Posted: Sunday, October 20, 2013 12:00 am
Rec Sports Spotlight: Wings taking off in northwestern Carroll By Mike Nortrup Times Correspondent Carroll County Times
There’s a new kids’ team in northwestern Carroll.
The West Carroll Wings track and field team had a successful first season this summer, and it’s coming back next year.
The team, for boys and girls ages 6-18, offers opportunities for youngsters that some other sports don’t have, says Program Director and Head Coach Jonathan Pernell.
First, it’s co-ed.
And, siblings or friends of significantly different ages can compete together. In fact he says, a boy and a younger brother might even run on the same relay team.
With support from Francis Scott Key High principal John Baugher and athletic director Craig Walker, Pernell and others formulated plans for the Wings last year. The group officially became part of the West Carroll Recreation Council in Nov. 2012.
The high school offered to help by letting the group use its running track and other facilities and by lending equipment.
Pernell says he didn’t expect a big turnout in this relatively rural area of the county, but he is more than satisfied with the turnout he got.
“We have only four traffic lights in the area around Francis Scott Key. I would have been thrilled if we’d gotten as many as 20. We got 18, but they were the right kind of kids. They and their families were dedicated to the program,” Pernell recalled.
He had the right kind of kids, and he also thinks he had the right kind of coaches. Local fitness instructor Barbara Langrall coached the distance runners, and Brian Campbell handled the sprinters as well as strength and conditioning.
Marathon runner Kim Palumbo, “helped with everything,” Pernell said with a laugh.
Parents also helped out, both with the team and by setting an example for the youngsters.
Pernell noted, “some of the parents were runners, too. A lot of them were into fitness, and the kids were products of their dedication. They passed their good traits on to the kids.”
The team participated in seven AAU and USA track meets against teams from Frederick, Carroll and nearby counties during the months of April and into June. Pernell says that the Wings’ 18 members were almost always vastly-outnumbered at meets by the other clubs whose contingents generally averaged between 60 and 70.
But as said, he had the, “right kind of kids.”
“They won a disproportionate amount of medals and ribbons. They often won more than clubs that were larger,” the coach said.
In fact, all of his athletes had medaled or won a ribbon in their events by the time the season was over.
Some of them even began making a name for themselves in area track and field circles. Eight or nine youngsters did well enough in their events to move on for AAU’s Region 3 meet in Hagerstown.
Four did well enough at that late June competition to qualify for AAU’s national Junior Olympics, which were held late July through early August in Detroit.
Ten year-old Kallie Palumbo qualified in the long jump, and 13 year-old Sarah Pernell qualified in the long jump, high jump and 100 meter hurdles. Emma Taggert qualified in the shot put.
Christopher Campbell, the youngest at age nine, qualified for nationals in the 100-meter dash. A few weeks earlier and only two weeks removed from a minor leg fracture, he had qualified for nationals at the Hagerstown regional.
“(Campbell) will be competing for years to come, and he’ll compete for a national title if he keeps in up,” said his appreciative coach.
The Wings’ national qualifiers also placed in the top half of their events in Detroit.
“As their coach, I was proud of their first time on that major stage.[The nationals were] shown live on video, and it’s a big deal to be on that stage. To do as well as they did was pretty exciting” Pernell said.
While their competitive season may be over, track and field will go on in West Carroll. The team will hold workouts at the New Windsor Town Council Building over the winter so the kids can stay in shape. Tentative plans are for them to meet on Monday and Wednesday evenings.Those interested in learning more may contact Pernell at 443-745-9114.
He looks ahead confidently to next season.
“The most exciting thing is that all but one of them can come back in 2014, and just about all are committed to come back. They all have had people ask them about signing up, so there’s a good chance we’ll double our size from word-of-mouth alone,” Pernell said.
In the future, he hopes to work closely with the high school track team and coaching staff in what he terms a “symbiotic relationship.”
“My vision is that their coaches will help us out at this level, and we can work with the high school team in practice.
They have only two coaches for a team of 60 or 70. I don’t know how they do it. We had four coaches for a team of 18,” he said.
He sees the Wings as a big part of the future youth sports landscape in northwestern Carroll and intends to remain part of that landscape.
“I’m so passionate about it. It’s a lot of work, but I hope I’ll still be impacting the community after my daughters graduate,” Pernell said. “I want to build a program that lasts for years to come.”
Visit http://www.gowcrc.com/files/WCW.Press.Release.Final.pdf to learn more about the West Carroll Wings.
.Reach Mike Nortrup at 410-857-7896 or [email protected].
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