Friday, Jun. 06, 2008
No off time for track stars
By BRIAN HERNALSTEEN
News-Mirror Writer
Then again, some seasons don’t end.
With the school year barely over, a few Mansfield athletes are back out on the track, getting in shape with the summer track season.
Mike Hart, coach of Dallas Gold, heads up a group of the kids at Timberview’s track. The team will practice three times a week in the evenings and will be involved in meets all around the area, the state and the country for the remainder of the summer.
On Saturday, his kids travel to New Mexico to participate in the Great Southwest Classic.
"This is a great program for kids that are serious. To be out here, you first have to prove yourself to the coaches and you have got to be serious," said Hart. "We have really worked at Dallas Gold becoming an elite program, so that is the type of kids we want out here. The workouts are a little more advanced than the kids might be used to at school, so it is for someone that is really dedicated."
The runners are elite, and the program is one of the nation’s best.
Should it be any surprise that a few of the Timberview elite are running in the summer program?
A few of the top girls (LaKeidra Stewart, Dar’Keisha Tryon and Richanda Hall) from Timberview are out there, tweaking their game and improving on times.
"We are out here because we want to get better. A lot of kids take the summer off, or do almost no running at all," said Hall, a junior. "We want to improve on our times, and sometimes these workouts are harder than they are at school, so that helps us out a lot."
Also helping out the kids is the ability to run more open races.
There are more individual events for the kids, which gives them a chance to prove themselves to college scouts at the meets.
"Every year, it seems like we are breaking some new kind of record, and that is great because it gets the program noticed. But that isn’t our primary goal," Hart said. "We want these kids to all get college scholarships. I really hope they all get Division I scholarships to schools where they can compete and get a good education."
Timberview also has a few of the top boys out on the track at practice as well.
Trevor Lannig and Chris Stewart, both Timberview seniors prepared to graduate in the next week, and Marcus Douglas, who will be a sophomore next year, are participating in workouts.
"We are out here because we love it. It’s easy to keep doing it if you love it," Lannig said. "We all want to go to college. Out here, we have the chance to do well and compete against some great athletes."
Stewart was one of the kids noticed at summer workouts, and her near year-round schedule on the track has helped her accomplish some of her goals, and that includes a scholarship to the University of Texas.
"There are more opportunities because there are more meets. There are fewer kids out here, so the practices are pretty focused and we can really work on improving our times," Stewart said. "This summer, I want to prove that I can contribute to a school that is in the Big 12. I want to prove to myself that I belong at Texas, and working out with this team will help."
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