Recently, two separate events once again proved how incredibly impressive our young women in America can be: one, an example of pure sportsmanship at its finest, and the other, an example of pure desire, determination and substance.
The first event occurred at the Class 4A Washington state track and field championship meet in Pasco, and the 3,200-meter run with Nicole Cochran, the outstanding middle-distance runner from Bellarmine Prep.
Cochran won the event in 10:36, beating Shadle Park’s Andrea Nelson by 3 seconds. Thirty minutes later, race officials disqualified Cochran, ruling that the Harvard-bound runner ran 3 consecutive steps inside the lane adjacent to hers. Bellarmine Prep coach Matt Ellis appealed the infraction, but his appeal was denied.
The violation occurred on the first day of the competition, and Cochran was visibly upset that she knew she had not committed the violation. Additionally, Cochran was the defending state champion, having won the 1600 and 3200 titles as a junior.
She never seemed to be herself after the crushing news and the sheer injustice of it all. On the second day of competition, Cochran led the 1600 and was shot on the final lap when Oak Harbor’s Mietra Smollack kicked out of her around the final turn to win in 4:56.44. Cochran finished fourth.
Later in the afternoon, Cochran ran the 800 meters and finished last in 2:24.40. “I just didn’t stay with them, and I gave up after 450 meters,” Cochran said dejectedly.
Despite losing Cochran’s points, his teammates were rightfully outraged and rose to the occasion by winning the tag team title with 76.5 points to second place Gig Harbor’s 65.
“I tried really hard on the 3200,” Cochran said, “and then there was the emotional cost, sitting here for a whole hour while they cracked the 3200, which was unfortunate because I know I wasn’t wrong and I got penalized for it.”
In a display of pure sportsmanship, as official 3200 race winner Andrea Nelson was awarded her first metal podium spot, moments later she presented her first place medal to Cochran. Redmond’s Sarah Lord followed up by giving Nelson her second place medal, and the other medal winners followed suit.
“It gave me chills,” Cochran said. “It shows how much respect long-distance runners have for each other.”
And now for the story behind the story: Ten days after that eventful afternoon, the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association reinstated Cochran as the rightful winner, overturning a rule-breaking charge brought by race officials.
WIAA executive director Mike Colbrese reviewed video of the race which showed it was Cochran’s teammate who ran out of the lane and that the officials’ report also incorrectly identified the lap in question as lap 7 when the violation occurred. it really happened on the lap. 6. So much for that failed arbitrage effort.
The officials were absolutely wrong on race day, but they were also absolutely certain that they were right and in charge on race day as well. The cat will meow, and the dog will have his day (from Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” Act 5, Scene 1, meaning “anyone’s moment of glory is inevitable), or, as I like to say, “to the right will come out.” .
The second event occurred at the Texas 1A Girls Track and Field State Championship in Austin, where Rochelle High School won the team title. So what’s so unusual, you ask? Just this: Rochelle qualified exactly one athlete for the state meet, and she herself won the state title for her team.
Meet Bonnie Richardson, a study in desire, determination and substance like no other track and field athlete in Texas high school history.
Richardson, whose middle name might be talent, spent Friday winning the high jump with 5 feet 5 inches, placed second in the long jump at 18-7 and third in discus at 121-0.
On Saturday, Richardson took to the track in sweltering 90-degree Texas heat and promptly won the 200-meter race in 25.03 and followed up the effort by nearly pulling off a huge upset in the 100 before finishing second in 12.19 for the champion. Defender Kendra Coleman of Santa Ana.
“Kendra and I have been fighting all year,” Richardson said. “I was surprised to stay with her. I didn’t think it would be that fast.” Yes, Bonnie Richardson, apparently you ARE THAT fast.
So did Richardson steal the show in Texas? Nah, she just beat her team to the state title all by herself. Officials with the Collegiate Interscholastic League could not recall a girl having won a state team title on her own.
It happened before in the boys’ state championship when former Balyor Bear and Pittsburgh Steeler Frank Pollard did it for Meridian Highs School in the 1970s, UIL athletics director Charles Breithaupt said.
Many top athletes have dominated state meets, but few make it from sprinting to field events with Richardson’s success, Beithaupt said. “The way he did it is really impressive.” That is, of course, what everyone who was there to see it happen was thinking.
And the kicker? Turns out, Rochelle High School doesn’t even have a practice track. When Richardson was asked how she trains, she jokingly replied, “Watch out for the potholes,” adding, “We have a track about 10 miles down the road and we usually train there.”
Richardson’s coach, Jim Dennis, suspected that she might do something special at the state meet, but she wisely kept quiet, not wanting to put pressure on her award-winning athlete.
Last year, Richardson won the state long jump title, but did not medal in the high jump or discus.
And the great additional fortune for Rochelle High School? Bonnie Richardson is a junior.
Richardson also competes on the Rochelle tennis team and led the Rochelle basketball team to the state semifinals last season.
“I would play football if my parents would let me,” Richardson said, adding: “Not quarterback. Defenseman.” She sounds like my type of girl: brave, competitive, and willing to solve all problems on the battlefield.
Lou Holtz, one of college football’s legendary coaches, was famous for many quotes, including this one: “When all is said and done, more is said than done.” In a way, I think Lou Holtz would have been a tremendous fan of Bonnie Richardson and her extraordinary effort on that hot Texas afternoon when she single-handedly delivered a state title to Rochelle High School.
And there you have it: Nicole Cochran, all the girls on the podium at the 3200m ceremony, Cochran’s teammates and Bonnie Richardson, all ordinary young women who did extraordinary things because they could and wanted to.
Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley