Pictured are members of the East Orange Campus boys 4x800-meter relay team; from left, Shakur Taylor, Tyler Walker, Michael Henderson and Everard McPhatter-Davis.
EAST ORANGE, NJ — The East Orange Campus High School boys track and field’s 4×800-meter relay team finished in first place at the Essex County Relays on Friday, May 5, at Livingston High School.
The runners on the team were sophomore Shakur Taylor, sophomore Tyler Walker, senior Michael Henderson and junior Everand McPhatter-Davis. The team clocked a school-record 8 minutes, 15.45 seconds.
Here is a Q&A with the runners on the team:
Shakur Taylor, leadoff runner:
Question: With you being one of the top sprinters on the team, how did you feel when your head coach, Lance Wigfall, said you will be leading off the 4×800 at the county relays?
Answer: “I felt a little nervous going in, leading off the 4×800 at the county relays as it was my first 800. I had a great warmup and my coach spoke words of wisdom to me, telling me to go out there and do what I do best, which is to compete. I trusted him, my training, God, and this was the result.”
Question: And how did you feel when you handed the baton off in first to Tyler?
Answer: “I felt a sense of reassurance giving the baton to Tyler when I found out the order. It fit us perfectly. I have a relationship with Tyler outside of track and field, and going into the race, knowing our chemistry, plus our shared mindset with the rest of the relay. I was confident running this race.”
Tyler Walker, second leg:
Question: How did you feel when you got the baton from Shakur, knowing that Seton Hall Prep was in pursuit after they ran 7:49 at Penn Relays?
Answer: “I didn’t really pay it much attention. I just knew that I had to run my race and there was zero pressure on me.”
Michael Henderson, third leg:
Question: After thinking about the performance that you put on at the county relays, did you guys think you could pull it off and win the 4×800 title?
Answer: “I didn’t think we would’ve gotten the title. It was more so just competing and getting better for ourselves in championship season. Going into the week, we knew we had a hard task and the team that was put together very well, so the goal was to just run fast!”
Question: As we know, the city of East Orange has great history in track and field between the previous schools, East Orange High School and neighboring school Clifford J. Scott. What does it mean to you as the captain of the team, to not only win the 4×800, but in your senior year, to also break the East Orange Campus High School record, and how does it feel to help set the tone for East Orange Campus HIgh School history in the near future?
Answer: “This means a lot to me breaking the record because I came close to it last year and was off a second. It just felt so good, even better because I contributed with a nice split. The tone will be set for the rest of the season. The future is so bright for the underclassmen; they work so hard with no recognition and that’s fine because East Orange is back! #wecoming.”
Everard McPhatter-Davis, anchor leg:
Question: What were your thoughts as you were watching the race as your teammates created a sizable lead over Seton Hall Prep during the first three legs of the 4×800?
Answer: “As I watched my teammates’ gap, I said to myself, ‘It’s a mind game now. I’m racing myself.’ ”
Question: How did you feel after you were able to cross the finish line in first place?
Answer: “I felt glad that I could keep the lead, but deep inside I knew I couldn’t celebrate yet because I knew I still had more work to do. I kept telling myself, ‘This is just the beginning; you got a lot more work to do.’ ”
Lance Wigfall, head coach
Question: How did you feel about the statement the 4×800 relay team made at the county relays?
Answer: “I was very pleased with their performance, as they did their very best for the moment to put it all out there. This is a fairly young team that is not scared to compete, which is something that I like the most.”
Question: There was a sprinter on the relay team. How did that happen?
Answer: “After looking at the personnel that we had available for the moment, it was fitting to put Shakur on the relay, especially leadoff leg, because his mindset as a sprinter is to always get us in the race. Well, this time I asked him to use that energy to put us in the race, because I knew that with the training that assistant coach George Arrington gives Tyler and Everard, they will be able to go out and give it everything they had, as our motto on the team is, ‘Trust the process,’ even though sometimes it’s challenging to do that. We also believe that with different syles of coaching, the statement is true when you have athletes that believe in hard work and dedication. You will always have ‘strength in numbers.’ ”
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