That's right, I beat my 10:30 a.m. wakeup call by about 23 1/2 minutes after a long, hot day at the state track meet yesterday. Fifteen hours in the near-100-degree heat and high humidity will take a lot out of you -- and I wasn't even running.
I thought I'd wrap up a few things from last night before I head out for what's going to be a much lighter, easier day (but just as hot) since I was so swamped and didn't get to do much bloggin'.
We'll start with Guyer, and when you talk Guyer, it all starts with Joe Barb. Coaches and teammates call him the "face of Guyer track" and with his friendly, outgoing manner, he ain't a bad spokesperson to have.
What Barb did last night was nothing short of spectacular. His specialty (the 400) just so happens to be what is widely regarded as the most grueling race in track and field because it's a pretty long distance, but make no mistake, it's an all-out sprint.
Barb, who finished fifth last year as a sophomore, took the silver medal in the race and ran a personal best to go along with it. He also did something his daddy could never do, as Joe Barb III finished fifth at state as a junior and senior at LaMarque High School.
But what Barb did after that was even more amazing. The junior, whose long strides are a thing of beauty, anchored Guyer's 4x400 relay team just over an hour after his 400 was complete to a bronze medal. The heat and humidity last night was nearly unbearable, but Barb passed one guy on his leg and was inches from passing one or two more in what was a dynamite finish where the top four teams were within three one-hundredths of a second of each other.
As great as Barb was, senior Jake Witt's performance can't be left out of the equation. Witt, who's struggled at times in his athletic career at Guyer after moving from Florida before his junior year, might've been the most integral part of the relay's bronze medal team. Witt, the third leg, got the stick in sixth place. He was passed by one guy and was even with the last-place team on the second curve. But much like he did at regionals, Witt's strong kick proved to be stronger than just about anyone else's as he passed two guys down the stretch and got Barb the stick in fourth place. From then, it was inevitable that Guyer would finish in the medals, and they did. Now, a school with no previous medals in the state meet has two.
On to Argyle, as usual, the Eagles dominated the distance events, but this year was a little different. Because of an injury that forced her to miss nine weeks of the season, Kristie Krueger, who's signed with the University of Georgia, had to change up her itinerary this year, switching from the mile and two-mile to the mile and the 800. Having only run the 800 at district and regionals, the senior won the gold without much problem as she led the entire race. A couple of hours later though, Krueger's beat-up body took its toll on her. She said she considered dropping the 800 to focus on defending her title in the mile but she didn't and nearly unbearable heat took its toll.
It's hard to imagine being disappointed in second place, but when you're so used to winning, it becomes believable, and I could tell Krueger wasn't real happy with her silver medal. She led nearly the entire race and was passed with about 50 meters to go by archrival, training partner, and future SEC foe Kelsey Johnson of Iowa Park, who's going to Alabama.
Still, a gold and a silver is definitely nothing to be upset about, and Krueger has now medaled at state in every event she's finished, which totals seven, I believe.
On the boys side, Argyle senior Blake Woolums, who just started running competitively last year and won silver in the 3,200, took the gold in the two mile on Friday before finishing third later in the 1,600, behind junior teammate Stephen Curry. Curry, who had never beaten Woolums until the regional meet, used a newfound confidence to edge out his teammate again.
Boys track coach Steve Chancelor said his distance coach Bryan Beene has played a huge role in building the boys distance events to where it is now after Krueger hogged the spotlight for so long.
OK, I should probably get out of bed and get ready for another day in the searing heat. Talk to you soon...
