ONA -- The Cabell Midland boys track team, especially the hurdlers, competed with extra incentive Wednesday night in the Class AAA, Region IV meet at the school's Chris Parsons Track.
Jerry Smalley, assistant coach for the Knights who handles the hurdlers, is recovering from a stroke at HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital in Huntington. The hurdlers, along with the team, wanted to win for him, knowing if they did -- or finish in the top three in the running events -- they'd qualify for the State Meet coming up May 16-17 in Charleston.
"I can't believe he's not here," said Drake Kinzel, who won the 110 and 300 hurdles and ran a leg in the victorious shuttle hurdle relay team. "The talent wasn't here when I got started. Without him I wouldn't be going to Charleston."
Cabell Midland was on its way to repeating as regional champion. On the girls side, Hurricane had the lead going into the closing events.
Kinzel, a senior, said Smally never gave up on him.
"I'm running 16. ... 17 seconds as a sophomore," he said. "Now I'm under 15. I've come a long way thanks to him. Plus, I've stayed healthy."
Smalley first started feeling ill after the Gazette Relays (April 25-26) where the Knights won Class AAA boys. Shortly after that, he was diagnosed as having a stroke and sent to HealthSouth to start rehab.
"We're calling and giving him updates," Knights coach Chris Parsons said. "We took him a video of the MSAC. We'll do that for this meet, too."
The Knights won the Mountain State Athletic Conference boys title last Friday. It's not known if Smalley will be well enough to attend the State Meet.
"It's my senior year. You don't want this," said Kinzel, who joins teammates and fellow students for visits to see Smalley. "He won't let us get behind. He keeps up with what we're doing. He's even more of a coach now."
Cabell Midland's talent and depth makes the Knights a force at each meet. You have David Bias in the distance races, Ryan Ramsby in the long jump, Kinzel, Brian Pilcher in the pole vault, Daniel Jarrell in the high jump, the relay teams and Cole Bowers in field events to name a few.
Andrew Edmunds, another distance runner, will sign today with the University of Rio Grande to run cross country.
"Look to see how we qualify and stay healthy," Parsons said of objectives in the regional. "We'll take a well-round group there (state)."
Steve Caldwell, Hurricane's girls coach, also has talent and depth. The Redskins haven't lost a meet since the Carlos Akers Memorial on April 4.
"We didn't have a couple of relay teams set then," Caldwell said. "I've seen steady improvement all season."
Key performers for the Redskins are Brittany Carey in the sprints, Josie Crouch in the 400 and 800, Alex Dent in the 1600 and 3200, the relays (especially the 4x800) and Christy Austin in the shot put and discus. Dent and Austin scored sweeps in their events Wednesday night.
"Our depth is unbelievable," said Caldwell, who has five seniors and nine juniors on a roster of 50. "If we have to fill in spot, we can. Qualify is what it's all about tonight."
After the top three, the next four best times among the four regions will advance to the state. The top four in field events, along with those who hit the qualifying mark, move on to Charleston.
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