Photo by John Herzog
Shantell Bingham, the Virginia leader in the girls’ 55-meter hurdles, doesn’t see drills simply as a way of training her body. They fine-tune her nervous system.
At practice, the Episcopal senior slides hurdles closer together, then drags them farther apart. After getting the barriers set, she jumps over them in an all-out sprint. It’s all in an effort to teach her synapses to fire more quickly. She’s processing information so fast now, Episcopal assistant coach George Harris says, that it’s almost instinctive.
(Photo right by Ryan Kelly)
Bingham, who says she’s crashed into plenty of hurdles while doing drills, hopes to be smooth over the barriers at the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association Championships Saturday at St. Christopher’s in Richmond. The pre-race favorite is seeking her first gold medal in the event and hopes to break the meet record. All of her times this season except one have...
