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New County Meet Viewed Cautiously By Track Coaches
By Donna Niewiaroski
Special to the Journal
For the first time in Montgomery County high school track and field history, there is going to be a county-wide meet. It will be a county meet in the purest sense of the word, no class divisions and absolutely everybody is invited.
The competition spans two days, today and tomorrow, at Einstein high school. Friday's meet is for those who don't number among the three entrants per event allotted each team on Saturday. Saturday's field events begin at 9 a.m. and the track events follow at 9:30.
"The coaches voted for it in January last year," said meet director Jim DeMoss. "It's the only time all 22 schools have a chance to get together for the head-to-head competition they can't get the rest of the year because of the different divisions."
Ribbons will be awarded to the top six finishers and a team score will be kept but the meet points more towards individual accomplishment than team performance. "It's geared more for head to head competition," explained DeMoss, "the overall idea is for the athletes." However, the meet was thrown in the schedule on the only open weekend of the season, one week before the district meet. Therefore, for many teams that have been running hard all along, in the big invitationals or in the dual meets with the dual meet title in mind, or have been training specifically for the districts and states, the county meet throws a curve into the system. Should a team run hard one more time for the glory of the first county meet risking injury and flat performances for the final crucial meets? Or should they approach it with a relaxed attitude and enter off events to give the athletes a break but possibly downgrading the level of competition?
"I've got mixed feelings about the meet," says Jerry Kline, head track coach at Walter Johnson. "It would be nice to perform well against the teams we don't normally run and have a real county meet. On the other hand it's the week before the district and we don't want to risk injury.
"A number of coaches apparently are entering it like a change-of-pace meet, they'll be running different events. We're going into it relaxed, as a tune-up meet giving us an opportunity to run people we normally don't."
Kennedy coach Al Bellman echoed Kline's sentiments and is approaching tomorrow's competition as an experiment.
"We seem to have different problems than other teams," said Bellman, "a lot of our kids have been out for a few weeks with injuries so they'll be running their event again practically for the first time.
We're going to be trying some new relay combinations and then we've got a few kids who need more experience in an event," he added. "It's going to be an experiment before the district meet, and we're not going out to run on the team title. Anybody who does that is crazy. But if we had no injuries and no problems I don't know what our attitude would be; we probably wouldn't be doing as much."
Einstein, which beat Kennedy and Sherwood Tuesday for the ABC League championship for the second year in a row, will be resting through the county meet and won't be running full strength.
"The only team that could beat us at our best is Blair, but we're not going to be running strong," said coach Jim Brown. "I've only got seven boys and they'd each need to run up to the maximum four events which they're going to have to do in the districts. They've been running hard all season and need a break. We don't want to risk injury so we're going to be going in free and easy." Bob Deffinbaugh's unstappable Blazers, who topped Springbrook and Wheaton Tuesday for the AA dual meet title, are among the minority entering the meet with a strong contingent intent on capturing the first county title. Blair is considered to have the best shot at the title and Deffinbaugh hopes the other teams enter their top content contenders in their best events for a challenging meet.
"Since it's the first year, I'd like to see it be a big thing that would continue forever if possible," Deffinbaugh said. "I'd like to see the top people run their best times for the district and the meet become a real competitive thing. I disagree with most of the coaches on saving or resting their athletes. There's no such thing as overtraining sprinters, they're going to get better with competition. I think I know my personnel and I'm confident we'll win."
Although the different coaches hold varying opinions towards the ultimate value of the meet, they share a common desire for its continued success.
"It's new so I'm hoping it'll turn out well and will be able to continue in the future," said Deffinbaugh.
"I like the idea," said Kline, "but it's going to take a few years to see where it fits. If Montgomery County was as interested in its athletes as Northern Virginia, our county championships would be a real plum. Their county meet is a big thing. It challenging for the kids. It's rewarding and really means something. If the coaches and kids get more interested in the county meet it could really work."
Traditionally strong county events highlight a projected long day of competition. Up to seven sections are expected in the 100 and 42 competitors are entered in the two-mile run, for example. Walter Johnson's Leroy Howard headlines the fast heat in the 400 meters with of Steve Trabue of Wheaton, Peary's Emil Davis nd Kennedy's Reggie Johnson. The 800-meter run looks to be just as competitive with Joe Cloud of Paint Branch, whose heat victory at Magruder earned him a third-place medal, Walter Johnson's Levin Donohue and Blair's Paul Fletcher. Howard will also challenge Einstein's Mike Scott and Blair's Norman Edwards in the 200. Scott and Edwards ran 1-2 respectively in that event at Magruder. Three mile relay teams - Walter Johnson, Kennedy and Einstein - make for a very fast final heat. "They're decent, better than average teams and should be rather competitive," claimed DeMoss.
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