The Red Devil track and field team has been ramping up to something new. For the first time in several years, the program is attempting to be the most balanced that it has been in years.
Over the past several seasons, the program under the direction of head coach Vince DeGrado had been very distance heavy.
With DeGrado running the show as a distance coach and other previous assistants coming in with distance specialties, it only makes sense that it would do so. But last spring, DeGrado brought in assistant coach Dwight Davis, a former college sprinter, and a year later, things are starting to seem more balanced.
With the indoor season wrapping up in two weeks, DeGrado and Davis have been hard at work preparing their team for both the national meet and the outdoor season.
Due to the weather, weve really just been using this indoor season to train and prepare for outdoor, Davis said. Having said that, weve still had some athletes that have performed well at meets. Our sprinters have done some good things but were just not as fast as Id like us to be.
The mens 4×400 team of Robin Anderson, Jeremiah Revere, Jason Axon Jr. and Ricardo Watson has qualified for the national meet and several other runners have turned in personal best times.
The 4×400 team are all freshmen from Florida and so the adjustment to both Kansas and the sport of indoor track has been gradual.
A lot of the athletes that Ive brought in are young and some are from Florida so theyve never really seen an indoor track, Davis said. So what I want from this year is to just get the experience and get the feel of the track and where theyre at physically and mentally so when we get to outdoor here soon, theyre ready.
Distance-wise, the Red Devils have continued to put up stellar numbers.
Sophomores Yoel Yoel, Joshua Clethan and Michael Knowles, and freshman Joel Fane have all qualified for nationals in the 800.
Yoel and Fane have also qualified in the 1000 meters along with freshman Mitchell Dervin.
Clethen qualified for the mile and sophomore Joshua Doria has qualified in the mile, the 3000 and 5000 meters. Doria also broke the Allen school record in the mile at a meet at Pittsburg State earlier this month with a time of 4:14.15.
For the Lady Devils, sophomore Amber Gloria qualified in the 3000 and 5000 meters.
Davis hopes that a little more experience and time on the recruiting trail will turn the Red Devils into a national track and field power.
Next year I think were going to have an incredible indoor track team because well have all of that experience, Davis said. Weve just got to get there.
Helping that goal will be the fact that the Red Devils will soon get DeGrado back after his NJCAA suspension thats banned him from attending any NJCAA cross country or track and field meets since last indoor season where DeGrado was arrested at the indoor track and field national championship in Lubbock, Texas.
