First-year success

BY CHAD DARE

DANVILLE May 09, 2008 08:14 am

— Making the move up from middle school athletics to high school is big enough.
But Danville High freshmen Destiny Carter and Lawanda Lofton have also added new events.
Carter, who competed in the sprint events and the long jump in middle school, has added the 400-meter dash.
“I’m used to running a 100 or 200, so the added distance has taken a toll,’’ she said. “I think coach (Wesley Brown) wants me to do the same events that my sister, Shantaia Carter, did when she was in school.’’
Brown said he hopes that Destiny uses her older sister as someone to measure herself against.
“Destiny is a tough competitor, she hates to lose,’’ Brown said. “Any younger sibling wants to do better than their brother or sister that was here before them.’’
That is definitely the case for Destiny.
“I just want to run my own races and I want to do better than she did,’’ Destiny said.
While Destiny knew what she was getting into when coach put her in the 400, the same cannot be said for Lofton.
This is the first year for her to run the 100 and 300 hurdle events for the Lady Vikings.
“I didn’t want to run hurdles,’’ she said. “I always saw people tripping over them and falling to the ground, so I was probably a little scared of running them.’’
So, why did she do it?
“Coach came to me before the Big 12 indoor meet and told me that the team needed me to run them for the points,’’ Lofton said. “So, I gave it a try and I’ve really gotten a lot better at them as the outdoor season has gone along.’’
At Saturday’s Big 12 Conference outdoor meet at Champaign Centennial, Carter was third in the 400 with a time of 59.56 seconds and Lofton was fourth in the 100 hurdles with a time of 15.74 seconds.
“These girls have done a really nice job of making the move up to varsity and becoming contributors for the team,’’ said Brown, whose team was fourth in the conference.
Up next for the Lady Vikings is Friday’s IHSA Class AA sectional meet in Mattoon.
Carter hopes that she can qualify for state in all four of her events, 100, 200, 400 and long jump.
“I’m not sure what the qualifying times are, but I know that if I’m first or second, I will qualify,’’ she said.
Lofton said a big factor in whether or not she qualifies for state is her form.
“Right now, I’m really trying to work hard on getting my trail leg in a better position,’’ she said. “If I can do that, I think I might have a pretty good shot.’’
Brown agreed with Lofton, but also said that she really needs to improve in all aspects.
“When Tiffany Johnson (former Viking runner who placed at state) started as a freshman, she had to work on a lot of the same stuff,’’ Brown said. “For this being her first year, she has really done a nice job. Her form will keep improving each day in
practice.’’
Carter pointed out that both her and Lofton have one advantage over previous runners at Danville, the new all-weather track just north of the high school.
“It really helps to practice on a track rather than running in the streets,’’ she said. “Also, as a long jumper, it was kind of hard to practice without a long jump pit.’’
Brown admitted that it is a big difference this season.
“We’re finally on a level playing field with the other schools in the state,’’ he said. “I think you will see Danville teams doing better and better each season, now that we have our track.’’
While Danville goes to Mattoon for the Class AA sectional meet at 4:30 p.m., the area schools have been split up between Catlin and Paxton.
Georgetown-Ridge Farm/Chrisman and Salt Fork will run in the Class A meet at Catlin.
Heading up to Paxton will be Bismarck-Henning, Hoopeston Area, Oakwood/Armstrong-Potomac, Schlarman and Westville.
Both Class A meets will start at 4 p.m.

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