Friday, May. 16, 2008
'He’s Just at a Different Level’
The Lonnquist Notes
Ondrasek’s programs are among the best in the state. He emphasized the importance of working hard and not resting. There may or may not have been another Colby Lowe-caliber runner in that group.
Time will tell if that will happen. But even Lowe ran at a level few have ever seen in this state. Or will ever see.
What we just witnessed with Lowe was someone who found his routine, stuck to it and just excelled.
Between the Class 5A state cross country and track and field meets in his four-year career, Lowe walked away with seven gold medals. He won two in cross country and five between the 1600 and 3200.
That just doesn’t happen.
"It was just about his consistency that made his time here very successful," Ondrasek said. "He was just adamant about doing things right. Few have had the focus and were driven to do what he did."
Think about this regarding the state track meet: Running the 3200 in about 9:10-9:20 is usually going to get you to the top of the podium. And running the 1600 in about 4:10-4:20 is usually going to get you to the top of the podium.
Heck, this year, those times were lucky to be even on the podium.
Lowe just blew those benchmark times away. He ran the 3200 in 8:53 and the 1600 in 4:06. He won the big one by 22 seconds.
"I was talking to some coaches from The Woodlands, and they were saying they’ve been in the profession a long time, and they’ve never seen anything like this,” Ondrasek said. "He’s just at a different level."
Maybe the key to being an excellent runner is sustaining the best speed at the longest distance. Of course, that’s not very easy to do.
Ondrasek said Lowe probably wasn’t the fastest runner to ever come through his program. But the difference was that his footspeed was nearly perfect and that he could maintain his speed for far greater distances. With the faster runners, it’s always a situation of channeling it properly.
Now, Lowe will head to Stillwater, Okla., this summer to run for Oklahoma State. He chose the Cowboys over Texas A&M and Texas. That may be the only frustration for the Texas track and field fans. They’re going to have to go north of the Red River to go watch Lowe run.
College track is a different game. Obviously, the runners are better and the training is better and more demanding. Lowe will have to make some adjustments like every athlete must do. But Ondrasek sees Lowe’s transition being fairly seamless.
"He can adapt to the training programs pretty well, and he’s used to running the 5K and 10K pretty consistently," Ondrasek said. "But I do think he’s going to make an immediate impact with them."
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