Ralph Fitzgerald (left) receives the baton from Jakari Lumsden during the 4 x 400m relay.
Jakari Lumsden and Ralph Fitzgerald are from Austintown Fitch High School. Jakari is a sprinter / jumper who placed 4th in the High Jump at the AAU Club Nationals at Disney Wide World of Sports this past summer and he P.R.'d this past Tuesday evening with an impressive early season jump of 6'6" which has him tied for #3 in the current division 1 state rankings. Ralph is a sophomore sprinter who ended last season ranked as the #1 freshman in Ohio in the 100m dash. MileSplit Ohio had the opportunity to catch up with Jakari and Ralph to discuss their training, their goals and to learn about what they are looking forward to during the outdoor campaign.
MileSplit Ohio: What events are you focusing on during the outdoor season? Talk about what goals you have in place that you hope to accomplish.
Ralph: The events that I'll be focusing on during the outdoor season will be the 100m and 200m dash and two of the three sprint relays. We are still trying to get a feel for which of the relays we will be the strongest in this season, so I'm not sure which two I will be running when we get to districts. My coach, Seth Steiner, feels that we have the potential to run in the mid 42's in the 4 x 100m and break into the 1:28's in the 4 x 200m. Also, my goal is to run below 10.90 in the 100m meter dash.
Jakari: The main event that I'm focusing on this outdoor season is the High Jump. After getting a new P.R. this week, my goal is to have cleared 6'8 going into regionals. I also want to focus on helping our relay teams advance to the state championship, specifically the 4 x 100m and 4 x 200m. Our 4 x 400m hasn't been running to our potential so far, so I'm focused on helping that relay team improve and run the times that we are capable of producing.
MileSplit Ohio: Discuss what your typical week of training resembles. Who are your key training partners and do you have a favorite work out that you rely on leading up to an important event?
Ralph: My typical week of training consists of acceleration or max velocity work (depending on which training phase we are in) and usually one day of speed endurance work. I don't necessarily have one key training partner because we have about ten or eleven guys in our varsity sprints / hurdles group that I train with who all push each other to be the best that we can be. We also spend time in the weight room three days a week. As far as my favorite workout goes, I would have to say that Thursday's are my favorite training day because that's when we are typically hitting our speed endurance workouts, which are really beneficial to me as a 100m and 200m sprinter.
Jakari: My typical training week is split between sprints and jumps. Our sprints coach, Seth Steiner, and our jumps coach, Katrina Rettburg, both work with me weekly. I do almost everything that the sprinters do training-wise (lots of acceleration and max velocity work), with the addition of two high jump practices per week. Also, I spend a significant amount of time in the weight room to increase my strength and power, which plays a very important role in my abilities as a sprinter and a jumper. My key training partner for the High Jump is Deondre McKeever, who cleared 6'0" as a freshman. There isn't any workout that I like more than the others because I feel that they are all equally important to my development as a track and field athlete.
Ralph Fitzgerald has big goals relating to the 100m, 200m and the team relay races.
Jakari Lumsden hopes to break Austintown Fitch High School's all time High Jump record.
MileSplit Ohio: Who has helped you to reach the level that you've attained to this point in your track and field career?
Ralph: The person who has helped me get to where I am right now with track is our head coach Seth Steiner (who is also our sprints coach), my teammates and my family. The motivation that I get from my support network pushes me to want to do better and to be the best that I can be.
Jakari: The person who has helped me the most has been Coach Steiner. He's helped teach me proper sprinting mechanics and he has helped me get faster every year. Also, my family for getting me involved in summer track, which has allowed me to compete against great competition in the state and the country.
MileSplit Ohio: What are your long term goals related to track and field?
Ralph: I plan on running track throughout high school, but I haven't decided whether I'm going to continue competing when I go to college or not as I also play football and I'm hoping to have some options at the next level there, as well.
Jakari: I plan to continue to sprint and jump for the rest of high school and I want to keep working towards breaking the school's High Jump record of 6'10 ¼", which is held by Jay Jakovina who went on to compete at Youngstown State University.