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Republished with permission granted by The Washington Newspaper Publishing Co. LLC d/b/a MediaDC. Back to Montgomery Journal articles
Indoor Track Season Branches Out This Winter
By Katy Williams
Special to the Journal
Wasn't it Greg Dunston and Al Bellman, the respective Woodward and Kennedy running coaches, who organized a track clinic last spring?
Far from any ordinary clinic, the coaches themselves threw the shot put, hurdled and high jumped to better understand the technique events they teach.
Another Dunston-Bellman extravaganza followed suit. The duo rounded up stopwatches and 100 girls to set a womens' world record in the 100 mile relay last June.
Although it has been five months since the relay, Dunston and Bellman have hardly been lax and exhausted of ideas. Since the summer, they have telephoned, visited gymnasiums, and confirmed arrangements on securing indoor track facilities for supplemental meets in the upcoming season.
The next four months serve as an interval between the more competitive cross country and outdoor track seasons. The exceptional runners are able to prime for the spring through a schedule of well-regarded invitationals. For the 'also-rans,' however, the indoor track season means days of practice, and more practice, in school hallways.
Enter Dunston and Bellman.
"The meets on our schedule allowed so few people to run," Bellman said.
"We've organized meets to make provisions for all runners. We're giving the average kids chances to run."
Indeed, Dunston and Bellman have arranged a much needed "just Montgomery County" schedule of five meets, in addition to the county, state and already-established invitationals.
"It was getting ridiculous to call indoor track a varsity sport, but not have any meets," Bellman said. "Now coaches have their choice of meets."
The range of dual and tri-meets, and relay meets, also assure coaches and team members of arriving home at a reasonable hour.
Still fresh on their minds from last winter are memories of coming home from the Towson Relays, the season opener, well after midnight. Bellman promises that the new meets, at Towson University, Maryland's Reckord Armory, and Catonsville Community College will not go beyond 8:30 p.m. on weekdays. And Saturday morning meets will just be just that - morning meets instead of all-day affairs.
The two weekday meets, on Dec. 20 and Jan. 24, will be relay meets for all schools. The December meet, at Towson, will run all girls open and relay events, boys relays, and as many boys open events as time permits.
The January meet, at Catonsville, will include all boys events and as many girls events as possible.
Towson is sponsoring an All-Comers meet, open to anyone, on Saturday, Jan. 6. Meet officials will provide high school competition in as many events as there is interest by county runners.
Reckord Armory will be the site of dual and tri-meets on both Jan. 13 and Feb. 17. Groups of schools will each be allotted 2 1/2 hours to carry through competition.
"We're going with the idea of 'let everybody run,'" Bellman said. "The schools' time block is for them to do what they want. They could run a meet, or they could hold a fashion show, for all we care."
Dunston and Bellman organized a similar series of dual meets at Catonsville Community last winter, but a snowstorm cancelled all but the earliest dual meet. Ironically, it was in Woodward's dual meet that then-senior Paul Levandowski set a national record in the one-mile walk.
The county-district meet, which was at Reckord last year, will be Feb. 24 at Catonsville. The Maryland state AA and ABC meets will both be March 3. The AA teams run at the Naval Academy's Halsey Field House, while the ABC teams return to Towson.
"I think all the coaches are very, very pleased with the schedule that has been set up," said Dan Reeks, the Northwood coach who will handle his team by himself this year. "The athletic directors don't like the kids in the halls all the time, and this gets them into meets and into the eyes of college coaches."
The season's traditional invitationals - the CYO at Cole Field House, the D.C. Armory meet (which has usually fallen on the same day as the Montgomery County meet), the Fifth Regiment National Guard meet in Baltimore, the Naval Academy meet, and the Walter Carmack Invitational at Virginia Military Institute - will supplement the schedule for the county's top runners.
The Towson Relays open the season on Friday, Dec. 8. The William and Mary Invitational, which will include girls events for the first time, is slated for Dec. 16.
The CYO finals trials, which are being held before Christmas for only the second time, have readjusted to a four-day schedule. Field events will compete Dec. 18, and schools break down for running competition the next three nights on the newly-resurfaced Reckord Armory.
Two new girls events - the 600-yard run and the high jump - are the new additions to the prestigious CYO final, Jan. 12. Three county competitors claimed winners' trophies at last year's CYO - Georgetown Prep's David Saunders in the 600, Northwood's Ruth Drengwitz in the mile, and Churchill's Beth Grupenhoff in the shot put.
It was in the CYO meet that Tom Cuff of Seneca Valley turned in his fastest mile time ever, 4:13.8 to finish a stride behind winner Karsten Shultz of Westminster.
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