It's always exciting to talk to one of the top track and field coaches in the country, NDCL Lions Head Track and Field Coach Ralph White.
It’s always exciting to talk to one of the top track and field coaches in the country, NDCL Lions Head Track and Field Coach Ralph White.
On April 9, White and the NDCL program hosted an early-season meet which included teams from Hawken, West Geauga, Brush and Beaumont.
Before becoming coach in 2020, White had a storied national and international coaching career. In fact, he coached 31 national champions and 15 Olympians, three of whom won Gold Medals.
For this weekday meet, White emphasized the need to help athletes gain experience as they start the season. The coaching staff is in the process of determining who will be part of NDCL relay teams moving forward.
There are already clear number one and two runners for each relay team, he said. However, the next six runners, in the third through eighth positions, are all running very similar times.
Highlights for NDCL at the April 9 meet included Mia Trusso winning the girls 200m, Peter Bates winning the boys 1600M, and the NDCL boys 4×400m and 4x200m relay teams finishing first.
In the girls 200m, Trusso came from behind on the last stretch of the race as she defeated her competitor from Brush by .08 seconds.
“I knew from the start that I had a really good start in the blocks,” Trusso said. “I ran out of the blocks. Then down the back stretch, I heard my teammates cheering for me. I saw the other girl was next to me. I’m like, ‘I know I got this,’ and just finished strong.”
White said Trusso’s victory in the 200m was related to her desire to win.
“She saw she had an opportunity and she dug down deep,” he said, adding that Trusso is a leader and works hard.
“Being a good athlete, being coachable and wanting to do well, she has that desire, which makes a big difference, too,” White said. “All the factors that you’re looking for in an athlete, Mia has them.”
After winning the boys 1600M race, Bates said he was just trying to have a good, comfortable race to start the season, not feeling worried about time since it is so early.
“We got it done,” Bates said. “It was just fun to get in a race and start the season well.”
Afterward, White had this to say: “Peter Bates is a really good athlete. He’s a very hard worker (and) very focused.
“Peter is very versatile, he can run the 800, which he does very well, but he can also run a two-mile. We’re figuring out which is the best race for him. Whichever one he is put in, he always gives 110 percent.”
White also talked about the progression the 4x400m boys relay team has made throughout the year. Many people thought NDCL’s boys 4×400 team wouldn’t do as well this year because all of the previous 4x400m runners graduated in 2023, he said.
“The kids just stepped up,” White said. “When everyone was doubting us saying ‘NDCL has lost everybody, they are going to have a down year,’ they kind of took that personally.”
Because of the motivation to succeed, White said some 4x400M runners averaged more than five seconds of improvement in the 400 this year.
“It’s nice to have one person do that, but when you get four of them to do that, it’s kinds of neat,” he said.
With the excellent progress the boys 400m relay team made this year, they also won the indoor state championship in early March at the Spire Institute.
Delivering first-place finishes April 9 were Rob Bonchak, Brennen Burke, Sean Butler and Colm Matheney in the boys 4x400m relay; and Ben Herczog, Casey McInnerny, Daniel Noronha and Zach Nieto in the boys 4x200m relay.
