SOLOMON LEARNED FROM INTERNATIONALS
800 star DUANE SOLOMON (pictured here on the set of the Lompoc Locker Room TV Show Christmas Special) was watching and learning last season when he earned berths in the Pan-American Games and the World Championships.
“There’s a lot more strategy in international races,” he said Friday while taping a television interview to be aired Monday, Dec. 24.
“It’s way different. They can run any way they want. They can go slow and all of a sudden just step up or they can go all out. They watch you. They know what you do.
“At the worlds I took it out pretty hard but they came back on me with 200 meters to go. And they were gone.
“So it’s a good thing to have another way to run. Instead of running always in front I can hang back a little bit and come back at the end. I’m trying to work on my end of the race right now.”
Solomon has shown ability to come from behind. At the national championships in Indianapolis he overtook Jonathan Johnson of Reebok in the closing strides on two occasions. The first took place when the Lompocan won his semifinal and again when he finished third in the final.
Solomon said he would use the early track season, beginning in March to experiment with different strategies.
Solomon added that international races are more physical than in the U.S. For that reason he has increased his weight work to ensure he is stronger than last season. “Not to get buff but work my abs and stay strong.”
He said he believes he can take another second off his personal best time of 1:45.69. “I took about two seconds off in less than a year. At 1:44.4 or 1:44.3 I’ll be able to be in the top two (in the U.S.). I’m excited.”
Running one second faster, Solomon would break the NCAA record of 1:44.70 set in 1990. “It’ll stand for a while,” he vowed. Ryan Brown won the NCAA last year with a time of 1:46.29.
Solomon said his annual timetable is already geared for the Olympic trials in July. If he makes the Olympic team he will be the first Lompocan to do so since Nick Carter in 1920.
The interview will be aired on Monday, December 24 at 5:30.
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VAI
He finished the season having appeared in eight of the Wolfpack’s 13 games. He carried the pigskin 19 times for 112 yards for a 5.9-yard average, the highest of any Nevada running back with a significant number of carries. His longest run went for 20 yards and he scored the first touchdown of his collegiate career. It was an 11-yarder in the closing minutes of a victory over Idaho.
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COE, CARMONA ON TV
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VOTING CLOSES WITH BLIZZARD OF VOTES
"Avalanche" is too small a word. So is "landslide." A movement of seismic proportions sent 144 separate votes to the ballot box Sunday in Lompoc Locker Room’s ‘Peoples Choice’ Athlete of the Year balloting. The size of the outpouring made counting impossible [and WON'T happen on Christmas Eve nor Christmas I can assure you]. Results will be announced in the coming days with the winners invited to appear on Lompoc Locker Room—the TV Show to air on New Year’s Eve.
At last count WES HAIN was leading overall voting, with CHRIS WHITE and DANNY DUFFY running neck-and-neck in the male athlete category. KELLIE GEORGE was far ahead among female athletes, ROY BACA was in a tight race with COREY McINTYRE for Coach of the Year, and Cabrillo girls water polo led in the Team of the Year division.
But ... 144 votes puts everything up in the air, folks. Thanks for participating. Wow.
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