‘Preparation equals success'

Gass leads Leonardtown on and off of the track

Friday, March 12, 2010

Senior Jessica Gass and the Leonardtown indoor track and field teams made the most of the winter postseason and took the initiative to meet at the drill hall at the Patuxent River Naval Air Station just to get some practice time in with schools being closed for nearly two weeks last month.

The Class 4A East regional meet went on as scheduled on Feb. 2, despite afterschool activities being canceled in Southern Maryland. That meant Leonardtown, Great Mills and North Point were forced to find another regional meet to qualify athletes for the state meet. Two days later, the three schools ran alongside participants in the 4A Central meet. Athletes had to beat the fourth-place finishers from the 4A East meet to move on to states.

Then, back-to-back blizzards in a week forced the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association to postpone the state meets a week.

"We had to take it day by day and do what we thought was best on our own," said Gass, the All-County girls indoor track and field athlete of the year "The postseason was hectic. As days went by, schools around the tri-county area kept closing and schedules for the region and state meets were postponed. The indoor facility [on base] made running somewhat possible, but it wasn't the same. Sometimes weather gets to the point where the treadmill is the last resort. All in all, track runners stuck through it and ended the season to the best of our abilities. There is no doubt that we will remember the process that got us there."

Leonardtown head indoor track and field coach Shawn Snyder is happy to have seen such leadership among the team this winter. Snyder said that his team is supportive of Gass because she is supportive of them.

"I believe she [Jessica] is a more complete runner this year," Snyder says. "She understands how to run a race, how to pace, how to cool down properly and how to train. Her coaches have done a great job in preparing her."

Freshman Rachel Labatt was all in favor of working out with those seniors that she looks up to and said she has enjoyed working out and competing with some of the best talent in the tri-county area and was among one of the runners who met at the drill hall for workouts.

"We had great communication and exchanged cell numbers," Labatt said. "We worked out from 1-3 p.m. every day and our coach said he really liked our togetherness and that we did show great leadership and this shows how dedicated we all are."

Labatt has followed in the family footsteps by taking up running and states that she is using the family genetics to compete at a high level with juniors and seniors, while being a new freshman runner.

"I hadn't run a day in my life until cross country and my times are getting even better," Labatt said. "It's great because I run just like my aunt Tammy – we have the same stride and everything. One of my favorite memories was running at the Calvert Invitational and being able to compete against Caroline Parris and Emma Bahneman and there was just .01 seconds between Emma and I. I placed fourth just behind her. I so wanted to beat her."

Labatt specifically listens for Gass' voice while out on the track and gains momentum from her leadership.

"I do listen for her voice out there," Labatt said. "I will miss the seniors and Jessica has just taken me under their wing this year and have encouraged me and are always willing to go out of their way. All six of us who made it to states will be running for the outdoor season. My goal in outdoor is to try for a 12-minute two-mile, but I'm up for whatever challenge the coaches have for me."

At states, Ashley Weston, Labatt, Teresa Paz and Cara McLaughlin finished 10th in the 3,200 relay with a time of 10:13.56.

"We were excited," said Weston, a junior. "I hope this team is remembered as a team that had chemistry. We all really get along with each other and I'm looking forward to the outdoor season. My goal is to get under 2:30 in the 800. That would be thrilling for me."

Snyder is also looking forward to outdoor season.

"As of now, we are just looking forward to competing in the outdoor season," Snyder said. "I know I will be excited to see Jessica compete at some of the invitationals we will be going to. For Jessica, it's pretty basic — preparation equals success.  She has worked extremely hard over the past three years to get where she is today."

tshowalter@somdnews.com