From Dropped Batons to Glory: A Story of Redemption
What’s up Strong Beach? I hope everyone had a great weekend! I know I did! Some of you may have read or heard about the amazing history made by the Long Beach Poly Trackrabbits at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I was attending on duty as the team doctor, so I decided to use this week’s column to highlight these accomplishments.
We have heard all the statistics. We know that the boys’ as well as the girls’ teams far exceeded expectations at this gargantuan event. What is there left to discuss?
Penn Relays is the biggest track & field event in the country. Whatever level you’re looking for, it’s there! High school, college, and professional athletes from all over the country (and the world) have descended upon the City of Brotherly Love every year since 1895.
The Jamaican teams are known to dominate this sport on the high-school level. Oftentimes, an American team doesn’t even make it to the finals, which is, ironically, known as the Championship of America. There is one school from a city in Southern California, Long Beach Poly, which has over the years not only represented their school, city, and the United States of America, they consistently show up and give their best whether they win or whether they lose.
Yes, it’s been written that the girls’ and boys’ relays tasted sweet success while posting the top times in the nation in three relay events! We have read about the dramatic finish to the girl’s 4x100m relay Championship race. Akawkaw Ndipagbor runs off to the sidelines and grabs the American flag from a spectator. She hoists it over her proud shoulders with a smile as the crowd erupts into thunderous chants of “U-S-A, U-S-A, U-S-A!!!”! It was an Olympic moment! It was one of those indescribable, “you–had-to- have-been-there” moments!! It was a genuine tearjerker moment in time and space.
So what’s left to talk about? I’m so glad you asked! Sometimes when I play this game, people don’t catch on as fast as I’d like. You guys are special! Well, does anyone remember what happened last year? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller? (Ferris Bueller references… I love that movie)! They dropped the baton!!! They never even got to finish the race! The race was pretty much won. Poly was on pace with a commanding lead on the field all the way up until the final hand off to the anchor leg where the baton was not handed off! I was there to witness this and cannot properly relay the heartache and disappointment surrounding this event. Enormous time, preparation, and sacrifice had gone into this moment. They didn’t even finish a forty-something second race!
Well, this is what hasn’t been covered! Everyone loves a redemption story, right? Just look at how everyone was pulling for Michael Vick to win the MVP last season. Everyone is encouraged by stories of struggle, which end in ultimate triumph. I just sat down with the girl’s 4x100m relay to discuss last year’s race and how things have turned around one year later. We did a video diary of the season last year. It was nice because this allowed us to go back in time (via YouTube) and revisit the moment of disappointment and how they handled the situation. I’d like you to take a look at the following video to gain perspective on how far these young ladies have come from last year’s heartbreak.
CLICK HERE to see the video.
Did you notice at the end, the girls vowed to come back next year and win it all? Did you notice the challenge sent out to Jamaica? Here we are one year later . . . mission accomplished!
I sat down with each girl individually to discuss her feelings and emotions about this unforgettable moment. We discussed the pain and disappointment from last year as well as the sweet success of this past weekend. You will see that even though they are a team, they all come from different perspectives with interesting insight! I start off with Carisma Lyday. She is the one who looked into the camera lens and said, “We are coming for you Jamaica!” She is also the one that starts off the relay! I will take the other responses thereafter in relay order!
THE INTERVIEW
Let’s talk about your emotions and the disappointment from last year when we were here in Philly. What do you remember feeling?
-CARISMA LYDAY (Senior, Signed to Cal Berkeley, Lead-off Leg)
As the first leg, I don’t get to see the race until the anchor leg (Akawkaw) is on her way. So when I didn’t see anyone coming I was like, “Wait, wait, something had to go wrong!” And then Traci came crying and they had dropped the baton. I just felt like there was really nothing I could do but be there for my team. On first leg, I’m first so I get everything over with and hope that everything else goes according to plan. So we all cried. It was no one’s fault but it was unbelievable. Out of all the track meets we had run, why this one? This is a big meet!
I remember crying and being encouraged by the USA fans. They would say, “It’s okay Poly, you will get them next year!” I also remember the Jamaicans celebrating over our defeat and their victory. They kind of rubbed it in. I remember that. So, we were very disappointed but we also knew that God has everything in control. We also knew that we were coming back next year.
-MELIA COX (Senior, Signed to USC, Second Leg)
I was sad. I wanted to put the blame on people. I felt I did my part and wanted to place blame. I was mad for a little bit. I had to get it out by talking about it. I got over it in a day or so. I decided that maybe it just wasn’t meant for us to do it that year. I truly believe that there is a reason why things happen.
-TRACI HICKS (Junior, Free Agent, Third Leg)
I was upset. I was new to the relay. I wanted to do well because I was the rookie. If anything goes bad it would all come down on me. I just wanted to always do my best and give my all. When we dropped the baton at Penn, it was like ‘Awe, Traci dropped the baton.’ It all went bad but it’s a team effort so if we drop the baton it’s not just Traci. The whole team dropped the baton. Really it just seemed that it was just Traci that dropped the baton, so I was upset for that. It felt like everything came down on just me. It was kind of hard and really upsetting.
-AKAWKAW NDIPAGBOR (Senior, Signed to USC, Anchor)
I remember feeling a loss of connection. It didn’t feel like a team. Last year there was no motive behind the running. Every year since seventh grade I have been the anchor of a 4x1 and to me that race wasn’t something I cared about. I am an individualist when it comes to sports, so when the baton dropped I walked off the track emotionless. There was no reason to cry or mope because the damage had been done. I walked off and tried to get ready for the 4x4 without closure. This proved to be disastrous. Last year was shameful to me because it highlighted Poly Track for something it was not.
Did you allow that to fuel your passion as you prepared to return in 2011? Or was it just an afterthought?
-CARISMA
After we prayed about it, we kind of just left it in Philly. We decided that we still had to take care of business at State and we focused on winning that, which we did. But when Penn Relays came back around this year, it all came back to us! We were determined that this was not going to happen to us again! In practice we had to make sure that all hand offs were on fire. We had to be on point with our hand offs because they are so crucial! So Crucial!
-MELIA
I was over it. It was a year ago. I wasn’t even thinking about it.
-TRACI
I just brushed my shoulders off, kept my head up, and was determined to learn from our mistakes. Let’s just go work on it and fix it. We just went and worked on how to have better hand offs to prevent this from every happening, especially at big meets like that. It was just a lesson learned, not something to motivate us!
-AKAWKAW
It was never an afterthought. As a relay runner, everyone dreads dropping the baton, but until it happens, it is just a joke or fallacy to most people that run.
Try to describe as best you can, your emotions before, as well as after, this year’s race.
-CARISMA
I remember specifically praying to God to “Please help us to just get this baton around the track.” If nothing else, we wanted to finish this race. It didn’t matter if we came in first, second, or last. “Just let us finish!” You know last year we didn’t get to finish. So, when I looked and saw Coco (Akawkaw) coming, it was just so unbelievable. I can’t really explain it! This is our last year. This is our last shot! It was just like a movie! Woooo!!!
-MELIA
I was nervous! I was jumping around and shaking so I wouldn’t get cold out there. It was such a big race and we were one of only two American teams (out of nine) in the race. There were seven Jamaican teams. The whole crowd seemed to be from Jamaica. They are all going against you so you want to perform your best. It’s only natural to feel nervous in that situation.
When we won, I just couldn’t believe it! We beat all of those Jamaican teams! These were the best of their teams! It was just crazy! When the crowd started screaming for us and chanting “U-S-A”, it just hyped us up!
-TRACI
Well, before the race, I was nervous! It was a big crowd. They were yelling. Everyone was talking to me while I was in position. I wanted them to stop talking to me so I could focus. I did not want anything bad to happen. I then zoned out and focused.
I had a talk about it the night before with Coach Don about the relay. He said to pray about it and get focused on the task and do what I need to do. When I came out, I applied that wisdom and left it out there on the track. I just went, and I was relieved after I did my part. Afterwards, I was just so happy we were able to win that I felt like crying. I couldn’t cry. It didn’t come out. I was speechless. I wasn’t expecting all of this. I would have been happy with being the first American team, but we won the entire thing! It’s just a blessing and I am so happy!
-AKAWKAW
I remember Carisma being overly concerned with our lane assignment. I told her, “Start ahead, end ahead.” Once I saw her eat up that girl from WB I knew it was over! It wasn’t until the 399-meter mark that I knew we had won. Putting my hands up was just a reflex. It took about 10 seconds for the tears to come and then Carisma bulldozed me [so I knew] that we had won. We didn’t even know what to do, and the guy yelled at us to take a victory lap. I cried and waved at the same time. The crowd erupted when we met up with Traci and Melia. Then when I got the flag everyone just melted. I think that is going to make Penn Relays history. I had never felt so American, and I had always dreamed of being able to grab a flag, and I finally did! The Lord truly heard and answered our prayers that day.
How does it feel 48 hours later? Has it sunk in? Are you numb?
-CARISMA
It was like a moment that is going to last a lifetime. Even now, whenever I just talk about it I get an adrenaline rush as if we just walked off the track! It’s still so fresh! It’s going to be fresh every time I talk about it!
-MELIA
I still keep replaying it in my mind over and over. The whole race, us running around, holding the American flag; it was such a big deal! I felt really important with everyone yelling for us like that. It is still fresh in my mind. Every second, I am thinking about the race. I think about how we won. I think about the large lead we had.
-TRACI
I can’t believe it! It’s really crazy! Think about it. We just made history! Normally you don’t expect to do that type of stuff. I’m only 17 and able to go out here and just run, make the national time, beat the Jamaicans, make history. That hadn’t been done since 2003! We just did a lot in one day . . . in 45 seconds! That’s a lot! I’m just so happy, I can’t believe it! I just keep playing it over and over again in my mind!
-AKAWKAW
In all seriousness (it feels) like it never happened. It still has not hit me yet. The magnitude of what we did together is bigger than the four of us. We unified the nation with a baton! We are the four most unfit Long Beach girls ever to be on a Penn Relays 4x1!
So, you come back and totally redeem yourselves and Poly with not only a win, but also a convincing victory, and a US #1 time, a world champion title, as well as US #1 times in the girl’s 4x800 and boy’s 4x800 . . . you probably got more than expected out of this redemption weekend. What lesson can you take from this?
-CARISMA
NEVER GIVE UP. After last year, we could’ve just said that we don’t want to embarrass ourselves again, but we decided that it is not going down like that! The legacy of Long Beach Poly and what those people say about us at Penn Relays, we can’t do it. We can’t let them down like that! Sure we represent our city and our school all around the country, but when we come to Penn Relays, we have the honor of representing the USA!
-MELIA
Even though I wasn’t thinking about last year’s disappointment, now when I look back at it, I can appreciate the big picture. Don’t let one disappointment bring you down. You have to keep working hard and go after your dreams and goals. Just keep reaching for the stars and doing your best! I know that this will help me in college when handling pressure and my schedule. I can apply the same focus there.
-TRACI
Motivation. Sometimes I lack the motivation, but here I was determined. Now I see what I’m capable of when I am motivated, determined, and focused. I think this will help me in my individual events as well!
-AKAWKAW
Sometimes it does not matter how much foot speed a team has. If the chemistry is not there then they will never be able to achieve greatness. Greatness and winning are two different things. Last year we not only dropped the baton, but we were getting beat by Rancho Verde on a weekly basis! That did something to us. I believe the struggles and even the shame bonded and united my girls as one. We stuck together and kept each other’s heads up. I am grateful for this struggle. It’s made us stronger and allowed us to be ready for this moment!
What I’m trying to understand is how will this help the rest of your season? You guys had already planned to go to State and win for a record four times in a row. You already expect to do great things with the rest of the season so is extra swagger necessary?
-CARISMA
Well we just got a taste of what is possible. We saw that we can run 45 seconds and now we feel we can do better than that! We feel we can do things we never thought of doing. Penn gave us the boost of confidence we needed to believe that we could go 44 seconds. We know we can. We know it’s within us!
-MELIA
Well we know what we have to do to win but we also have individual goals set for ourselves. I have times I need to make and people I have to beat to reach those goals. This weekend helps me with that. I know I am capable of more than I have already accomplished.
-TRACI
Yes! I think it is necessary. I have never made it to State in an individual event. The 4x1 relay is all I have experienced on that level. Now I’d like to see myself competing in the long jump as well as my hurdles event after I continue to progress and get better. I need to do as well as I can this year because this is my junior year. This is where you make yourself marketable for the colleges to look at you, so I’m trying really hard to go well! I think that this weekend’s race could be a blessing to my recruitment process and me because I am the only one on our relay that is not already signed to attend a college. I am a free agent. I am the only one available. I hope some coach at the right school for me watched that race and is willing to offer me a scholarship!
-AKAWKAW
I do not believe that it’s extra. Exposing our bodies to high performance athletes like the Jamaicans not only proves that we are the best in the US, but the world! There was really no other competition around locally or nationally, which is why we had to take it international. This year was more important than it had been in previous years for us.
Winning relays like this also pushes us in our other specialties/events. I use the 4x1 for speed work. Melia and Traci use it for jumps and hurdles. Carisma uses it as fine-tuning for the 100m dash. Extra swagger? Can you really have too much swagg? I think not!
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I think it was very enlightening to hear each person’s perspective. They had all achieved a common goal as a team, but they each had varying situations and motivations driving them. It’s also nice to see the life lessons being taught through the vehicle of athletic competition. As I wrote in my book (shameless plug), “It’s more than just a sport.” Stay tuned for the rest of the track season as the girls go for a history making four times in a row California State Championship Title in early June. You can follow the team on Facebook at “Long Beach Poly Girls Track”. I look forward to answering more of your questions next week. Until then, stay Strong Beach!!!
To visit Doc’s website, click here, and buy his book, What I’ve Learned From Your Kids. Email questions to Doc at askdoc@docdossman.com.
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