When the Pine Forest girls track team landed in Eugene, Ore., on Thursday afternoon, it was as if they entered an entirely different world.
They immediately were whisked to the University of Oregon, where they're competing today in the Nike Track Nationals, an elite event in which the top 12 girls teams and top 12 boys teams in the country compete for a national title.
They dropped off their bags in their dorm rooms, located adjacent to the famous Hayward Field, where the nation's best athletes currently are competing in the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
Then, they were showered with gifts: new uniforms, new Nike running shoes, new warm-up suits. After that, all seven of the competing athletes were fitted for their own personal track spikes.
"I've never seen a town this crazy about track and field," said Paul Bryan, the Eagles' head track coach. "It's wild out here."
But today, the girls will be competing against the nation's best for a national title. That reality is starting to sink in.
"I just want to run in a personal-best time," said Johna' Whitaker, a rising junior who's competing in the 100-meter hurdles. "I love to run against people who are going to push me. Even if I'm not going to win, it's always better to run a faster time."
Whitaker currently is seeded third in her event, Bryan said. But several of the girls who are seeded behind her are just one-hundredths of a second off Whitaker's personal-best time of 14.12 seconds.
Darroneshia Lott, the three-time Class 3A 800-meter state champion, has an even bigger challenge to face. In the 800 meters, she'll be competing against Amy Weissenbach, a rising senior from Hollywood, Calif., who on Thursday night was named the nation's Female Track Athlete of the Year by both Nike and Gatorade.
Weissenbach's best time this year in the 800 is 2:02.04. To put how fast that is into perspective, the time is faster than the top qualifier for this week's U.S. national meet (Phoebe Wright, Nike, 2:03.42), plus would have won the NCAA Division I championship (Anne Kesselring, Oregon, 2:02.15).
"Darroneshia is about to run against her," Bryan said. "We're realistic about what we can and can't do."
Lott, who signed with three-time defending junior college national champion South Plains College from Levelland, Texas, also has a tough field in the mile run. Latorria Bell, an Ole Miss signee, is ranked in the middle of the pack in the 100, Bryan said.
But the Eagles had a good workout Friday morning. And what's most important to the team's seven competing athletes is that they take advantage of this opportunity, doing their best when it comes time to compete. In the meantime, they're just trying to take everything in.
"It's been a great experience," Whitaker said. "At first, I was nervous. But when I got back out on the track (Friday), I started to focus and put my head in the game. I'm not shaking anymore. I'm focused."
