Salem's four-by-four crew has
been a force all season long

BY ED WRIGHT
June 2, 2010, 9:55 p.m.

  To fully appreciate how amazing Salem's school record-breaking 1,600-meter relay performance was two weeks ago, you'd have to run a mile in Dan Martin, Zack Gaskell, Kenny Middlebrooks and Scott O'Connor's shoes.

  And if you can do that, you're pretty darn fast.

  The Rocks' four-by-"force"-some scorched the PCEP varsity stadium track in 3 minutes, 22.5 seconds, a mark that broke the former record that was set when Gerald Ford was President.

  Not surprisingly, the record didn't come easy. It took a relentless dedication to training, patience and, above all, talent.

  "Zack Gaskell and Scott O'Connor were on the team that broke the freshmen record in the four-by-four in 2007," said Salem track and field coach Kyle Meteyer. "We knew if they stuck at it, they have a chance to break the school record when they were seniors.

  "Thankfully, they stuck around, and Scott no only broke the 1,600 relay record, but he broke the 300 intermediate hurdles record."

  "I'm very happy for these guys. They're seeded fifth in the state meet, three seconds behind the leaders. If the leaders have a bad day and we have a good day, it could be a very good day for us."

  Meteyer heaped strong praise on all four of the record breakers, who run a stretch -- 400 meters -- that is considered one of the most grueling events in track and field given it's an all-out sprint over an extended distance.

  "All four of these guys are very coachable and they all have goals they want to reach," said Meteyer. "Some of their goals are records, others are getting into college sports, that kind of thing."

  Even though hand-offs are always crucial for successful relays, longer events like the 1,600 don't requite a significant amount of practice, Meteyer said.

  "We don't practice them as much because they're not blind handoffs like you have in the 400 and 800," said Meteyer. "The key to racing well is so much mental. You can get blown out of the water -- even if you're in shape -- if you look at, let's say, East Kentwood's kids who are pushing sub 3:20s. Our guys have to go into the meet thinking they're undefeated, which they are, not about how fast East Kentwood is. Nobody's beaten us yet -- that has to be our mindset. We can beat anybody."

  The newest member to the Rocks four-by-four contingent is Middlebrooks, who took over for Dominique Williams after he suffered an injury in football this past fall.

  "It's all about determination, endurance and trying to get ahead of the guy in front of your," said Middlebrooks. "If you have a lead, you have to maintain it and build on it."

  Middlebrooks has altered his 400 strategy a bit this spring.

  "In the beginning, I went out like the 200 then run the last 150 all out," he said. "Now I sprint the whole way.  I PR'ed at Regional with a 51 flat. I'm hoping I can get lower than that at the state meet."

  Martin, who like Middlebrooks is a junior, said track helps his top-notch soccer career, but soccer is not the reason he runs track.

  "I run track because I love it, not just to get in shape for soccer," he said. "It's great for my conditioning because I end up running year-round. Soccer and track complement each other well."

  Martin wasn't in Meteyer's early plans for the four-by-four unit.

  "Actually, I expected to be more of a miler this year, but I tried a couple 800's and open 4's and I surpassed my expectations," Martin said.

  In his first two years of track, Martin said he was influenced by how fast his opponents were running. Not so anymore, he added.

  "Now that I'm a junior, I pretty much run my own race," he said.

  Ed Wright can be reached at (734) 453-1980 or info@plymouthcantonsports.com.