LEVELLAND, TEXAS — It was time.
Aaron Miller, Carlos James, Vinny Butera and Chris Martin wanted to capture a national title for Allen Community College bad. They had been waiting all season since the Indoor National Championships where they fell short, however that was nothing compared to the waiting Red Devil coach Vincent DeGrado had endured.
DeGrado — a veteran junior college coach — has had national champions before at other schools, but until now the 4×800 relay had always eluded his grasp.
“I never had a relay team win the Outdoor 4×800,” DeGrado said. “So I wanted us to get it done.”
This was the team that DeGrado was convinced could get him that title and bring it back to Iola and Allen. Leading up to Tuesday, the Red Devils had had a dominant year in the event and went into the NJCAA Outdoor National Championships in Levelland, Texas as the team to beat. But they were going to have to prove it.
“Sometimes Goliath is supposed to kick David’s butt,” DeGrado said.
Tuesday was the first day of competition in Levelland and the team was excited to get their top event going.
The weather — cold and windy — however, demanded a change-up in plans.
DeGrado shuffled the order of runners for the race.
“With the weather bad, we wanted to put the pressure on the other teams early,” DeGrado said. “Switching the legs is a chess move to create the moves we want.”
Normally a move like DeGrado’s to stack the top of a lineup with his two fastest guys causes concern that the weaker back half of the relay may cough up a lead late.
DeGrado had none of those concerns, due to the extreme faith he has in all four of his guys. Despite the shuffle, DeGrado was still able to plug Allen’s school-record holder in the 800 in as the anchor. Future-Wichita State Shocker Aaron Miller would be trusted to bring the title down the homestretch.
“I laughed that our school-record holder is our third-best leg in the 4×800, lots of schools would like to have that situation,” DeGrado said.
DeGrado’s plan worked perfectly. Butera and James built the lead and Martin and Miller didn’t let the other teams back in it.
“We were loose and relaxed,” DeGrado said.
The Red Devil coach knew they had it before Miller even crossed the finish line.
