Fairview’s Bashir Ahmed hands off the baton to Wade Clark as the Warriors’ 800 relay runs to victory last Friday night at the 32nd annual Warrior Relays. Fairview went on to win the Division II title and finish fourth overall. (West Life photo by Larry Bennet)

The future arrives for youthful Warriors
By Jim Horvath
Sports
Published April 28, 2010

After last year’s West Shore Conference Meet, Fairview head coach Rich Friel had a simple, to the point message for his young boys track and field squad.

“You guys are the future,” he told them.

Well, it’s 2010, and the future is here.

The Warriors went into this week with a WSC dual meet record of 4-1 and a first-place finish in the Division II standings at their own Warrior Relays last Friday night. That’s a big change for the better after finishing at or near the bottom of the league over the past three to four seasons.

“We’re really excited about our young kids,” Friel said last Saturday. “There’s a little bit of a buzz about our boys team. We’ve been down for a few years. Our girls have been the ones making all the noise during that time, but now the trend is starting to turn.

“I wish we could get both teams going at the same time,” he added.

Only a narrow 71-66 loss to Bay has kept Fairview from an undefeated regular season to this point. The Warriors rebounded nicely from that loss on their home track last Wednesday with a 71-66 win over Midview. Last Friday night at the 32nd annual Warrior Relays, the boys won the 800 and 1600 relays to win the small school title and finish fourth overall in the eight-team field.

Friel, however, will be the first one to tell you that his squad is still in a state of flux despite the early-season success.

“I was doing my stats this morning, and it’s funny how different this season is,” Friel said.

“In the past few years, we’ve had to stretch out four to five guys throughout the relay events,” he said. “This year, we’ve got seven to eight guys, with some more younger kids starting to develop. It’s nice to have options.

“It’s kind of crazy when I’m making out our lineup, because now we can figure out which events we really want to go after when we compete in the bigger meets. We’ll get another big test this Friday,” he said, referring to Friday’s entry in the Berea Relays.

Last Friday, the Warriors got off to a strong start with their win in the 800 relay. James Graham, James Roland, Bashir Ahmed and Wade Clark came through with a time of 1:35.0. That team is a prime example of why Friel and his staff are so optimistic about the team’s potential, both this year and beyond:

Only Graham is a senior.

“We’ve got a core group of sophomores and juniors, with a couple of seniors contributing this year,” Friel said. “And we also have a number of promising freshmen who are starting to make contributions.”

Another young gun, sophomore hurdler Chris Gillmore, joined in the fun for the 1600 relay. Gillmore, teamed up with Roland, Graham and Wade, won the event with a time of 3:33.9. The Warriors also took second in the 3200 relay, along with claiming third-place finishes in the sprint relay, the 400 relay and the shuttle hurdles.

Still, Friel said the best may be yet to come for his young squad. He said the program’s approach to the dual meet season is geared toward success down the road.

“It’s nice to see some solid performances during the week,” Friel said. “But with our program, our Wednesday meets are nothing more than another workout. Last Wednesday, for example, Wade ran in two events. He was laughing, because it was halfway through the meet and he had nothing left to do.

“But that keeps the guys fresh for the bigger meets on the weekends,” he said. “On Wednesdays, a lot of the guys won’t do too much, maybe work on some exchanges. That allows us to let some of our younger kids get some varsity experience.

“Doing well in the regular season is nice to see. But when the dust all settles, it’s at the conference and district meets that we want to turn in our best performances,” he said.

As with all young teams, mistakes tend to happen. Three disqualifications last Friday prevented the Warriors from a better finish in the overall standings. Midpark won the overall title with 109 points, but North Ridgeville and Olmsted Falls were in second and third with scores of 86 and 83, respectively. Fairview had 67 points, just 16 points out of third.

“The mistakes we made are correctable,” Friel said. “I would rather make them now than later in the season.”