#8 - Who Are We Announcing For Anyway?

Interview: Morgan Roundtree

How It All Started

Announcing the 2021 D1 Finals. (Pete Draugalis photo)

Actually True Origin Story: First time I ever announced a meet was a complete and terrible mistake. Mid-1980s, bored on a summer weekend, I decided to drop in an a Junior Olympic state meet in Battle Creek. I saw a great race early in the day, and I thought that the announcer should mention that it was the No. 3 or whatever race in state history. So I poked my head into the booth and politely said, “Hey, maybe you can announce that was the whatever-whatever race of all-time?”

The guy turned to look at me and I realized I had screwed up badly. Anger flashed in his eyes; his red face grew redder; he was nearly frothing at the mouth. “I F%$%$ quit!!” he yelled. He threw down the mic and brushed past me on his way out. I was stunned. A woman standing by, who I took to be the meet director, picked up the mic, stared at it for a second, then smiled brutally at me. She said, “I guess you’re the announcer now.” She handed me the mic and crossed her arms.

So I started announcing, not really having any idea what the job entailed. It was a horrible day. Thunderstorms created long delays. At one point a bunch of kids from a Detroit age-group track family crawled into the press box for shelter and some of them ended up sleeping under the desk by my feet. (You don’t have to guess—it was an assortment of the Dukes brothers and friends.) It was late when they finally let me leave. I swore I’d never announce again.

The Midland Experiment: Years later, in 1999, the Class A meet was hosted at Midland. The director, Phil Bedford, asked me to announce. By this time, after more than a decade of working for Track & Field News and having seen multiple NCAA championships, Olympic Trials, Olympics and World Champs in person, I hated nothing more than the way our state finals were presented: announcing was typically a non-stop stream of “first call, second call” and the droning reading of results of events that had happened 90 minutes earlier. Zero mention of what was happening on the track in real time.

I told Phil I wasn’t interested in doing that. I would only announce if I could do live color commentary as I had seen done at all the national champs I had been to. He mulled it over and said, “OK. If we don’t like it we’ll fire you.” Deal.

I thought the day went well. I only heard one complaint later on, that a parent was ticked that I used the word “upset” when Jason Hartmann, the defending 3200 champ, got beat by his sophomore teammate Dathan Ritzenhein. No apologies there—that was a classic upset.

As I packed up my bag and readied to leave the press box, a very old black man got my attention at the window and asked to speak with me. It was a moment that would forever cement how I feel about announcing. He shook my hand and asked my name. He told me that he had been attending the Class A finals since the 1960s, and this was the first time he had enjoyed the announcing. “The first time I knew what was going on in all the events,” he said. I’ve thought about that conversation many times over the years. I wish I remembered his name; he’s almost certainly no longer with us.

Who Do We Announce For? Well, who’s paying for the meet? Who’s buying the tickets, paying the pay-to-play, driving their kids to practice all the time and then sitting in the bleachers for 6 hours at a time in the cold just to see their kids run a couple of 11-second races? And then to make their experience at track meets even more horrible we barrage them with non-stop announcements about first call/second call and don’t let them know when they are seeing some of the nation’s best on the track. And so many track coaches can’t figure out why our sport isn’t more popular!

We can do better, and frequently we do. Good meet announcing is our opportunity to win fans for the sport. Take a look at any good college meet, or any high school national championship. The announcing is for the spectators, not for the convenience of the clerks and officials. The vast majority of administrative stuff can be handled by the head clerk using a megaphone. That’s usually how it’s done at meets I announce. Some officials get upset when they don’t have access to the big sound system—but yet the kids all manage to check in and the races go off on time. (Sure, there’s always a few who miss the announcement because they’re in the portajohn and the coaches that neglect to scratch athletes, but that’s always going to happen no matter the announcing system.)

The D1 Finals is my favorite day of track every year (yes, it tops the Olympics). I’ve been at the last 25+ and have experienced some cringe moments with regards to announcing. Seeing Dathan Ritzenhein attempting to break the national record in the 3200 in his final race in a Rockford uniform on his home track. In horrible, gusting winds he still managed a near-miss 8:43.32, perhaps one of the gutsiest performances I’ve ever seen. The announcer did not even mention his name during the race. Years later Shayla Mahan broke state records in both the 100 and 200 (legal, I was there with the gauge!)—I told the announcer, thinking he might want to share the news. Instead he got angry, saying “No records will be announced because they’re not official until they’re approved by the MHSAA!”

The good news is that for the last 15+ years with just one exception, we’ve been able to deliver quality announcing to the D1 fans, and I’m happy to report that the MHSAA is solidly committed to making sure that continues.

(And BTW—I don’t think I’m the greatest announcer out there. I’m just copying the techniques I have heard at the big meets from the greats: Bob Hersh, Scott Davis, Garry Hill, etc. But if there are any meet announcers out there who would like to talk about how to do it, I am always glad to share what I know.)

When Track Collides With Real Life

The news hit hard this week that former World Champion sprinter Tori Bowie died at age 32. I talked with her a few times over the years but I’m not going to pretend I knew her well.

One of those talks came in May 2016, before she hit it big, before she was polished in the skill of talking to the media. I found her sweet, shy, and refreshingly honest. We talked about how she would handle the success that seemed inevitable. She said, “It scares me. I was in physical therapy today, and the therapist is saying, ‘What’s going to happen when you’re on cereal boxes?’ And I am terrified.”

I’ll never truly know what she encountered on her all-too-short pathway in this world. All I can say is that I’m hoping she is resting in peace.

Please check out one organization that is making a difference, Let’s Get Real About Athletes’ Mental Health. Their website - Their Instagram.

For free, confidential crisis support, call 988.

Hot High School News

A big state record is always going to be tops here. Morgan Roundtree 41.62 in the 300 hurdles at the Farmington Invitational. It was her fifth race of the day!! First came a 15.67 heat in the 100H, then a 14.51 final behind the brilliant 13.60 by teammate Nonah Waldron. Then they both ran blazing legs on the 4×2 (1:39.99) and 4×1 (47.49). Then came the 300H matchup between the two superstars. They ran even until the top of the turn, when Roundtree, a lane inside of Waldron, started edging ahead. They both raced hard down the homestretch, Roundtree extending her lead, Waldron pressing her and never relenting. At the finish Roundtree had a 0.61 gap on her teammate, who ran a lifetime best herself, becoming the =3 hurdler in state history.

The high school schedule works against running fast times in the 300H. Typically for our best it’s the third, fourth or fifth race of the day. If Roundtree and Waldron ever get the chance to run it fresh, we’d see them attack the 40-second barrier (a barrier only beaten twice, both times by future Olympic champions). Sydney McLaughlin’s national record is 38.90—and it was her first race of the day.

The Farmington meet had so much more going on! Kamryn Tatum of West Bloomfield showed up big. State-leading 200 of 24.48 (0.0) in the heats. Then a stunning 55.49 state leader at 400. Then another leader in the 200 final, 24.02 (0.6). And a couple of fast relay legs mixed in. Taryn Henderson of Mercy and Mackenzie Robinson of Ann Arbor Huron destroyed the list in the 100, running 11.93 & 11.94 (0.0) in a fabulous dash match.

A humbling moment came when a few days after writing that no girls in the state could hope to challenge the 6-0 state record in the high jump, I watched Madison Morson of Salem clear 5-9 and take three solid attempts at 6-0. Keep an eye on that one! (It was originally announced as 5-10, as I had tweeted. Turns out that was an input issue with the program. I found out Sunday it was actually 5-9.)

Too many great races to mention on the guys’ side, but a few events stand out. Braxton Brann won the hurdles in 14.21 (0.0) and then delivered state-leading 200s of 21.62 and 21.25 (both 0.0). Also note the 42.28 in the 4×1 from West Bloomfield.

Canton soph Quincy Isaac popped a 24-3.75 long jump that deserves discussion. Windy or no? There was no gauge in use. I was at the track at the time, not watching the long jump. Winds were often calm, sometimes they came up to windy levels (the highest I measured was 2.1) and they came from a variety of directions. I admit I had a tough time with calling it legal. It helped when I talked to the head official. He noted that Isaac had been dropping huge jumps all day, but on his first five attempts (best of 22-11), he was nowhere near the board. Only on that final jump did he hit it, and then only by an inch or two. There is a lot more coming from Isaac. He clearly has state record potential. But that record won’t happen unless they get a wind gauge on him.

That was just one meet in a week where the weather finally got helpful and performances went through the roof. Electrons may be free but my words are not infinite—a lot of great performances won’t get a well-deserved nod today.

Benne Anderson after his historic 8 laps. (Instagram pic)

Shepherd crushed the elite 3200 concept on Friday night at the BlueJay Invitational. First Rachel Forsyth won the girls race with an outdoor best 10:17.48. Hart soph Jessica Jazwinski hit 10:24.61 in 2nd and also under 10:30 were Annika Sandman of Lowell (10:27.21) and Selma Anderson of Ottawa Hills (10:28.24). Altogether 10 girls got under the 10:50.0 cut-off for the Michigan all-time lists, and 15 broke 11. The guys race that followed can fittingly be called one of the best in history. Hunter Jones led early before Benne Anderson broke away to run mostly alone to a stunning 8:41.50, becoming the No. 4 runner in history. Grand Haven’s Seth Norder closed well to run 8:46.33, with Jones at 8:52.28 and Thomas Westphal (8:55.30) and Michael Hegarty (8:56.70) crossing next. The sub-9:00 club in Michigan now has 31 members.

At Saline’s Golden Triangle, Pioneer’s Maya Rollins blazed a 13.90 in the hurdles, becoming the 18th girl in state history to break 14. She also anchored a blazing 4×2 (1:42.48). If the name sounds familiar to the gray hairs out there, it’s because her dad is Fabian Rollins, the Barbadian Olympian who was a MAC champ and NCAA All-American for Eastern Michigan (45.87 PR).

Northville had a day, its 4×8 running a school-record-tying 7:44,71, the earliest in the season any team has broken 7:45. Splits: Brandon Latta 1:57.9, Brock Malaikal 1:59.0, David Whitaker 1:55.0, Brendan Herger 1:52.8). Later Herger won the mile in 4:17.66, the 800 in 1:54.60. He also anchored the winning 4×4 (3:30.97), with Latta leading off.

Pinckney’s Paul Moore made a big jump with a 9:10.79 win at 3200. Payton Scheffler of Woodhaven took the 800 in 2:12.84. Brook Bowers of Forest Hills Central improved her state PV lead at 12-1.

At the Bell Invitational in Traverse City, Buckley’s Aiden Harrand impressed with a 2:12.91 / 4:50.61 double.

David Conrad of Whitehall took the state PV lead to 15-6 at the GMAA Champs.

Meet Management Kudos go to Shepherd for taking the trouble to set up FAT timing at the 3000m mark to get accurate splits for their 3200m runners. Why does that matter? It gave winner Benne Anderson a qualifying time for the German U20 Nationals this summer (he’s a dual citizen, and no, they don’t accept 3200m as a distance in the rest of the world). It also gives the rest of the field a comparison point when they run the common 3000m distance in college.

Kudos also to Hillsdale High for using a wind gauge at all their home meets and getting the readings into A-net.

Red Flag Alert: The folks at the Muskrat Classic are going to have to come up with some serious documentation if they want us to believe that a football player in the first track meet of his life ran a 10.21 state record in the 100m heats. I have so many questions! (To be fair, I just noticed the mark and haven’t had a chance to fire off emails yet. But color me extremely dubious.) NOTE: A day later, the mark was changed to a 10.3 hand time. I still have concerns about the quality of the hand-timing was that day; because I doubt adding a 0.24 to this makes it believable.

Legend: Bill Watson – Saginaw 1935

Watson high jumping for the Wolverines.

The Olympics were cancelled in 1940 because of World War II—and Bill Watson lost his shot at the decathlon gold that everyone agreed would be his.

“Big Bill” Watson was discovered by the track world in 1933 in a PE class at Saginaw High School. With the bar set at 3-feet, the entire class had to jump. Remembered Chet Stackhouse, the teacher and track coach: “When Watson’s turn came he bounced over it with feet to spare. When I went home at noon I told my wife I had just seen an Olympic champion.”

Watson, who also played football and basketball for Saginaw, won 5 state track titles. As a junior it was the shot (48-10.25) and high jump (5-11). As a senior, he led the Trojans to the team trophy with wins in the shot (53-10 3/8, a state record by over a foot), long jump (22-4) and high jump (6-1.25).

At the University of Michigan, the 6-foot, 200lb Watson became the first African-American captain of any sport. In all, he won 12 Big 10 titles in events including the shot, long jump and discus, and won acclaim for his relay legs as well. At the NCAA level, he was runner-up in the long jump in 1938, runner-up in the shot and discus the next year. Altogether he was a 7-time All-American.

No athlete in the world had the range that Watson did. In 1939 he led the world in the long jump with his 25-5.5. He was second in the shot at 54-6.5 and No. 13 in the discus at 163-6.

In the decathlon, his unique combination of strength and speed really shined. In his first-ever, he nearly broke the World Record after having the best first day in history. His score of 7523 on the tables of the time was the No. 4 score ever and led the world list by nearly 600 points.

He had been expected to break the World Record at the Olympics in Helsinki, but the Trials and Games were both cancelled because of World War II.

Wrote decathlon expert Frank Zarnowski, “Today there is no debate as to whether he would have, at age 23, been the Olympic decathlon favorite in 1940 in Helsinki. Likely, Bill Watson would have won easily. What track authorities do debate is whether he would have repeated the win in 1944.”

Watson later served as a Detroit police officer for 25 years, winning 8 meritorious service commendations. He retired at age 49. Seven years later, his life came to a horrifying and mystifying end. A week after a confrontation with police caused them to take away a gun of his, he drove by police officers who were ticketing a motorist and demanded they stop. He then threatened them before opening fire. The officers, one white and one black, both returned fire. Watson, hit several times, died at the scene. He was 73. The articles at the time did not address whether he perhaps was suffering from mental illness or any other issues.

Interview: Morgan Roundtree, Oak Park

Roundtree all smiles after her latest record. (Intsagram pic)

For fans of high school track in Michigan, Morgan Roundtree was first known as “Jada’s little sister.” Her older sibling won the 2021 D1 title at 400, anchored the winning 4x4 that year, racking up a slew of All-American honors along the way. Morgan, three years younger, wasn’t content to stay in anyone’s shadow. As a 9th grader in ’21, she finished 2nd in the D1 100H and 3rd in the 300H. She led off that relay her sister anchored. Last year she repeated that runner-up 100H finish, then won the 300s after setting a state record 42.17 in the meet before. This season she is truly on fire, on Saturday demolishing her own record with a 41.62 at the Farmington Invitational.

Michtrack: What is it like to run a state record?

Roundtree: What is it like to run a state record? It feels good. I mean it wasn't far off from how it felt when I broke the first record, so I don't know. I was happy about the PR.

Michtrack: Tell me about the race. Did you feel good going into it? 

Roundtree: Yeah, I did. It was really good weather actually, cuz you know, we don't really get good weather in Michigan like that, so, I just wanted to take the advantage of it and I guess I did.

Michtrack: You sure did. In the actual race, did anything come up that you didn't expect?

Roundtree: No, not really. I'm kind of good at gauging my race, so I really just get out fast to the first two hurdles because that's what sets me up and I just let my legs get running from there and take whatever hurdle, whichever leg come up first.

Michtrack: You really don't have a pre-planned step pattern?

Roundtree: No. Just run.

Michtrack: You never have a problem with stutter-stepping?

Roundtree: I mean, I did at first. That was before I knew how to switch my legs. But I'm getting better at that, so that was really not a problem.

Michtrack: Now in an ideal 300H race, would you rather have Nonah to your right so you’re trying to chase after her? Or would you rather have her on your left left so she's chasing you?

Roundtree: Probably on my inside so I could focus more on me. I don't want to watch somebody else race because, you know, you see somebody on the outside of you, you're going to watch their race. I'd rather I run my own race so I don't see anybody else.

Michtrack: Did you find yourself distracted or kind of watching her on Saturday?

Roundtree: Not really. It was more I'm trying to focus on my tunnel vision and not anybody else's race. So no, having her on the outside of me wasn't really a problem.

Michtrack: That was your fifth race of the day. What do you think you could do if you ever got the chance to run that race fresh?

Roundtree: Ooh, if I run that race fresh, mmm.. If it is a good day with some good weather, I'll probably go for-40 point. If I was on the fresh legs and no races before that, then yeah, I would expect the 40-point.

Michtrack: Is your phone ringing off the hook with recruiters right now?

Roundtree: I would expect them to be [laughs] but no, not really. I'm getting a couple “Good jobs!” but no new colleges have texted me yet or called me.

Michtrack: How's the recruiting process going?

Roundtree: I had a home visit with University of Miami. I like that school. I’ve been talking to University of Florida and Michigan, but it hasn’t gotten that far yet.

Michtrack: Oak Park has this amazing tradition of hurdlers, from Brianna Holloway to Aasia Laurencin to Nonah. How has that helped you grow?

Roundtree: Really just seeing them get all of their success just makes me like, “Dang, I wanna be like that one day.” Seeing Aasia at all those national championships and running with Nonah who's a national champion in all of her events is just like, I don't know, it's like you follow after them. Like my sister, I follow after her.

Michtrack: You’ve got two of the best hurdlers in the nation on the same team and you're racing in the same races all the time. Is that hard or is that good?

Roundtree: It's good. We push each other like we push each other to run. Of course it's challenging because we both fast, but it's for the good.

Michtrack: Is there a sense of ownership of your respective events? Would it feel like the world turned upside down if you beat her in the 100s and Nonah beat you in the 300s?

Roundtree: We try not to look at it like that because you know, a lot of people would look at it like it's a big rivalry, but we try our best to not make it like that, because we're teammates, we don't want to have those problems or that attention.

Michtrack: How did you get your start in the sport?

Roundtree: Actually it was more from my sister. I was 7 and I went to the practice with her, but I was not supposed to run. It was at Crowell Recreation Center and there were girls and boys running. So I was like, “Ooh, I wanna try.” And I had on leather boots, I had no gym shoes on, no proper clothes to run in. And I got out there and ran and I beat everybody on the track and they were like, “Oh, you should probably run too.” And I was like, “I do.” But then I was a little sad because that was the first time I came there and all the people who I raced against were being mean to me about it because I beat them. So yeah, that's how it started.

Michtrack: How did you pick the hurdles??

Roundtree: Actually I was a sprinter when I was little. I did the 1, the 2 and the 4. But see I used to dominate those events when I was little, but as time went on everybody started to grow and I just didn't grow. I was a lot smaller than everybody so I wasn't winning anything. I wasn't really getting better so I just wanted to stop. But then my coach Robert Lynch, he introduced me into hurdles when I was 11 or something. That's where I started. I wasn't doing good in the sprints, so they started me with hurdles.

Michtrack: What was it like growing up with your sister a big star?

Roundtree: I don't know. It doesn't really feel like nothing. It was just like, “That's my sister. I have a sister who's fast.” It wasn't like “Oh my God, my sister is Jada Roundtree!!”. She'd gimme a lot of her tips. If I were running the open 400, she'd tell me like stay relaxed, all that type of stuff. She would help me with my race.

Michtrack: Looking at the rest of the year, what do you want to accomplish?

Roundtree: At 100 hurdles I want to hit 13.7. In the 300H I really do want to run around a 40-point and later on in the season, where it’s 400H, I want to run 58 or 57. Either one of those would be good for me.

Michtrack: Now I have to ask you this because one of my favorite memories of Oak Park was going to cross country meets in the fall and I'd see Aasia and when she ran past me, she'd just roll her eyes like she hated cross country. How do you feel about it?

Roundtree: The same way [laughs]. I know that it's going to help me for indoor, but it's hard! All the miles and I'm a sprinter. So it would just be like, “When is this gonna be over?”

Michtrack: It’s funny because you hear so many coaches who say that cross country will kill your speed, you'll never be a good sprinter if you're run cross country, etc. And then here we have some of the fastest sprinters and hurdlers in state history running cross country.

Roundtree: I don't know, I don't really pay attention to stuff like that. I just listen to what coach Brandon tells me because I know he tell me this stuff for the best. So yeah, I'll just do it.

Michtrack: What kind of coach is Coach Jiles for you?

Roundtree: He’s a tough coach, but it's all out of love. I mean, he'll make me mad sometimes, but it's a pretty good relationship. He’s kinda serious, but yeah, he’s a good coach. He's always there. He’s like a second dad, I guess.

Michtrack: Is there anything else our readers should know about you?

Roundtree: Just remember my name, that's all.

Michtrack: I think you're doing a good job of making sure they remember it.

Roundtree: Yeah, I'm trying to put it out there.

This and That

Recommendation: Check out this short video on the business of track. Very thought-provoking. And great explanations here from our own Kyra Jefferson, who starred at Cass Tech and was later an NCAA 200 champion for Florida. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91RKX4tYqus

Help A Guy Out: This week for the millionth time, I dug into the research to answer a historical question for a coach. Got a “thanks”—which is always nice, but when I take time out of my work day to do things like that—or to write this newsletter—it costs me, to be honest. I know that most people won’t or can’t pay, and that’s how life works. I’m at peace with it because I feel the sport is important. But if you can, and this newsletter is worth X a month to you—even a token amount helps—please consider a monthly tax-deductible donation and hit this button:

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