Every time Jason Lanza's right leg hits the ground, he feels pain. When he walks, it hurts. When he runs, it hurts even more.
Why, then, would the former walk-on hurdler/sprinter and current Ohio men's and women's track and field manager want to run the 400-meter hurdles during the Ohio Open on Saturday, his first competition in nearly two years?
Just to prove -not to prove to anybody
just to myself -that I can still make it around Lanza said.
Following the 2002 outdoor track and field season, Lanza could more than make it around the track. Then a sophomore, he earned a partial athletic scholarship after competing in the 110 and 400 hurdles and multiple relays and sprints. A rappelling accident on Sept. 2, 2002, altered everything.
Falling 60 feet from the Athens city parking garage, Lanza broke his right femur and collarbone, fractured his skull and suffered brain damage. After recovering for the better part of a year, he returned to the team last fall, this time as the manager.
Though some of his primary duties include taking splits and helping set up at practices and meets, he also has helped coach the hurdle squad this season, coach Clay Calkins said.
He's been a big help for me this season helping out and coaching the hurdles
he said. It's going to be good to see him back out there competing.
Though no longer an Ohio student-athlete, Lanza is eligible to compete during Saturday's meet because of its open format. No team scores are kept and any individual wishing to participate is allowed.
Ohio plays host to athletes from Rio Grande and Central State, as well as about a half-dozen unattached formal entrants. Walk-up entrants also are allowed to compete, Calkins said.
Many of those athletes will not have particular goals in mind as they step onto Goldsberry Track. After some initial uncertainties, Lanza will.
Every time I would set a goal and then see something that would make it unrealistic
I'd start to get a little nervous
like maybe I shouldn't do this
maybe this is a terrible idea
Lanza said. But now my goal is 90 seconds
and I know I can finish it. That's for sure.
The Ohio Open begins 9 a.m. Saturday at Goldsberry Track.
Open format offers low-key competition
Aside from serving as a tune-up meet for the Mid-American Conference Championships, which will be held May 13-15 at Miami, the Ohio Open allows for athletes currently sitting out the season on a redshirt to compete without losing a year of eligibility.
One such athlete is distance runner Austin Schiele, who plans to take full advantage of the meet's open format by running the 3200. That race will be his first race since NCAA cross country Regionals last November.
Schiele sat out both the indoor and outdoor track seasons with a foot injury.
The meet is unique to what the Bobcats are accustomed to because it is designed to allow anyone who wishes to compete with that opportunity.
Other athletes will be competing in events that they do not normally see, Calkins said.
We're going to be having a lot of people out of their normal events
just running some alternate events
he said. Some of the distance runners might be running the quarter (400).
