UPDATES

Updates from Outdoor Nationals in Colorado Springs, Colorado

300m Time Trial
Drew's first event and first time on this track. As he found out that diving into the last corner at such a high speed will have you existing way to high almost into the wall. Even with this little mishap he was still able chalk up a 27.8 sec 300m and placing him 15th. A very respectable time for a new comer.

500m Sprint
With a very high caliber of competitors including defending Sophomore National Champion and current Jr. World Class team member Jonathan Blair in his heat and the fact that only the top two transfer from each heat, Drew fell just short of making it into the semi.

1000m
Here again Drew was learning on the job so to speak. The top finisher in each heat automatically transfer and the next four skaters would transfer based on time. What this means is even though you finish in the top five qualifying positions, if your time is slower because your heat wasn't as fast as some of the other heats, you may not qualify. Which here again was another lesson to be learned. Drew missed qualifying by 1 100th of second. 1 100th of a second, talk about splitting hairs, well thats just how stiff the level of competition is when trying to make the Jr World Team.

10,000m Points/Elimination
Based on Drew's training this year, this was the race we were waiting for. 50 laps of scrambling for points and trying to avoid being eliminated not to mention that all JR. World Class skaters are on the line at the same time, you can only imagine the mayhem about to unravel at the start of this race. Having to start in the back rows based on his 300m time, Drew knew he had to work his way up thru the pack as fast as he could one, to avoid elimination and two not to miss out on getting any points. The first few rounds were a battle back and forth between the two current World team members Justin Mannon and Jonathan Blair. Then Drew was able to get up there and start getting some piece of the action as well. When the race was finally over, Drew was able to get himself 13 points placing him third overall in that race and giving him 10 points towards the overall placement and making his dreams one step closer to becoming reality.

15,0000m Elimination
This race is as important as they come. 75 laps of skill,strategy and overall attrition. This is the last track event before moving onto the road portion events and just so happens to be an event that Drew all year has shown that he is as much a favorite to win than anyone in the game. But as bad luck would have it, Drew got tangled up with Corey Bethel on lap 5 and went down hard. This fall ended up being more serious then expected as Drew's ankle that he has had previous issues with, seemed to get injured once again. He was unable to continue this race however, based on the top finishers, Drew had only lost one position to his overall placement putting him in 7th and still very much part of having a shot of making the team. 

There is day off Break before competition resumes on Friday. Where I will update the website after we know the outcome of whether or not Drew is able to continue his quest or will he have to wait until next year.

Friday 7/3/09
Unfortunately the fall in the 15000m on Thursday caused a very bad ankle sprain and Drew was forced to withdraw from the remaining events. His quest of making this years JR. World Team will have to continue next year.

2009 INDOOR NATIONALS

This year's Indoor Nationals took place in Peoria,IL.

Sophomore 2 Man Relay

Drew and relay partner Omar Cardona showed that they had come to Peoria to race. They made it out of their heat with Drew doing an Eagle Hawk for the third and final qualifying position making it onto the Semifinals. The Semi was pretty tough, however the dynamic dou made it out and on their way to the Sophomore 2 Man Final. Drew was the starter in this 30 lap relay which also allows him to finish. His ankle did not fully recover from Outdoor Nationals and all the starts leading up to the final were surely taking their toll on that ankle. Drew got a not so good start which was expected, and the two knew they had to go to work quick as not to be left behind. On Omar's second time out, he was moving up quick, a little too quick and didn't quite time his pass correctly and ran out of room before the pylon forcing him to "ride out" and "elbow" another competitor causing the team to be disqualified. No regrets, I am very proud to have coached these two this year. They have shown incredible strength and courage being Novice skaters going up against some of the best Jr. World Class skaters in the Elite Division.

Drews 500m

The heat went well and Drew qualified for the Semi. The Semi had a little different outcome. Being a sprint race, the start is very important and that ankle just wasn't a 100% and Drew had to come from the back and in the process, he made a pass and on a questionable judgement call, Drew was disqualified.

Drew 1000m

Down but not out. Drew fought the pain in that ankle and made it through the heat,semi and onto the final. The Semi took it's final toll on him and at this point it was time for a heart to heart and get into his head. The race roughly last for about a minute and 50 seconds, as his coach,mentor and friend, I told Drew that for the next 1:50 he had to do what he needed to do, what he trained to do and at the end, he will have two months to heal that ankle. Drew went out and having to come from dead last off the start, he starting moving up picking people off left and right. Coming into the last corner he set up his move to make the eagle hawk at the line for second giving him 20 points and third overall for the meet. If he would have just been able to move up one lap earlier, he may have edged out first as well.

I would like to say thank you to Drew for showing such dedicaton and the ability to block out pain and go chase what he has worked so hard for.