PATRICK SCHMIEDT Star-Tribune staff writer | Posted: Friday, May 9, 2008 12:00 am
At the starting line, Trevor Ricks has no respect.
Starting in the innermost two-lane alley, Ricks is shoved to the back behind three other runners.
Ricks doesn't try to push his way back to the front. Instead, he takes his spot behind the others, hands together near his waist, looking down at the track, waiting for the gun to start the eight-lap race.
Then the race starts.
And that's where Ricks earns the respect he didn't have moments before.
By the third lap, he has the lead.
By the sixth lap, he has pulled away from all but one other runner.
By the seventh lap, he leads by nearly 25 meters.
By the end of the race, he's so far out in front that he's already caught his breath by the time the second-place finisher crosses the line.
And that's how he works. Nothing flashy, nothing dramatic. Just clean, efficient running.
"He's pretty quiet that way," Star Valley distance coach Ty Draney said. "You're not going to see him pulling off his shirt and pounding his chest."
In fact, Ricks barely cracked a smile after winning the 3200 meters on Friday at the Class 4A West Regional at the NCHS track in Casper. Partly, his time - 10 minutes, 7.10 seconds, great for most high school runners but not for Ricks - was not worthy of a celebration. Partly, he knows his biggest test is yet to come.
The state champion in the 1600 and 3200 in Class 3A last year, Ricks' senior season started with the Braves' jump to 4A. With that jump came a ton of new competition, including a host of runners from the East Region that will be his main competition next week at the Wyoming State High School Track and Field Championships.
While the jump to 4A has been motivating Ricks this year, more than that, he's trying to catch the eye of college recruiters and finish strong in his last year of high school. He's looking most closely at Utah State and Utah Valley State, but nothing will be certain until after next week.
Without many teammates to rely on - he was the only runner from Star Valley in the 3200 - Ricks has been forced to do most of his training on his own. Draney said that hasn't been a problem, as the Braves' 36-year-old school records in the distance races have given Ricks the motivation he needs.
Those records were set by Kevin Hyde, who was later an all-America runner at BYU.
Ricks said his improvement has come slow, almost too slow for his liking. He didn't match his personal best in the 1600 or 3200 until last week, and he still has yet to match his best in the 800 from a year ago. But he likes to keep his expectations high.
"More has been expected out of me, so I expect more out of my training," Ricks said.
And if that isn't enough, runners like Gillette's Dominick Robinson, Cheyenne Central's Laine Parish and Cheyenne East's Austin Huff will all be waiting at state.
Ricks has plenty of respect for those guys, who he's raced against during the cross country and indoor track seasons.
"They've been in the back of my mind for a while now," Ricks said.
And Ricks will probably earn a bit more respect at the starting line next week than he did on Friday. He's certainly earned it.
Contact high school sports coordinator Patrick Schmiedt at (307) 266-0615 or patrick.schmiedt@trib.com.