Last Chance meets are aptly named because they are the last opportunity to improve a time or distance to qualify for the Division III National Track and Field Championships. Even though it’s literally the name of the meet, I don’t like to show up to a Last Chance meet needing to qualfiy. Ideally, our athletes would perform well enough at the conference meet to qualify and either not need to compete at all or just race to stay sharp. Unfortunately, our 4x100m relay has run on mostly cold, windy days. With only one more opportunity to race, SJU was hoping to crack into the top 16 and get a ticket to nationals, but were sitting 23rd overall.
This season, our sprinters are just too good to not be at nationals in the 4x100m relay. After last week’s MIAC Conference meet, I agonized over the best relay lineup and best last chance meet to attend. First, I made lineup changes. Nick Gannon (last year’s lead-off leg) is finally healthy after struggling with hamstring injuries since the indoor season. He worked hard through rehab and stayed focused to earn his way back on the relay. His go-to workout during much of his recovery was 10 sets of 10 x 10 meter sprints with little rest. Try it sometime; it is surprising difficult. Thanks goes to Johnnie alum Matt Arbeiter for helping Nick with physical therapy. Nick was able to return for the conference meet and place 7th in the 100 meter dash with a personal record of 11.00 seconds. With Nick back in the leadoff role, Brady Labine moved back to the third leg. It is the same team who ran at Nationals last year even though they only ran as a team twice: once at a last chance meet to qualify and once at 2018 Outdoor Nationals.
With the order set, I agonized on the decision of where we should travel for a Last Chance meet. With the new relay lineup, it would be nice to have more than one chance to qualify. The easy option was to compete in LaCrosse, WI. The weather forecast looked warm and LaCrosse usually has good competition. I also considered going to two meets in Massachusetts. Out East, there were two meets on consecutive days, giving us effectively two last chances. As opposed to the midwest where all the last chance meets are on the same day. Ultimately, the relay team decided for me; they were confident they only need one shot to qualify, so we headed to LaCrosse.
The weather turned out perfect for sprinters, warm and a little humid. Many of the top 4x100m teams in the country were entered in the meet. As I mentioned, I don’t like needing to use Last Chance meets as the last chance; it’s stressful on a coach. I found myself pacing on the infield as the runners were setting up their blocks and marking their exchange zones. I must have looked humorous because my friend, Jess Devine (Head Coach at University of Minnesota, Morris) decided instead of recording the race to record my reactions to the race. It turns out, however, all that nervousness was not necessary.
The Johnnies ran a truly great race against very good competition. All four (Nick, Drew Schoenbauer, Brady, Ryan Miller) ran well with good handoffs. Nick had an excellent start and a smooth handoff to Drew. Drew’s handoff to Brady was safe and Brady ran a good turn. Ryan had his characteristic finish to put the Johnnies in 2nd place with a time of 40.78s. They crushed the school record (set last year with a time of 41.32) and finished the day ranked 2nd nationally. The top three times in the country came from that race and six of the teams racing in LaCrosse that day qualified for DIII Nationals.
We will have a great group at Nationals this year in Geneva, Ohio. The 4x100m relay team will compete first in prelims on Thursday, May 23rd at 3:15pm. Kai Barber will throw shot put on Friday, May 24th at 11:15 a.m. Also on Friday, Drew and Ryan will race the 100 meter prelims at 3:30 p.m. All times are Eastern and you can watch here: NCAA Live. If all goes well, finals are Saturday, May 25th with the 4x100 meter relay at 12:15 p.m. and the 100 meter dash at 1:40 p.m.