By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
Joe Gray’s outdoor spring track and field season ended on a high note with his newest event at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals last weekend.
The Princeton High School sophomore had shown promise in the sprints up to the 400 meters, but until the Meet of Champions he hadn’t run more than the quarter-mile.
”Joe is a good competitor,” said PHS distance coach Jim Smirk. “For sure, stepping up from the 4 to the 8 was a challenge, but he handled it well.”
Gray raced the 800 meters for the first time at the Meet of Champions, where as a fill-in for Anders Berg, he helped the Little Tigers finish 14th in a season-best 8:03.68.
”It was a little nerve-wracking,” Gray said. “Beforehand, I had pre-race jitters and overall nervousness. I was able to have the confidence that I could run this and I knew I could run it pretty well. I had been training all season, and it was my debut. I was more proud that I didn’t cripple the team and we were able to get a new time for nationals.
”With the Meet of Champions, we ran seven seconds faster than our original seed time for nationals,” he added. “We went up in seeding and were able to come out stronger for nationals.”
The Little Tigers were encouraged as well with the 2:02 split by Gray, and it cinched their decision to go to North Carolina for nationals.
”We said if he wasn’t ready to go at the Meet of Champs, we weren’t going to travel,” Smirk said. “He didn’t have too much time to think about it, which I think was good. He could let his natural athletic ability shine.”
At nationals, Matt Wong (2:01.81), Gray (2:01.67), Jacob Rist (2:02.8) and Conor Donahue (1:58.22) ran 8:04.53 to win the middle heat of the 4×800 in a stirring comeback. It enabled them to top eight other teams from the fast heat to place fifth overall in the Emerging Elite division.
”It definitely made me more motivated,” Gray said. “My event range has gone from the 100 and 200 to the 100, 2 and 4 and now 800. It’s opening up doors for recruitment and my multi-event range.”
Gray showed good progress in a short time. He went from his MOC debut to competing well and producing an improvement in time at nationals.
”We gave him a clear set of instructions, do not run a 54 first 400,” Smirk said to caution Gray against starting too fast and wilting in the second half of the race. “He was shading on the side of caution. That middle leg, he knew he had the responsibility to get the stick around and give us a chance to compete. He did a great chance of collapsing the field for us to give Jacob a shot.
”Jacob did a phenomenal job. The leader was way out and Jacob was grinding on him and with 300 to go, he went from a 30-meter gap to taking the lead. Connor battled the kid back and forth the whole way before winning. It was a fun to race to watch.”
Michelle Bazile finished eighth in the girls discus at 132-feet-11¼ and 13th in girls shot put at 38-9, Tim Brennan took 11th in the boys hammer throw at 199-6½ and 12th in discus with 172-4, Maia Hauschild was 12th in long jump at 15-9¾, and Donohue ran 4:47.83 for the boys 1-mile run. The relay placed the highest of any PHS entry.
”We definitely felt more confident going into it,” Gray said. “I know I did. After running my first 800, it was nice to know I’m not terrible at it. The relay team also felt confident. They felt we had a very good chance of medaling at nationals.”
Gray was helped by the experience he had at the Meet of Champions. Had the nationals been his first race, it could have been tougher, though nationals still had its own challenges. Competing in both venues was a big thrill for Gray and the Little Tigers.
”At Meet of Champions, I followed a couple other guys that I competed against,” Gray said. “At nationals, there was little to no familiar faces. I didn’t know who to follow, who I could tag behind before outkicking them.
”The professionalism of both meets was of equal status. It gave us a good feeling for professional track and field.”
Only Wong will graduate from the 4×800 team, and Berg will return to help round out the candidates for next year’s relay.
”Next year,” Gray said, “we’re planning on having all of us breaking 2 and having a great relay.
”For me, the thing I have to focus on is starting my race faster,” he added. “My whole mentality going into these past 800s was don’t run like it’s a 400. I have to run a fast pace and still have enough to outkick my opponents.”
Gray is working to build up his endurance. He had focused mostly on the 200 and 400 through the winter season and the 400 — still his favorite — was his primary race through the spring. But he took on the 800 at the end for the biggest meets of the season.
”He’s a 400 guy in terms of speed,” Smirk said. “He is coming out for cross country, so we’ll see how that affects him.”
Gray has plenty of motivation after getting a taste of success in his newest event. It has him looking forward to the future and some even faster times after a positive ending to his year.
”This season has been rough on me because I faced several injuries,” Gray said. “I had to miss a couple meets. To come back and redeem myself in a new event, and going to Meet of Champions and nationals, I killed my PR and hopefully I can still make the best of it.”
