Shields seek winning blend

Scott Thrasher should quit his job as a teacher at Cheyenne High School and become a mechanic.

The Desert Shields track coach has spent countless hours this season tweaking what once were well-oiled machines.

After celebrating three state champion relay teams last season, Cheyenne is finding out how the other half lives.

Apparently, the other half is frustrated and confused, confident but weary.

"Individual athletes, if you've been around them long enough, you know their strengths and weaknesses," Thrasher said. "You can get around things with them. But in relays, what you go through one year isn't what you have the next year."

Case in point: After state titles in the boys 800-meter relay and 1,600 relay and girls 1,600 relay, the Desert Shields have struggled to replace valuable seniors, despite several returning athletes.

The speed is still there -- juniors Marcus Sullivan, Terrence Brison and Khyriece Campbell, all members of the championship teams, haven't somehow gotten slower -- but Cheyenne hasn't found the exact lineup that will lead to state success.

"Some kids can't handle the anchor position, and some kids can't start first," Thrasher said. "Once you start trying different things, you have to realize that once you bring a new kid in, it's not over. You have to move things around."

More importantly, the returning champions have had to take on new roles.

Last season, Sullivan, Brison and Campbell looked up to then-seniors Leo Green, Deshawn Proby and D.J. Campbell (Khyriece's older brother). Now, the three standouts -- along with girls returning champions Brittney Washington and Sharonte Marshall -- also must be captains.

"It's hard bringing in new people to the group," Thrasher said. "The ones we have coming back, they need to be the vocal leaders now. They need to have the understanding of how to win, how much work they need to put in. And now it's not just a matter of working hard, but they almost have to work twice as hard."

Said Brison: "It's kinda weird, coming out here as leaders. You see these new faces, and you're not used to being at the front of the bunch. You have to set an example for the younger kids, and that's hard."

For at least one new runner, though, it's left an imprint.

Junior Donielle Thompson joined the boys 800 relay team this season, his third on the track team. This year has been different, though -- instead of treating track as a temporary distraction for his true passion, Thompson has embraced the potential for state success.

"I never really liked track that much," he said. "Coming in, I thought I'd just get a workout for football, but I actually jumped on something more important. It became more of a responsibility. It was just something to do to keep me off the streets. I didn't know I'd ever be on something as important as this."

Now Thompson and teammate Daniel Allen, the fourth and newest member of the 1,600 relay team, are experiencing a new type of pressure: The pressure to join an already successful, already established, already comfortable team, and have the same results as last year.

"We've got to earn that respect," Allen said. "They put a lot of pressure on you. They'll be like, 'You gotta do this, you gotta do this. We need you. Run! Run! Run!' "