Wahine track team on course to future
By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer
Today, the University of Hawai'i will compete in its first track and field meet in 16 years. The Wahine anticipate this historical moment with expected emotions: Excitement and sheer terror.
Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser
No team will be as uninitiated as Hawai'i when it takes to Warmerdam Field for the 73rd annual Bob Mathias Fresno Relays. Thus far, its competition consists of local masters. It has not experienced electronic timing (only hand timing), eight-lane races, and the feel of uniforms, but has felt the fear of a discus hurtling toward unsuspecting pedestrians crossing Cooke Field.
University of Hawai'i's Sarah McDiarmid clears the high jump bar during a practice session at Cooke Field. The Wahine track team opens its season today in Fresno.
When Hawai'i loses itself in the talented mob of 600 contemporaries today, there will be time for introspection. Head coach Carmyn James hopes she won't see 16 Wahine "in-the-headlights" looks staring back at her.
"I don't want to make them think they have to beat other people," James says. "They are to do their thing, in a shorter period of time, or throw further, or jump farther, than they have in the past. If they can think like that for the first few meets, then we'll go to the WAC championships and want to be a little more competitive. Otherwise, it will be way too much pressure."
Her goal is to make this first meet as "normal as possible," though she knows it will be anything but. There is a huge window of opportunity for the Wahine today in this sport. But this early, with so little experience, there is also the possibility of being demoralized.
Today — Fresno Relays (Fresno, Calif.) April 20 — Pomona-Pitzer Invitational (Claremount, Calif.) April 21 — Long Beach Invitational (Long Beach, Calif.) April 21-22 — Mt. San Antonio College Relays (Walnut, Calif.) May 5 — Texas Invitational (Austin, Texas) May 16-19 — Western Athletic Conference championships (Fresno, Calif.) May 30-June 2 — NCAA championships (Eugene, Ore.)
Not for everyone. High jumper Sarah McDiarmid and distance runner Cheryl Smith have big-meet and junior national experience. James expects them to break two-decade-old school records and qualify for the NCAA Championships next month in Oregon.
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Wahine track schedule
Good enough to challenge
McDiarmid's best jump (5-feet-11) would be a 2001 WAC best, and the senior is a two-time Canadian Intercollegiate champion. She anxiously awaits her first U.S. collegiate meet, but is hardly anxious.
"I hope I'll jump well," McDiarmid says. "I think I will because we're off this (UH) track and the intensity level will be so high. And there will be fans. The whole atmosphere of a real track meet will help."
Smith is taking a low-key approach to her first Division I track meet. Her transition to DI cross country — she ran for Division III SUNY-Cortland the last two years — was breathtaking. She won her first four cross country meets, placed third in the conference championships and is coming off a victory in last month's Straub Hawai'i Women's 10K Run.
"The end of the season is what's important," Smith says. "This meet is a checkpoint for where I am against the competition."
For most of her teammates, this meet will be much more. It has been two years since sophomore hurdler/middle distance runner Carolyn Berger competed in a meet that even compares. The Punahou graduate was part of the 4x400 relay team that set the Hawai'i high school record that day.
Berger has "no idea" what will hit her today. "It is scary," she admits. "I don't know how I'll deal with it. I just have to focus on myself, how I run, and try not to psyche myself out."
On track for the future
That's precisely what James wants to hear. The past few months of training have focused on intricate drills complemented by a simplified atmosphere designed to deny distractions. When events end today, James will be close by to "chat" and ö ideally ö prevent this first trip from being "a real shock."
The light is closer than the end of this track tunnel. This is a sport where a handful of phenomenal athletes can take a team to a WAC title. The Wahine are splitting eight scholarships now. That will expand to 14 next season and eventually 18. Used wisely, Southern Methodist and UTEP — Nos. 15 and 16 in the Trackwire Poll — are in sight.
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• SHORT SPRINTS: Andy McInnis, from Ontario, was hired three months ago as a UH assistant (for sprints, hurdles and relays). Visa problems, much like those that kept head coach Carmyn James in Canada until October, have kept McInnis on the Mainland. James and McInnis worked together at high performance camps and as national development coordinators back in Canada. ... UH senior Sarah McDiarmid jumped 5-7 (1.74 meters) in the Hawai'i Winter Championships in February at Kaiser. That breaks Marcie Wurts' 20-year-old UH record of 5-6¥ (1.68 meters). ... After the Fresno Relays, the Wahine will travel to the Pomona-Pitzer Invitational in Claremont, Calif., (April 20), the Long Beach Invitational (April 21) and Mt. SAC Relays (April 21-22) in Walnut, Calif., and the Texas Invitational (May 5). The WAC Championships are back in Fresno, May 16-19. ... UH triple jumpers, pole vaulters and heptathletes will automatically set records the first time they finish an event. Women did not compete in those events the last time the school had a program.
