Another Shot
BUTLER TWP — Liz Simms doesn't remember tumbling to the scorching Shippensburg University track mere meters from the finish line.
“I just remember looking up at the sky and thinking, 'I better get up,'” Simms said.
She did, but not before seven other runners had passed her on that sweltering day in late May at the PIAA Track and Field Championships.
Simms was running the anchor leg of the Butler girls' 3,200-meter relay and was well ahead of the pack before the heat became too much for her body to endure.
Simms and her teammates stayed in a dormitory at Shippensburg University that was not air-conditioned during the unseasonably warm state track weekend.
It all conspired to wobble Simms' legs about 100 meters away from the finish line.
“My body was telling me to chill out,” Simms said. “But I kept pushing. I knew we were winning and I knew we had a chance at the (WPIAL record time of 9 minutes, 9.99 seconds). I was going for it — that was our goal all season. Unfortunately, my body told me to stop.”
The Golden Tornado still finished eighth and Maggie Welty, Erin LeMay, Chesna Tomko and Simms each received a medal for their effort, but the experience left the quartet wanting more.
Lucky for them, they'll get one more chance.
The Butler girls 3,200- and 1,600-meter relay teams both qualified for the New Balance Nationals Outdoor meet in Greensboro, N.C., which begin Friday.
“I'm just glad I don't have to wait another six months to get back on the track,” Simms said. “It's nice to have a chance to have a good memory to end the season with instead of that bad one.
“I try not to dwell on it,” Simms added. “I've been really hungry to race again. I couldn't really control it. It just happened.”
Simms, who just completed her junior year, will run on both relays at the national meet.
So will Welty, who will be filling in for Gabby Boden on the 1,600 relay because Boden is unable to compete.
Tomko and Maddie Tonini are also on the 1,600 relay.
That relay placed sixth at the state meet with Anna Baxter running a leg.
Welty is relishing her chance to spend a few more weeks with her teammates and friends before they scatter to the four winds.
Welty will run at Penn State University next season.
“I'm really excited because I get to put off graduating from high school, which is kind of sad for me,” Welty said, chuckling. “And we get a chance at a little redemption from states.”
Welty said she knew Simms was in trouble on the final straightaway and was hoping she could finish.When her teammate fell, her only thought was about her wellbeing.“It was scary,” Welty said. “I figured it was heat exhaustion. I was glad when she got up.”Welty and the rest of her relay teammates have been working more on their speed in preparation for the national meet.“We have a lot of miles on our legs already,” Simms said, chuckling.Butler girls track and field coach John Williams said the workouts so far have been excellent.“They're flying and looking awesome,” Williams said.“Maggie is sneaky fast. She's such a competitor,” Williams added. “She ran the 4x4 at the Tri-State meet (in April) an ran probably the fastest time of the year. She's really believing in herself now.”And there's also the unfinished business angle, which Williams thinks will motivate the relay teams even more.“What happened at the state meet was almost like an out-of-body experience,” Williams said. “It was like, 'What happened?'“That's the beauty of sports,” he added. “They get another chance.”
