Niagara-Wheatfield’s Foote is fourth in NY state

by Eric Keppeler
Niagara Wheatfield Tribune, June 14, 2007

Niagara-Wheatfield senior Aaron Foote put his best foot forward last weekend at the New York State Track and Field Championship in Kingston, finishing fourth among Division I schools in the 1,600-meter run.

Foote clocked in at 4:18.81, about a second off his career best of 4:17.94, established last week at the Section VI Championship. It was the second straight trip to the state meet for Foote, who finished 11th overall in the same event in 2006.

“I was hoping to win, but I was pretty happy with the result,” Foote said. “I’ve been a lot more consistent this year than last, and to improve that much at states is a good sign.”

Niagara-Wheatfield boys track coach Dick Bartha wasn’t surprised by Foote’s success, and he says the top-four finish is a fitting conclusion to Foote’s track career.

“The last half of the season, we’ve been training at this pace,” Bartha said. “We knew that he was capable of this kind of result, so we’ve been working at a 4:20 pace and then hoped he could kick in a little extra at the end. It worked out.”

The experience of running in last year’s state meet was invaluable for Foote.

Over the course of the season, Foote says he was used to pulling out ahead of the pack with perhaps one other runner – and staying comfortably ahead. In the state meet, with so many skilled runners of comparable ability, the pack was tightly grouped from start to finish.

But this time, he was ready for it.

“There was a lot more contact than I’m used to,” Foote said. “The pack was very tight and there was a lot of bumping. I’ve got a nice gash on my leg from somebody else’s spike. But you can’t let it throw you off. You’ve got to remember to go out there and run your own race.”

Foote was quick to point out that the conditions were the same for everybody. As top sectional qualifiers from around the state, all of the participants in the race likely were used to running from ahead. The tight grouping forced some adjustments, and Foote made his better than all but three of his competitors.

As was the case during the regular season in the Niagara Frontier League, Foote was neck and neck with Lockport’s John Haenle, who had qualified last week for states by finishing second at sectionals.

Haenle finished .17 of a second behind Foote, who said his NFL rival’s performance helped him.

“He pushes me,” Foote said. “It’s been like that all season long, and before that in cross country. I think we push each other.”

Foote actually got off to a slow start and was trailing everyone else early in the race before he kicked it into gear and caught up.

“He ran a smart race,” Bartha said. “There was a lot of bumping and pushing, but he really stuck with it. He ran a good race.”

Foote will attend the United States Naval Academy in the fall.