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| Ryan Jank is a senior at Dorman High School. (Mike Jank photo) |
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Full Name: Ryan Joseph Jank Academic Interest: Math Event Pr's: 800-2:02 1600m-4:30 3200m-9:38 5k-15:50 Hobbies: Running and hanging out with my friends Date of Birth: March 29, 1986 Brothers/Sisters Brian and Jessica |
jank: Except for state, it was better than I would have ever expected.
scrunners: Explain to us how the 4A boys cross-country race unfolded on Nov. 8.
jank: When the gun went off I took off sprinting, like I normally do to
avoid being boxed in, and after about 75 meters I backed off into my pace. Once I
hit the mile (not sure what the time was), I threw in a surge to try to open up
a lead. Going into the woods, I think Raymond, Reed, Beesley, and myself broke
away from the rest of the pack. I tried throwing in a couple more surges going
around the turns in the woods, but all of them stayed within striking distance.
At this point my legs started burning, but I didn't think too much about it.
Going up the hill the second time, I saw Raymond coming up on my shoulder, so I
surged up it. I didn't hear any splits, but Coach Urban told me later that we
went through at about 9:48, so I was really close to where I wanted to be
(9:50). About 400m after the hill, my vision started to become very blurry and
I was losing control of my breathing. I think at about 2.5 miles I lost my
lead and began my death march to the finish. Each stride was becoming harder
and harder to take, and I think the second pack caught me with about 500m left.
At the final turn, I tried to get on my toes and sprint it in, but nothing
worked. Within the last 20-25 meters of the race, I collapsed twice, and had to pull
myself across the finish line. I ended up taking fifth for the team and we
finished second overall.
scrunners: What kind of goals are you setting for the upcoming track
season? What events would you like to run?
jank:In track, I want to run the 4x800m, 1600m, and the 3200m. Some
goals that I have right now are to stay injury free, break the 24 year old
school record in the 1600 (4:27-Rob Wilder) with a 4:22, re-break the school
record in the 3200 with a 9:20, and to win state in the 3200.
scrunners: As a senior, what was the hardest moment for you during
cross-country?
jank:Probably this past state meet, because I worked for over a year to
be named state champion and to lead my team to our second straight state
championship.
scrunners: As a senior, what was your most memorable event?
jank:Winning State last year.
scrunners: What kind of training did you do this summer?
jank: I started off doing about 50 miles and worked my way up to 60-70
miles a week.
scrunners: What kind of goals did you set? Did you achieve them?
Explain.
jank: Some of the goals I set were to stay injury free, peak at end of
the season, and be County, Region, and State Champion. I achieved all of them
except for being the State Champion.
scrunners: After a two year layover at Sandhills, were you glad it was
moved back to Fort Jackson?
jank: I really didn't care, because I had never run at Fort Jackson,
but now I am glad they did. Fort Jackson is a fast course and very
"spectator-friendly."
scrunners: What kind of training did you do this past summer to prepare
for the season?
jank: I did about 60-70 miles of base training per week.
scrunners: What kind of training did you do during the season?
jank:During the season, I averaged about 60 miles weeks and tapered down
to about 40 towards the end of the season.
scrunners: What kind of race strategy race works best for you?
jank: I really don't have a set race strategy. Usually, I will talk to
Coach Urban before the race and he will give me a plan based on the competition.
scrunners: What meet from this past season was the most memorable, why?
jank: Wendy's Invitational, because teams from Virginia, Tennessee,
Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina all go to compete, and we won it
for the second year in a row. This was a first for a South Carolina team.
scrunners: What kind of pre race tradition works for you?
jank:Eating pasta with the team and watching a movie afterwards.
scrunners: Who is your biggest individual and team rival? When do these
rivals become the most intense?
jank: My biggest team rival is Spring Valley because they were pretty
close to us all season. For the individuals, I would have to say Brian Raymond
of Spring Valley and Trevor Beesley of Greenwood. These rivalries become the
most intense whenever I run against them.
scrunners: How many years have you run for Dorman?
jank: I have run at Dorman for two and a half years.
scrunners: What did you start to run first, cross-country or track?
jank: Cross-country.
scrunners: How and why did you decide to run?
jank: At the end of my freshman year, Coach Urban asked me to come out
after he heard that I had a decent 2-mile time during soccer conditioning.
scrunners: What sports did you play before running?
jank: I played soccer for 12 years.
scrunners: What kind of trainers and racers do you prefer to wear?
jank: I train in Nike Air Pegasus and race in Nike Zoom Waffles.
scrunners: When discouraged what do you to regain motivation?
jank: I usually turn to my team and coach. They are always very
supportive.
scrunners: Have you ever been injured? What did you do to recover from
the injury?
jank: In the closing weeks of track season last year, I pulled my groin
muscle. I
ran on it for the remainder of the season and then took about 2.5 weeks off.
scrunners: What kind of cross-training do you incorporate into your
training?
jank: In the summer I lifted weights and swam.
scrunners: What do you look for in a coach?
jank: Someone like Coach Urban- dedicated, has knowledge of the sport,
understanding,
and easy to talk to.
scrunners: What do you expect a coach to look for in you?
jank: Hard working, dedicated, and having the will to win.
scrunners: Have you ever thought about coaching running in the future?
What level and why
do you want to coach at that level?
jank: I have thought about it some, but I don't think it would ever
happen because I
am not a great communicator and I am not sure if I would know what to do.
scrunners: Does anyone else in your family run? Who, where, how long?
jank: My brother is the only one. He ran at Dorman the past two years,
but now he is
at Virginia Tech running about 10-12 miles a day on his own.
scrunners: Given that you are senior, what goals will you set for the
future, the close
and further future?
jank: Right now, I am just looking to continue running fast and
improving my times,
finishing high school, and preparing for college.
scrunners: Have you thought about running in college?
jank: Yes.
scrunners: Where you would you like to go and where are you looking
into?
jank: I am not sure where I want to go yet, but I am looking at
UNC-Charlotte,
Appalachian State, and Winthrop.
scrunners: What do you see happening with South Carolina running in the
future? How will
this happen and how will you be involved?
jank: It is definitely on the rise. I was amazed at how competitive
this year was
compared to the years past.
scrunners: When an unforeseen circumstance happens in a race how do you
adjust to overcome
the challenge?
jank: It will usually take some time for me to get over it, but I just
try my best to
put it out of my mind and turn the misfortune into motivation.
scrunners: When has this happened to you? Explain.
jank: This has happened to me twice. In my first year of running (10th
grade) at the
State meet, I passed out a little after the two mile due to heat exhaustion. The
next year, my team and I used that as fuel to work even harder, and we ended up
dominating just about every meet and winning State. At State this year, I had
some health problems that hindered my performance and the team's performance.
It is too soon to see how the team and I bounce back, but I am confident that
things will turn out for the better.
scrunners: If there is one thing in the world you could do, what would
it be and why?
jank: I would probably turn back the clock and run the State meet
again. Knowing that all I had to do was place 4th or better to win the team title, I would go
out more relaxed and just run for a top 3 position.