By the time Jim Thorpe logged its second competition of the season, the Olympians had spent less than a handful of days on the track.

The majority of the track workouts had taken place on the school’s turf field because of construction at the school’s stadium to that point, though some have been held in the parking lot or in the grass.

Lydia Wallace, A.J. Bailor and Kaila O’Connor all set new school records as Jim Thorpe swept the meet against Tamaqua in early April.

That trend has continued throughout the season

The Olympians have set six individual school records and tied another this season.

This weekend, Jim Thorpe will send four individuals to Shippensburg University for the PIAA Track and Field Championships to cap what has been a remarkable season for the program, one that was completed without the use of its track.

“As the season progressed and construction ramped up, the creativity was challenging at times,” said Olympians’ head coach Frank Miller. “We had instances where construction ran late and despite having a plan in place, we were told a few minutes before practice that we didn’t have stadium access and had to adapt on the fly workout plans, approach, and even at times location.

“We were fortunate to have access to Bear Creek Park when we needed, and as the season progressed do some technical specific work on a track of a local school district, which really helped out the kids come the postseason. Based on the lack of access to a track, we used all dual meets as training sessions for the kids. Moved them around for focused work and what came of the team score, came of the team score. Focus became the postseason from the get-go this season.”

And it has paid dividends.

Peak performance

Freshman Kaila O’Connor enters this weekend’s state meet as the fifth seed in the Class 3A 100 and the 11th seed in the 200.

O’Connor has set school records in both the 100 (12.30) and 200 (25.45) this year.

Wallace, who was sixth in the Class 2A 300 hurdles in 2019, also broke the record in the 100 hurdles this season at 15.71. She is seeded 12th in the Class 3A event this weekend.

“The dynamic has been very positive,” Miller said of Wallace and O’Connor. “They were soccer teammates this past season as well. Also, Lydia is just a phenomenal leader; every drill, warmup activity, etc. is done with purpose and intent, and that is passed down to all her teammates. Kaila, much like Lydia, attacks the day in the same manner. There are definite similarities in their approach to competition and practice.”

A.J. Bailor and Aiden Clements will join Wallace and O’Connor in Shippensburg in the shot put and pole vault, respectively.

Bailor set school records in the shot put (56-9.25) and discus (146-9) while Clements owns the mark in the pole vault (12-9).

While not a state qualifier, Laura Clarke tied the school record in the discus at 106-7.

Complicated construction

Once Miller realized the track would likely be unusable, the wheels started turning for possible alternatives, though that proved more difficult than in the past.

“It was soon after the conclusion of the fall sports season that the realization of not having a track became a reality for the coaching staff and student athletes,” he said. “Those winter months where we have some time to think and prepare were critical. To compound the lack of track we were also dealing with COVID protocols and such so we knew that many facilities would be “locked down” after their programs completed practice and access for large groups would not be attainable.

“In the past seasons, schools with cinder tracks would coordinate and work together to try and get as many kids training on all weather surfaces as possible. It was another frustration added to the mix that knowing the coaches of other local programs would have their hands tied especially early in the season in providing you help while the construction project was ongoing in the early phases.”

Time management

In addition to a dual meet schedule, Thorpe also entered invitationals at Cumberland Valley, Wilson West Lawn, Upper Darby and Shamokin.

Those meets often served as more than just competitions.

“This was a major concern going into the postseason, ‘How would the lack of being able to complete some critical workouts for us impact that performance?’” said Miller. “What we saw was with the dual meet and invite schedule we ended up with; we wouldn’t have been able to incorporate many of those “critical” workouts during the season anyways.

“It was that force that led us to use the dual meets as those critical workouts for the kids; when you have access to a track during meets, take advantage of it! That was a concept that the kids really did an excellent job at managing performance expectations and long term outcomes. There was no doubt some tired legs by the end of the dual meet, but it was understood what the philosophy was which led to some of the successes we had this season.”

Thorpe’s adaptability throughout the season - at meets and in practice - has been vital.

“The kids’ attitudes have been tremendous this season in their flexibility and willingness to change some of their habits, especially the upperclassmen that have developed a routine over their careers,” said Miller. “We saw this change the most with our jumpers this season. Using a rollout runway for long and triple jump as well as either the turf or blacktop for high jump; an emphasis of “quality over quantity” really became the mindset. As a coach, I provided them the flexibility in terms of reps, drills, etc., and they made the call when they were finished for the day.

“One of our guiding principles is “undertrained and fresh is better than over-trained and tired.” At a point in the midseason, many of the kids were saying they were “tired and had no bounce.” We talked and came to the conclusion (not sure if it was correct or not) that the softness of the new turf was almost like training everyday in the sand of a beach. At this point, we scaled back even more to allow recovery. It was uncomfortable for the kids as well as the coaches, but we as a staff felt it was our only option.”

Silver lining

Whether on the track or in the field, the Olympians have thrived.

And in a season with no shortage of unknowns after last spring was wiped out by the coronavirus pandemic, neither Miller or his team takes the opportunities they’ve had this season for granted.

“Not having the ability to host home meets, the Olympian Invite, traveling all over the eastern half of PA for invites this year and now even traveling most days for training for the district and state meet has added some additional adversity to the kids and staff but at the end of the day, we got an opportunity to compete this year, have had kids drop some phenomenal performances, and undoubtedly continued to grow the track and field program at Jim Thorpe in a positive manner,” said Miller. “So all in all, we overcame the obstacles thrown at us, controlled our controllables and hope to have a State meet this upcoming Memorial Day Weekend that will create memories for us all.”

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The following individuals and teams will be competing at this weekend’s state meet:

GIRLS

Class 2A

Autumn Steibler, Panther Valley, 300 hurdles, 23rd, 50.61 (25 individuals)

Ana Recker, Palmerton, pole vault, 15th, 9-3 (19 individuals)

Class 3A

Brittney Bartasavage, Lehighton, 100 hurdles, 15th, 15.61 (24 individuals)

Kaila O’Connor, Jim Thorpe, 100, fifth, 12.33 (24 individuals)

Lydia Wallace, Jim Thorpe, 300 hurdles, 12th, 46.31 (24 individuals)

Kaila O’Connor, Jim Thorpe, 200, 11th, 25.45 (28 individuals)

Kelsey Gaston, Lehighton, 3200, 24th, 11:52.66 (27 individuals)

Abigail Meckes, Lehighton, discus, 11th, 120-7, (23 individuals)

Abigail Meckes, Lehighton, javelin, 12th, 123-7 (26 individuals)

BOYS

Class 2A

Jonathan Perloni, Palmerton, 110 hurdles, eighth, 15.56 (24 individuals)

Michael Fellin, Marian, 100, second, 11.0 (26 individuals)

Marian 400 relay, 11th, 44.09 (24 teams)

Ean Chelak, Marian, 400, 18th, 51.22 (24 individuals)

Owen Hibell, Palmerton, 3200, 23rd, 10:27.74 (24 individuals)

Class 3A

Aiden Clements, Jim Thorpe, pole vault, 21st, 12-9 (24 individuals)

A.J. Bailor, Jim Thorpe, shot put, seventh, 55-0 (24 individuals)

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TRIP TO SHIP

... Panther Valley’s Autumn Steibler will be competing in the Class 2A 300 hurdles in place of Pine Grove’s Abigail Frew, who was the district runner-up. Steibler was third at last week’s district meet.

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HOW TO WATCH

... PCN is bringing fans back to the track for the PIAA Track and Field Championships on Friday and Saturday. Coverage starts at 10:15 a.m. each day and includes live and recorded track and field events. Fans can watch the championships on cable and stream with PCN Select.

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THE DETAILS

... The Class 2A competition will take place on Friday with 3A events to be held on Saturday in one-day formats for both. A top-eight finish earns a state medal. Action begins both days at 9 a.m.