indoor season. He cleared on his first bar all year long, which is very important."
Wake Forest has a lot of growth potential in the area of throws. "They're all very young with the exception of Tom Tymann," Bennett said. "Tom was a surprise during the outdoor season last year when he scored for us. He's primarily a shot putter, and we feel like he's improved quite a bit. He will surprise people in the conference this year. Then we have three freshmen who will do anything from the hammer to the javelin, to the shot. They're kids with a good work ethic, and with John (Williams) being such a good coach, we foresee them growing a lot this year."
In the middle distance and distance events, there's a nice mix of youth and experience. Some athletes are coming off injury, and some are just now starting to grow into their positions. The 2002 distance medley relay team won the 2002 ACC Championship and returning from that group are Nathan Sisco and Paul Singleton, who will be joined by Mike Altieri and Westin Galloway. Sievers thinks he has some strong runners who can make an impact this year despite the problems encountered during the indoor season. Bennett thinks those poorer showings may inspire better results outdoors as well.
"There were factors that were out of our control with injury and illness, but they will get it together and produce a stronger front for the outdoor meets," Bennett said. "They're just a step behind right now, but we're confident that by the ACC outdoor meet they'll make a much stronger showing.
"Garick Hill is a returning ACC champion in the 10K and a runner-up in the 5K. He missed last year with injury and feel like this year he'll step it up and feel confident he'll put his best foot out there. He's a tremendous young man with a lot of character. Mike Altieri had a good cross country season, had a good indoors until the ACC meet, but he shows a lot of character and poise, and we think he'll run really well at the outdoor ACC meet. He'll be back and better than ever. He'll run the 3K, the steeplechase, and the mile.
"Paul Singleton is a senior, and he ran his best in the 800 during the distance medley relay team's second place run at the ACC indoor meet. He's been slowed by an injury, and it's amazing he's running as fast as he has and that's exciting because we feel by the ACC outdoor meet he'll reach his peak." Freshmen Kevin Jones and Brad Wharton showed their potential at the ACC indoor meet by scoring so there exists a lot of potential in the middle distance and distance events. But like the rest of the team, only time and training can measure just how far this year's team can go.
Players Mentioned
