May 29, 2009
| NCAA East Region Championships | Fri.-Sat., May 29-30 |
Championship Central | Live Results | Meet Notes  |
Each day this weekend, freshman and senior members of the track & field team will blog about their experiences at the NCAA East Region Championships in Greensboro, N.C. Senior shot putter Jason Cook, freshman hurdler Radiance Basden and freshman shot putter Stacee Roberts blog today about Thursday’s practice day as the team prepares for competition that begins Friday.
Senior Jason Cook
This morning began with our team shakeout at 8:20 a.m. followed by team breakfast. After breakfast, there isn’t much to do other than sit around until lunch at 11:30 a.m., and then head to practice at 1:30 p.m. The ride to practice takes about twenty minutes, and started at as usual with joking around about things we see or expect to go through in the coming days, and playing games of “punch buggy” and “cruiser bruiser” with some of the girl throwers. The last few minutes of the trip become a mental focus time, and everything has a tendency to fade into the background of thoughts about throwing and competition. Once we arrived at the track, the throwers got together and warmed up with some running and stretching. When we all completed our warm ups, we all separated into our specific throwing events, and continue to work on our own throwing drills to get ready for our pre-meet warm up practice. After several imitation throws on the track, I put my wrist wrap on and got into the ring to throw. The typical progression of a pre-meet workout includes two standing throws, two wheels (1/2 spin), two full spins without a reverse, and two throws with a reverse. This is just an extended and less intense workout than what we typically go through on a competition day. Everything went great, and both Coach Sergent and I agreed that my technique, rhythm and speed all looked excellent, and were right where they needed to be the day before a huge competition.
After completing the warm up throws, I went to the discus and hammer ring to watch my teammates warm and to do some cool down stretching. Once we finished practice, we headed back to the hotel around, which was around 4 p.m. We had quite some time before dinner, so we decided to walk across the highway to go to a Dick’s Sporting Goods store to kill some time and get any last minute competition items we may have forgotten. We were slowed down on the trip back by a nice thunderstorm, and then went to dinner at 6:30 p.m. We finished dinner and began our nightly team meeting, which consisted of the coaches reading off heat sheets and flights so we know where we stood in the competition. Once this was over, we all headed back to our rooms to have our own time to ourselves, which is usually taken up by treatment by the athletic trainers, ice baths, and a lot of tv watching. The night before a competition is usually uneventful as we once again get ready for the next day’s competition.
Freshman Radiance Basden
This is the last day to rest. After today, the race to the finish line begins. As I practiced today I felt much more confident for my race. Since I am only doing one event, 400 hurdles, I feel that I devote my time to that one race. Fortunately, today went by so fast since the coaches treated us to a movie. When we went to the movies it gave me time to relax and take my mind off of all the stresses of track. Little did I know that relaxation only lasted for two hours. I now realize that tomorrow (Friday) is the big day, the day that I run at the regional meet. I have been working all outdoor season for this one day so I must make it a great day. Since I run late tomorrow, I still have time to chill out and get myself mentally prepared for one of the most important meets of my freshman year. Lets get it.
Freshman Stacee Roberts
The second day here was much better. We got up as usual for our team shakeout and breakfast at the hotel. Most of the team went over to Irwin Belk track around 10, but the throwers had to stay back because practice didn’t open until 2pm for the shot and discus. The team came back as the throwers were leaving for practice and they went to the movies to see the new “Terminator”. Although we missed out on the movie, I feel it was time well spent practicing. I’ve been to this track before, but being able to get a feel for the ring before competing is always good.
I’m still feeling sick which stinks, but I still have until Saturday to get better. The first day of competition is Thursday and I’m excited about the team’s performances to come. I know as far as the throws, Erik competes in the morning, Jason in the evening and Aimee at 5pm, so wish us luck. Go Cocks!
