By Jeff Appelblatt
It had become an annual occurrence. Each June, Woodbridge High School’s track and field coach, Jesse Angatia, went down to North Carolina for the final team events of the season. Just last year, for instance, Comfort Akinbo, Elisanett Marine, Makisha Dorval, Najiyah Adams and Temi Odukale made the 500-mile round trip to Greensboro, North Carolina, with their coach in order to compete in the New Balance National Championship races.
But this year, the competition went on without Angatia and the Barrons. They didn’t make the trip to the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University for the relay, June 17-19.
It’s not as if Angatia and his team wasn’t invited back to the event — it just wasn’t to the main competition.
“We were to be in the ‘Emerging Elite’ category,” Woodbridge’s coach said. “We went for championships, but we had decided we never want to go again for Emerging Elite.
“All the rushing, the making plans — it was a whole lot calmer not needing to.”
A name Angatia has become a bit familiar with over the last few years, Sydney McLaughlin, not only won the 400-meter hurdles championship at the nationals, but she broke a 32-year-old record. The Union Catholic High School junior finished the race in 54.46 seconds. The 16-year-old standout was also part of Union Catholic’s first-place 1,000 sprint medley Swedish relay championship team in Greensboro.
But Angatia spent the June weekend living his life, not needing to pay attention to the happenings down south. It was another Father’s Day in the books without technically being a father, as he looked at holiday wishes from his former Woodbridge athletes.
“On a day like today, I get the messages coming in,” the coach said, expressing a large amount of gratefulness. “It’s always nice to hear from those I mentored.”
And even though it was a day off, Angatia can’t help but think about what it will take from him and his team to have a strong showing in 2017. He knows it will take some help from past student-athletes.
“I have a special group of alumni come back. They stay involved,” Woodbridge’s coach said. “It’s a very good, positive motivation for [the current students].”
That influence combined with what was learned this year has Angatia believing a trip to Greensboro could be in store next June for he and his athletes.