What Detroit Needs

The Armory? We’ve all heard of New York City’s center for indoor track & field action. But did you know it hosts over 100 competitions a year, from age group to world class? Or that it also is a dynamic community center, with after-school academic programs and college prep assistance that have sent thousands of young people on a better trajectory for life?

The Gately Center, I’m guessing just a few of you have heard of it. Opened in 2021, it has become a focal point for tracksters in Chicago and beyond. Already it’s hosting 30+ meets a year, including college and world-class. Plus, in addition to offering the community a wide variety of recreational programs, it also hosts programs by After School Matters, which has helped thousands of young people develop real skills for their future.

The “Norton Sports and Learning Center” doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, but it is doing the same thing in Louisville since 2021. Nearly 40 indoor meets were on its schedule this year, from weekly middle school meets to the ACC Championships. Developed by the Louisville Urban League, the 24-acre campus also provides educational programming (and has an outdoor track too).

All three of them feature world-class, state-of-the-art 200m banked tracks considered among the fastest in the world. That attracts college and pro competitors. All three provide opportunity for thousands of young athletes, as well as valuable enrichment programs for their future.

Why not Detroit? I can’t help but think this when I see plans for District Detroit, a $1.5 billion development that promises to offer trickle-down jobs while focusing on pro sports, entertainment, gambling and tax breaks for the wealthy investors.

Detroit—and the entire state—would benefit from a track/community center modeled on what NYC, Chicago and Louisville have already proven works. Right now the state only has one world-class indoor track & field competition venue, and with only one high school meet there a year, it’s not exactly a gamechanger. Picture a world-class venue that is good enough to attract D1 college competition and professional athletes while providing plentiful opportunity for the young people in our community. And combine that with academic programs that change lives. Surely the Ilitches and Stephen Ross’s of Michigan have what it takes to invest in a future like that.

Thanks for making it this far… I couldn’t write that headline above without thinking about all the Detroiters cringing at another old white guy who doesn’t live there spouting off about “What Detroit Needs.” My only credentials here are that I love track & field and I love and respect what the city has contributed to that sport over the decades. I truly believe that the health of track & field in Michigan is intimately tied to the health of the sport in the Motor City. A center like the one I’m talking about would have benefits and offer opportunities that go far beyond the city lines.

In the News

Thanks to spring break at many schools, it was a quiet week of competition. Still, there was enough to get a very thin version of our outdoor elite lists up and going.

Holland West Ottawa soph Ruben Esparza produced a sprint triple of 11.41/22.88/51.85 at the Frostbite Invitational in Holland. In a thrilling discus duel at Plainwell, Larson Fessenden of Edwardsburg (156-7) edged Plainwell’s Michael Griffey (155-6). And on Saturday at a low-key meet at Divine Child, Pioneer’s Rachel Forsyth clocked 2:14.96 in truly nasty weather. See the interview below for more on Rachel and her road back to the top.

Bad call, MHSAA

Our state association has teamed up with the HS football coaches association to offer “mini-combines” where high school players can show off their skills for college coaches. But rather than schedule these during football season or immediately after, they’ve plopped them down in the days before the regional track championships. For some schools, this bomb lands smack-dab on regionals day.

I would call this a bumbling mistake except that it wasn’t. It’s a financially motivated decision on the part of the MHSAA that shows just where track & field stands in its priorities. I couldn’t be more disappointed. I urge MITCA, the track coaches association, to lodge a formal protest with the MHSAA.

A Legend To Know: Lorenzo Wright, Detroit Miller 1944

He wasn’t even the star of his high school team, yet four years later, Lorenzo Wright would be an Olympic gold medalist.

At Miller High, the city championship was the biggest meet Wright ever competed at. His senior year, he won the long jump in a modest 20-3.5 and led off the winning 4 x 220 relay. At the end of the season, he was the team’s No. 3 scorer.

Wright went to Wayne State, where he blossomed into a star. In his final meet of the season, he won the 100, 220, both hurdle races, the long jump and anchored the winning 4x2. Four days later he joined the Army to fight in the final months of World War II.

Private First Class Wright returned after two years of service and picked up where he left off. He won 5 events at the 1947 conference meet and at the NCAA Championships sailed to 25-9.5 to finish 2^nd in the long jump. It was the third-longest jump in the world that year.

The next winter, he won the U.S. indoor title at 25-3.75; he was only the second man ever to go past 25-feet indoors; the first was Jesse Owens. At the Olympic Trials he finished 3^rd and was also named an alternate for the 4 x 100 relay.

In London, Wright finished a frustrated 4^th in his specialty. But he was given a chance to run second leg in the relay, and his blistering backstretch helped the U.S. win. However, an official disqualified them, saying that the pass from Barney Ewell to Wright was out of zone. The U.S. protested—and after the podium ceremony giving the gold to Britain, the British judges relented when multiple photos showed the exchange was well within the zone. Wright and his teammates were given their gold medals on the boat ride home.

Though he won another U.S. Indoor title in 1952, Wright retired after failing to qualify for the Olympic Trials. He then took a coaching job at Miller High. To add insult to injury, the AAU called that a violation of his amateur status, and banned him for life. He coached successfully in Detroit for over 15 years and in 1969 was the first African-American named in charge of the city’s high school sports programs.

Treasure From The Archives

Oh, how spoiled we’ve become, having gotten used to seeing same-day results online that show every single competitor at a track meet, with their full name, school and grade, and notes showing who PRed! Check out the official results of the 1926 Class A State Finals:

It wasn’t till after 1950 that state meet results showed first names. And not till 1967 did they include times/marks for athletes other than the winner. That’s why I sometimes pull out my hair when someone contacts me to find out what great-grandpa’s PR was back in the old days. Because unless Grandpa was the winner, those marks are usually lost to history.

History fans probably picked up on the name that won the 100/200—Eddie Tolan of Cass Tech. Just 6 years later he would do it again—at the Olympic Games.

Interview: Rachel Forsyth on the road back

Thirteen months ago, after a record-shattering indoor season, Ann Arbor Pioneer’s Rachel Forsyth was well on her way to being one of the best young runners in America. She had run a state record 2:06.30 in the 800, a 4:44.20 in the mile, 10:02.12 for 3200. She anchored her teammates to national victories in the 4x8 and distance medley and delivered a 4:38.8 anchor, the fastest in state history, on an absolute national record in the distance medley. Then she abruptly disappeared from the racing scene.

In a brave interview, the now-junior shares how she went through the toughest challenge of her life, and how she is working her way back. We talked just before she headed out for a low-key early season meet in Dearborn, her first outdoor track meet in almost 2 years.

Michtrack: That 4:53 in the 1600 last week, how did it feel?

Forsyth: I felt really strong during it. I was kind of surprised ‘cause we had Nationals a couple weeks before and I didn't have the best performance I could have had, which is a little disappointing. But I was happy to come out and I was happy that I was able to push through the middle and run a fairly good time.

Michtrack: A few days later you ran 2:13, but that one you won by almost 20 seconds. Is it hard for you to run fast alone? For you is it easier to race people or is it easier to race the clock?

Forsyth: That's funny you mention it because it's been something I had to learn, since freshman year to sophomore year, that there'd be some races that you're gonna be by yourself and you have to learn how to push yourself and run fast. So I definitely thrive off of competition, but I'm trying to relearn how to do it myself also.

Michtrack: I’m definitely picking up that you like to race. What is it about the act of racing that appeals to you?

Forsyth: I really love the competitive aspect of just going out there and giving it all you have and seeing where it takes you and just trying to finish with all you have. It's the best feeling when you're done, just knowing that you gave it all you had.

Michtrack: Did being raised with your sisters tend to make you more competitive?

Forsyth: No, it wasn't really a competition in my family. It was just everyone trying to do what they can do on that day.

Michtrack: When you finished your sophomore indoor season, you were really on top of the world, but then you had to stop and you weren’t able to run in the outdoor season. Can you tell me about that experience.

Forsyth: At Nationals [in 2022] I didn't have a great performance and I got really down and it was kind of hard for me to feel my body after that. Then it kind of spiraled into getting really bad. So I had to stop running a couple weeks after nationals, but I was still able to do like a bit of training. Then, I was so deficient in a lot of things like weight and my heart rate that I went to the hospital and I absolutely had to stop running then. I was there for a couple weeks. Then I went into an eating disorder recovery center in Chicago. I was there for maybe two months total. And then, so I'm not running. Finally in September after, maybe seven months, I was able to start running again. It was sort of very slow and just short runs, maybe like walks sometimes. I was able to keep improving with good habits in my eating.

Michtrack: I imagine during that period, especially when you may have been separated from your family, you probably were riding an emotional rollercoaster at times.

Forsyth: It was probably the hardest thing I've ever been through. Definitely. I had never been away from home for that long either. It was so far away that they could only visit every few weeks or so. It was pretty bad. I kind of fell into a pretty sad place with not feeling very much hope. So I'm obviously happy to be out of that place.

Michtrack: What got you through it?

Forsyth: Honestly, everyone kept telling me that there was something better on the other side, and when I started to believe it, it actually kind of started to happen. So knowing that is how I get through the tougher days.

Michtrack: Have you started to find that better side?

Forsyth: Yeah, I definitely have. Especially with feeling better physically, workouts have been going a lot better recently, and racing has been getting a lot better, so it's kind of all coming together at this point, which is a really good feeling.

Michtrack: Deciding to go public with this now, was that a scary step?

Forsyth: It definitely was, but at the same time, I honestly kind of wanted people to know what was happening because I know it was kind of just like a random thing. My friends and family didn't even really know what to think, so I'm happy that they kind of get an answer to why I was maybe acting funny in that time period.

Michtrack: You're not the only young person who's gone through this. But every story is different. Is part of your motivation that by talking about it, you can help others?

Forsyth: Yes, I definitely do want that to happen. I mean, off the top of my head, I know a few people that are struggling and I wish I could just tell them not to go down that path, but it's not really that easy.

Michtrack: No, no, it's not. And then coming back last fall, you started racing again, but you weren’t the “old Rachel” at that point. What was that like?

Forsyth: It was very hard. That was one of the tougher periods I've ever been through. Not knowing what to do with myself. I just couldn't… it was a whole new thing again and I was going off of basically no training. I started training a little too quickly and I injured my ankle. It was just a really tough time period. I had to suck it up and get through some races to at least score points for my team.

Michtrack: Your situation is different from so many others who might have struggled with similar things in that if you were an average runner and you were coming back from that, only a few would really notice, but here you are, people are looking at you like, “Oh, she was the state champion.” Did that put extra pressure on you?

Forsyth: It definitely did. I have a lot of pressure on myself already, but knowing that… We've done interviews with people and they kind of know who the Purple Track Club is. It was hard knowing that I couldn't like live up to what they were thinking and then also obviously my own expectations. It wasn't really happening.

Michtrack: Was there any point in any race where you started to feel like, “Yes, I can get back, it's gonna happen”?

Forsyth: There was one race, we were in Boston. It was the last race of the weekend and it was the 4x8. I was trying to get back into racing. I wasn't really used to it. And then there was a couple of races before then that we were just kind of running by ourselves and I wasn't used to that either, but I finally got tested with girls sprinting up on me. I really went with it and no matter how much it hurt, I just kept going and I was very happy with that performance and I kind of knew it was gonna get better from there.

Michtrack: Over the last 13 months, you've been to the top, you've been to the bottom, you've been everywhere in-between. How has that changed you as a person?

Forsyth: I definitely show more compassion towards other people instead of just thinking of myself, knowing that other people are going through things that you never know. You never want to offend someone in any way because it can just set them over the edge. And also, my feelings toward the sport as a whole have changed. I definitely know that smaller isn't necessarily faster or anything like that.

Michtrack: When you’re out there running alone, what do you enjoy?

Forsyth: I really like that I can get into my own space and just push my body. If it's an easy run, I really like just being out there by myself and I just can like let go of everything that I was anxious about before. I get back and I'm in such a happier mood.

Michtrack: Now this season coming up, what are your hopes for it?

Forsyth: I definitely wanna get down to some PBs before I start looking at colleges or anything like that. That's kind of been on the back burner for a while. And also obviously, you know, trying to win some big races.

Michtrack: Longer range, five years from now, where do you want to be?

Forsyth: I would probably be in college and I would hope to be part of a really great team atmosphere, having a good time in college and doing well with my team.

Michtrack: Are you racing today?

Forsyth: It's just like a small meet, but I'm doing the 800 and then the 4x4.

Michtrack: Sounds fun. You had earlier mentioned that you enjoy being part of a running family. What are some of the cool things when everyone in your family understands running?

Forsyth: Definitely being able to celebrate the accomplishments with everybody is really nice. Because they kind of understand how hard it is to get there and how amazing it is when you do. And so it's nice to have other runners there that understand what you're going through.

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