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Washington track and field honored by WDN
Blank named the Washington Daily News Boys Track and Field Coach of the Year
By BRIAN HAINES, Sports Writer
Let’s face it, the average person wouldn’t jump a foot for a $10 dollar bill if there were a five on the floor, and the closest anyone comes to dashing these days is watching a 1950’s action hero on DVD.
But somehow Washington Track and Field coach Jon Blank has been able to motivate his squad and maximize its results, which inspired the Washington Daily News to name him the Boys Track and Field coach of the year.
Blank said the most difficult aspect of his job is getting the athletes pumped every practice for something most people despise doing.
“The hardest thing I have found is motivating kids to want to work hard at track.” Blank said. “You may have a kid who wants to be fast, and he wants to jump far, and he wants to throw far, but getting that kid to want to work hard at those things is very difficult. Most people don’t like to run a whole lot, and most people don’t like to do things over and over and over when you don’t see immediate results. It may not be until the end of the season that you see the ultimate results, but a lot of guys don’t make it that far because they can’t deal with the work that goes into it.”
While track and field may be the toughest of all sports to sell to young athletes, some how the third year coach has been able to double the size of his team each year he has been at the helm. Blank, who is also the Pam Pack football team’s defensive coordinator, said his pigskin connection deserves partial credit for the increased numbers.
“The first year was definitely a challenge, we probably had only 20 guys tryout” Blank said. “We didn’t have a great background from the past couple of years and guys just weren’t motivated to do it. Last year (Washington football coach) Sports Sawyer started encouraging the football players to run track to increase the team’s speed. That’s a lot of the reason why I’m out there, because I wanted to see our football guys increase their speed. But now we are starting to get athletes from all areas. This year I started the season with about 60 guys, that’s three times the amount of players from my first year. We finished the season with about 40 guys, where as that first year we finished the season with about 15.”
Knowing that track and field can be as mentally challenging as it is physically, Blank said he tries to liven things up at practice.
“I try to make it fun,” Blank said. “I’m very hard on them, I set our standards very high and I expect high character out of them, but try and goof with them too. I try to give them Friday’s off during the season so they can have three days to rest (after a meet), and I try to get them out of practice as early as possible. Basically I try to take as many bad things out of it as I can to reinforce the good things.”
So far Blanks’ tactics have worked. Aside from boosting the number of track and field participants each year, the Pack skipper has also increased the team’s success.
“We had about 12 guys make the regionals this year,” Blank said. “Which is just .... I mean we had five guys make it last year, and the year before that we had one.”
The Pam Pack also produced two athletes that advances to the state meet this year and placed in the top ten in their respective events. Washington Daily News Male Track and Field athlete of the Year Travis Daniels finished eighth in the state in the long jump, while Dujuan Murray placed sixth in the shot put.
Along with his motivational techniques, Blank credits the teams growth to assistant coaches William O’Pharrow, who’s own track and field success has landed him in the Pam Pack Walk of Fame, and Phil Crews.
“Coach O’Pharrow has done an excellent job with Travis (Daniels) and the rest of our jumpers,” Blank said. “And my other assistant coach Phil Crews has helped out a great deal with our distance runners ... Both of them did an outstanding job this year.”
While the upstart Pam Pack finished the season in the middle of the Coastal Conference this year, its standing is not indicative of how well it competed this season. The Coastal Conference is a hybrid of 4-A and 3-A schools, and while Washington held its own against the larger 4-A programs, it dominated fellow 3-A’ers.
Throughout the regular season the Pack wore out 3-A opponents faster than Steve Prefontaine wore out a pair of New Balances. However, in the conference tournament Washington ran out of steam.
“We felt like we should have won in the 3-A’s, we were undefeated against all of them up to that point.” Blank said. “We lost out by 10 points, and 10 points isn’t a lot to make up in track; you can do that in like two events. Basically, it came it down to the fact that three of our four relay teams ran their worst performances of the year. Had they done even close to their best of the year we would have topped the other 3-A’s ... That one hurt, it hurt me and it hurt the kids.”
The Pack’s poor outing in the conference tournament may have ended the season on a sour note, but all Blank has to do to get the bad taste out of his mouth is think about the upcoming season.
“I fully expect to win a 3-A conference championship,” Blank said. “I fully expect to have more people make the regionals, we had 12 this year and I expect 15-20 next year. I expect to have more guys make the states, we had two this year and next year I expect to have more individuals make it as well as some relays.”
Blanks’ goals may seem lofty but with Washington returning everyone except Murray next season, the Pack coach has good reason to feel that the sky is the limit.
Blank said that while his star long jumper Daniels was soaring to success, there were plenty of other athletes flying under the radar.
“Jumont Jones was undefeated versus 3-A opponents in the 200-meter dash this year until regionals, he missed going to the states by a noise,” Blank said. “Melvin Spruill showed a lot of potential in the 400 (-meter dash), while Allen Hodges and Leonard Corey each improved throughout the season. Sophomore Chase Tripp threw the discuss behind Murray, and I think next year he is going to be a super, super thrower.”
It may be too early to determine just how successful the Pam Pack can be next year, but you can guarantee it will be motivated.
Daniels earns WDN Male Track and Field Athlete of the Year
By BRIAN HAINES, Sports Writer
Hard work, preparation and dedication are the normal sports cliches that describe what any athlete has done during a prolific season. Though he may have used conventional means to obtain his success, there is nothing ordinary about what Travis Daniels has done for Washington’s track and field team.
The Pam Pack junior finished eighth in the 3-A state competition in the long jump and leapt 22-feet-six-inches in the Coastal Conference meet, which is why when it was time to name a Washington Daily News Track and Field Male athlete of the Year, Daniels’ name jumped ahead of the competition.
In his first two years on the Pam Pack track team Daniels showed steady progress, but this season he experienced a break out year which catapulted him into the state competition.
Washington track and field coach Jon Blank credited Daniels’ success to his hard work, preparation and dedication to the sport.
“Travis had a strong background from last season; he was very strong in the conference and made regionals last year,” Blank said. “This year I fully expected him to make regionals again and, to be quite honest, my expectations this year was that he would finish by going to the state meet. He works hard and he has great ability, I knew he would make it a long way.
“(This year) his preparation improved the most. In the past he would kind of just show up and go out and jump. Now he gets into his routine, he has a stretching routine, and he measures his mark with a tape measure.”
Blank is also quick to point the effect that assistant coach and Washington Walk of Fame track and field star William O’Pharrow has had on Daniels and the rest of the team.
“Coach O’Pharrow talks him through everything from the get-go” Blank said. “Really, that’s where a lot of (Daniels’) routine comes from. Coach O’Pharrow spends a great amount of time working with him and our other jumpers and he gets them where they should be ... He’s legendary around here, and he has done a lot for track.”
Daniels also praised O’Pharrow, and said his teachings were critical during his stellar season.
“In my ninth grade year I didn’t have a long jump coach,” Daniels said. “Last year coach O’Pharrow came and taught, and I just started learning and learning. This year I was able to put it all together.”
O’Pharrow stressed the importance of Daniels’ pre-jump routine and proper mid-flight technique.
“(The most important thing I learned) was how to get my mark real good, and how to stay up in the air as long as I can,” Daniels said. “When I’m running through the air now I look up instead of looking down.”
While Daniels was happy with his top ten finish in his first ever state meet, he said that he suffered from a little bit of rookie jitters.
“I did alight but I think I could have done better,” Daniels said. “I was kinda nervous, but when I looked at the people around me they weren’t that much better than me, or even better than me ... I think I could have done a lot better.”
Daniels said the experience will come in handy if he should make it back next season.
“I would probably be more calm and stretch more,” Daniels said. “I would go out there and work on (my jump) and get used to the (surface) and jump pit. That’s very important (to learn the conditions) because sometimes the board will stretch more, or a lane will be bouncy.”
While Daniels, who also excels in the triple jump and 4x100 relay, had a spectacular season, Blank said he is setting the bar even higher next year for the would-be senior.
Blank said he expects to see Daniels not only improve on his statistics, but take a greater leadership role with the team.
“I think he can definitely improve,” Blank said. “He’s very capable of winning the state championship in the long jump, and he is also capable of getting there in the triple jump ... Not only that, he is a key part of our 4x100 relay team which should be very strong next year.
“What i would really like to see him do next year is help out our younger jumpers. He’s at a point where he understands what he needs to do. I would like to see him get with the younger guys and get them mentally prepared for meets and take a leadership role with the whole team. He will be a senior next year and I would really like to see him stand out as a leader.”
By BRIAN HAINES, Sports Writer
Let’s face it, the average person wouldn’t jump a foot for a $10 dollar bill if there were a five on the floor, and the closest anyone comes to dashing these days is watching a 1950’s action hero on DVD.
But somehow Washington Track and Field coach Jon Blank has been able to motivate his squad and maximize its results, which inspired the Washington Daily News to name him the Boys Track and Field coach of the year.
Blank said the most difficult aspect of his job is getting the athletes pumped every practice for something most people despise doing.
“The hardest thing I have found is motivating kids to want to work hard at track.” Blank said. “You may have a kid who wants to be fast, and he wants to jump far, and he wants to throw far, but getting that kid to want to work hard at those things is very difficult. Most people don’t like to run a whole lot, and most people don’t like to do things over and over and over when you don’t see immediate results. It may not be until the end of the season that you see the ultimate results, but a lot of guys don’t make it that far because they can’t deal with the work that goes into it.”
While track and field may be the toughest of all sports to sell to young athletes, some how the third year coach has been able to double the size of his team each year he has been at the helm. Blank, who is also the Pam Pack football team’s defensive coordinator, said his pigskin connection deserves partial credit for the increased numbers.
“The first year was definitely a challenge, we probably had only 20 guys tryout” Blank said. “We didn’t have a great background from the past couple of years and guys just weren’t motivated to do it. Last year (Washington football coach) Sports Sawyer started encouraging the football players to run track to increase the team’s speed. That’s a lot of the reason why I’m out there, because I wanted to see our football guys increase their speed. But now we are starting to get athletes from all areas. This year I started the season with about 60 guys, that’s three times the amount of players from my first year. We finished the season with about 40 guys, where as that first year we finished the season with about 15.”
Knowing that track and field can be as mentally challenging as it is physically, Blank said he tries to liven things up at practice.
“I try to make it fun,” Blank said. “I’m very hard on them, I set our standards very high and I expect high character out of them, but try and goof with them too. I try to give them Friday’s off during the season so they can have three days to rest (after a meet), and I try to get them out of practice as early as possible. Basically I try to take as many bad things out of it as I can to reinforce the good things.”
So far Blanks’ tactics have worked. Aside from boosting the number of track and field participants each year, the Pack skipper has also increased the team’s success.
“We had about 12 guys make the regionals this year,” Blank said. “Which is just .... I mean we had five guys make it last year, and the year before that we had one.”
The Pam Pack also produced two athletes that advances to the state meet this year and placed in the top ten in their respective events. Washington Daily News Male Track and Field athlete of the Year Travis Daniels finished eighth in the state in the long jump, while Dujuan Murray placed sixth in the shot put.
Along with his motivational techniques, Blank credits the teams growth to assistant coaches William O’Pharrow, who’s own track and field success has landed him in the Pam Pack Walk of Fame, and Phil Crews.
“Coach O’Pharrow has done an excellent job with Travis (Daniels) and the rest of our jumpers,” Blank said. “And my other assistant coach Phil Crews has helped out a great deal with our distance runners ... Both of them did an outstanding job this year.”
While the upstart Pam Pack finished the season in the middle of the Coastal Conference this year, its standing is not indicative of how well it competed this season. The Coastal Conference is a hybrid of 4-A and 3-A schools, and while Washington held its own against the larger 4-A programs, it dominated fellow 3-A’ers.
Throughout the regular season the Pack wore out 3-A opponents faster than Steve Prefontaine wore out a pair of New Balances. However, in the conference tournament Washington ran out of steam.
“We felt like we should have won in the 3-A’s, we were undefeated against all of them up to that point.” Blank said. “We lost out by 10 points, and 10 points isn’t a lot to make up in track; you can do that in like two events. Basically, it came it down to the fact that three of our four relay teams ran their worst performances of the year. Had they done even close to their best of the year we would have topped the other 3-A’s ... That one hurt, it hurt me and it hurt the kids.”
The Pack’s poor outing in the conference tournament may have ended the season on a sour note, but all Blank has to do to get the bad taste out of his mouth is think about the upcoming season.
“I fully expect to win a 3-A conference championship,” Blank said. “I fully expect to have more people make the regionals, we had 12 this year and I expect 15-20 next year. I expect to have more guys make the states, we had two this year and next year I expect to have more individuals make it as well as some relays.”
Blanks’ goals may seem lofty but with Washington returning everyone except Murray next season, the Pack coach has good reason to feel that the sky is the limit.
Blank said that while his star long jumper Daniels was soaring to success, there were plenty of other athletes flying under the radar.
“Jumont Jones was undefeated versus 3-A opponents in the 200-meter dash this year until regionals, he missed going to the states by a noise,” Blank said. “Melvin Spruill showed a lot of potential in the 400 (-meter dash), while Allen Hodges and Leonard Corey each improved throughout the season. Sophomore Chase Tripp threw the discuss behind Murray, and I think next year he is going to be a super, super thrower.”
It may be too early to determine just how successful the Pam Pack can be next year, but you can guarantee it will be motivated.
Daniels earns WDN Male Track and Field Athlete of the Year
By BRIAN HAINES, Sports Writer
Hard work, preparation and dedication are the normal sports cliches that describe what any athlete has done during a prolific season. Though he may have used conventional means to obtain his success, there is nothing ordinary about what Travis Daniels has done for Washington’s track and field team.
The Pam Pack junior finished eighth in the 3-A state competition in the long jump and leapt 22-feet-six-inches in the Coastal Conference meet, which is why when it was time to name a Washington Daily News Track and Field Male athlete of the Year, Daniels’ name jumped ahead of the competition.
In his first two years on the Pam Pack track team Daniels showed steady progress, but this season he experienced a break out year which catapulted him into the state competition.
Washington track and field coach Jon Blank credited Daniels’ success to his hard work, preparation and dedication to the sport.
“Travis had a strong background from last season; he was very strong in the conference and made regionals last year,” Blank said. “This year I fully expected him to make regionals again and, to be quite honest, my expectations this year was that he would finish by going to the state meet. He works hard and he has great ability, I knew he would make it a long way.
“(This year) his preparation improved the most. In the past he would kind of just show up and go out and jump. Now he gets into his routine, he has a stretching routine, and he measures his mark with a tape measure.”
Blank is also quick to point the effect that assistant coach and Washington Walk of Fame track and field star William O’Pharrow has had on Daniels and the rest of the team.
“Coach O’Pharrow talks him through everything from the get-go” Blank said. “Really, that’s where a lot of (Daniels’) routine comes from. Coach O’Pharrow spends a great amount of time working with him and our other jumpers and he gets them where they should be ... He’s legendary around here, and he has done a lot for track.”
Daniels also praised O’Pharrow, and said his teachings were critical during his stellar season.
“In my ninth grade year I didn’t have a long jump coach,” Daniels said. “Last year coach O’Pharrow came and taught, and I just started learning and learning. This year I was able to put it all together.”
O’Pharrow stressed the importance of Daniels’ pre-jump routine and proper mid-flight technique.
“(The most important thing I learned) was how to get my mark real good, and how to stay up in the air as long as I can,” Daniels said. “When I’m running through the air now I look up instead of looking down.”
While Daniels was happy with his top ten finish in his first ever state meet, he said that he suffered from a little bit of rookie jitters.
“I did alight but I think I could have done better,” Daniels said. “I was kinda nervous, but when I looked at the people around me they weren’t that much better than me, or even better than me ... I think I could have done a lot better.”
Daniels said the experience will come in handy if he should make it back next season.
“I would probably be more calm and stretch more,” Daniels said. “I would go out there and work on (my jump) and get used to the (surface) and jump pit. That’s very important (to learn the conditions) because sometimes the board will stretch more, or a lane will be bouncy.”
While Daniels, who also excels in the triple jump and 4x100 relay, had a spectacular season, Blank said he is setting the bar even higher next year for the would-be senior.
Blank said he expects to see Daniels not only improve on his statistics, but take a greater leadership role with the team.
“I think he can definitely improve,” Blank said. “He’s very capable of winning the state championship in the long jump, and he is also capable of getting there in the triple jump ... Not only that, he is a key part of our 4x100 relay team which should be very strong next year.
“What i would really like to see him do next year is help out our younger jumpers. He’s at a point where he understands what he needs to do. I would like to see him get with the younger guys and get them mentally prepared for meets and take a leadership role with the whole team. He will be a senior next year and I would really like to see him stand out as a leader.”
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