Hallway makes a crowded track
At Swenson, the practice facilities are bare bones - but the results are still impressive.
The Swenson Arts and Technology building is in the shape of a squared-off U. It's about 200 meters from one end of the building to the other, just enough for a quick dash.
The school's single hallway is about nine feet wide, covered with square tiles on a concrete base. The intersecting traffic coming from classrooms can make it crowded in that hall, even a little hazardous late in the day when the indoor track team is working out.
"We had some visitors here the other day, so we had to make sure none of them walked out into the halls when we were running," track coach Dean Lent said with a chuckle.
Lent and his team members agree that the indoor practice facilities are far from ideal, but that hasn't hampered the Lions' success. What's happening this weekend is an example of that success.
The coach will send five of his girl runners to the Nike Indoor Nationals in Boston on Saturday and Sunday to compete in five events. Lent has high expectations for them, especially his 4x60-meter shuttle-hurdle relay team.
Senior Anthonia Ballard and juniors Shanae Bailey, Vanessa Mack and Khristy Neou make up that relay team, which has a state-best time of 33.63 seconds. They recorded that during the New Balance Games in January at the Armory in New York. They were fifth at last year's nationals with a time of 35.83.
The Lions don't get to run the shuttle relay that often because it's not on many meet programs.
Junior Jayee Wright joins Ballard, Bailey and Mack on the Lions' 4x200 relay team, which has turned in a season-best 1 minute, 41.93 seconds. That came in a second-place finish behind Abington last month at the Pennsylvania Track and Field Coaches Association state championships at Penn State. The Ghosts won in 1:41.59.
"It'll probably take a 1:38 to win it" at nationals, Lent said. "I'm not sure what we're really capable of, but I expect us to be in the hunt for medals."
The girls admit that Lent is a stickler when it comes to practice.
"Coach will be on our case if we don't make practice," said Wright, who will compete in the 60-meter dash at nationals. Ballard is entered in the 60 hurdles, and Bailey and Mack will be in the 200.
Ballard won the 60 hurdles at the state championships with a time of 8.9 seconds.
"Vanessa's going to make a very good intermediate hurdler," Lent noted. "She doesn't get rattled."
Bailey was third in the 60 (7.7) and second in the 200 (24.76) at the state championships, while Ballard and Nack were 15th and 16th, respectively, in the 200. Bailey was disappointed in her state performance but said she will be ready this weekend.
"I didn't think I did as well as I could have, but I'm always ready to run," Bailey said.
Like her coach, Bailey is high on the shuttle-hurdle relay team.
"We should be among the favorites to win," she said.
Ballard, better known as "Mouse" to her teammates, is the one who keeps the group loose. She says she got the nickname when she was a freshman because she was small and quick.
Ballard describes herself as the "goofy" one of the close-knit bunch. She enjoys doing impressions of people walking and talking. Impressions of anyone - including her own coaches.
"They laugh right along with us," Ballard claimed.
This from a girl who says she is the shy one in a crowd.
The girls agreed there isn't anything funny about their "practice" facilities, but they've learned to adjust to circumstances.
"Things could be better, but you learn to deal with it," Mack said.
Obviously, they have - very well.