Now that it is regional week we are not only looking forward to all the competitions over the next few days but also looking back at some of the best ones ever. Here is Midlothian Coach, Stan Morgan's take one what he thought was his most memorable region meet.
Probably one of the Region Meets that I remember and stick's with me; is the 2003 Central Region Meet. We dominated at the Dominion District Meet and went into the Region Meet as a contender. That particular meet, we didn't step up and perform the way I thought we were capable of and end up 3rd. The way we ran that day; I wasn't sure we were getting out at all.
The following week we go to Great Meadows and win the AAA State Championship. Our top individual that day was Billy Berlin, who went on to run at Virginia Tech; having a great career.
Behind Billy was Ryan Witt, the oldest of the three Witt boys to impact the Midlothian program.
It was one of the most memorable; just because the way it all played out. The guys were a little cocky, after the District Meet and I told them, they needed to realize that J.R. Tucker, Maggie Walker and Freeman would be very tough. When we didn't perform that well and they were sweating during the awards; it gave them a new perspective.
I think there was no one with a really outstanding performance that day or we would have finished higher. Billy Berlin was solid, but not outstanding, along with Ryan Witt and Pat Harding.
On workouts leading up:
The workouts going into this meet and all the Region/State Meets are the same. I start four weeks out from States with a certain workout pattern and then go from there. We really try to place our focus on the two big Meets at the end of the year. All the invitations are good, but the only meets that people remember, are your State Meet victories.
The other Region Meet that stands out is the 2006 Regional Championships, the Girls and Boys were both Regional Champs and dominated; putting five girls in the Top 15 and six boys in the top 15. The following week we went to the State AAA Meet and won the Girls and Boys AAA State Titles . After the State Meet we traveled to Cary N.C. to try and qualify for the Nike National Meet. Both the Girls and Boys qualified for the National Meet and traveled to Portland, Or. For the big show. Jason Witt had an outstanding meet , finishing 7th overall in the Boys Championship Race.