Adversity a lesson for Demons

WASHINGTON — It is said more can be learned from adversity than from success.

If that is the case, members of Washington’s track team learned from experiences at the Drake Relays in April. Lance Sobaski did not run his best race in the 3200 meters, and Elijah Morris was unable to finish his race of 400 meters.

Now Morris and Sobaski have a chance at redemption in the Class 3A meet Thursday through Saturday in Des Moines. Medals are awarded to the top eight finishers.

“The state meet is a chance to show that we can overcome adversity,” Sobaski said. “We have to do that to prove ourselves. It will show how hard we’ve been working since then.”

Sobaski qualified in the 3200, 1600 and 800. His 800 time of 2 minutes, 0.02 seconds is the 12th fastest of the 24 3A runners and close to the school record. In the 3200, his time of 9:46.21 is eighth. The 1600 is 14th at 4:36.18.

The fastest times by a Demon in the 3200 and the 1600 are both by Perry Stannard, set in 1974 (3200 in 9:37.30) and 1975 (1600 in 4:24.6).

The 800 record is 1:58.4 and set in 1969 by Daryl Shy. It is the oldest individual record on the history books for Washington track and field.

“I haven’t ran the 800 on fresh legs all year, and there will be people pushing me, so I think that’s my best shot at a record,” Sobaski said. “Nine seconds off on the 3200 is doable. In the (1600), I’ll be happy to be under 4:32."

Morris has the third fastest time in the field of 3A 400 qualifiers at 50.12. His 200 is 23rd at 23.99. Morris is the anchor leg on the sprint medley, which set a school record at the district meet to qualify for state.

Ethan Patterson, Wyatt Stout, Jacob Miller and Morris ran a 1:35.43 to break the 1:35.76 set in 2019 by Cade Hennigan, Miller, Ethan Hunt and Mitchell Driscoll. It is the fifth-fastest qualifying time in that event.

Don Adams has had the Demons 400 record since 1972 of 49.00. Brad Witthoft holds the 200 mark of 22.08, set in 1998.

“My goal for state is to redeem myself and hopefully place In the open 400,” Morris said. “I want records, but they may have to wait until next year.”

Morris has run the 200 just twice in competition, so he will be happy with whatever time he gets.

"I don’t know that I could’ve done anything different at Drake,“ Morris said. ”I’m just glad I had the opportunity to go out and learn from it.“ Cramps disabled him at Drake to the point that he had to quit running at 300 meters of his 400.

“I was tired, and it’s hard to run that hard that close together,” Morris said of running a 400 in the distance medley just minutes before the open 400. “I didn’t have enough time between the races to have a decent recovery, but state it will be a lot more spread out, so I’ll be fine.”

All the Demons have worked hard to prepare for state, but the Drake experience hasn’t made anyone work any harder than they already would. It just provided more motivation.

"It’s definitely motivating and helps me realize I need to go,“ Sobaski said. ”Because of that, I think we are where we need to be.“

Thursday will get Washington started with the 3A 3200 at 10:30 a.m. The 200 preliminaries at 11:10 a.m. The 400 finals will be at 1:30 p.m.

Friday the 4x400 relay team of Roy Carter, Ethan Patterson, Sobaski, and Morris will run in the preliminaries. Its 3:31.32 is the 16th fastest qualifier.

Saturday morning at 9:20, the sprint medley gets its chance. The 800 will be at 10 a.m., then the 200 finals at 11:35 and the 1600 at 11:40. The 4x4 finals will be at 12:35 p.m.

Having been at Drake gave the Demons a feel for the atmosphere and how the track feels. The stadium will have a whole different energy with the stands full since the attendance restrictions were lifted.

“I was nervous about Drake because I wanted to perform well, but I don’t know that I was in the head space to be intimidated,” Morris said. “But being there is going to make me a lot more confident for state.”

“I was in shock and awe just looking at the grandstands everywhere, so seeing the stadium was one thing but seeing it filled with people, I’m looking forward to it,” Sobaski said. “I’ve heard it’s tough to hear yourself think if you’re in a close race. I think that noise will help me grind it out and push through the wall.”