By BOB LEDDY (TAFWA)
R.I. Track & Field Foundation
6 Jan. – – As he ran intervals the other night on the PCTA track, Central High sprint star Austin Wolo wore a T-shirt with the word “Champion’’ stenciled on the back. The description is spot-on. Now a senior, Wolo has earned multiple RITCA all-state honors, helped the Knights set numerous indoor and outdoor state relay records, and emerged from approximately 1,200 participants at the recent multi-state R.I. Classic to become the meet’s Track MVP.
But the competitive engine that currently drives Austin Wolo was a bit slow in turning over. “I was lazy; a slacker,’’ he said. “I didn’t take [track] seriously.’’
But by steadily working with coach Thom Spann and the Providence Cobras Track Club – initially, he said, running in basketball shoes – Wolo soon developed into a class sprinter.
“I started to take it seriously,’’ he said. At last February’s State Indoor Championship, Wolo ran legs on both wining Central relays: the 4×200 (a meet-record 1:32.15) and the 4×400 (meet-record 3:27.36). Also off the State Meet, he was a third-team coaches all-stater in the 300. Last March, at the New Balance National Championships in New York, Wolo ran a 49.57 leg on the Knights’ state record-setting 4×400 (3:22.28).
Wolo’s relay teammates have, at various times, included Donatien Djero, Charles Kolie, Dametrius O’Connor and Frank Mercado. “I have a blast with those guys,’’ Wolo said.
Central boys’ coach Dan O’Kleasky is well aware of the talent his roster possesses. “I knew from when they were freshmen, this was a talented group. They put in the work; it makes my job easier.’’
Wolo, who is looking at a number of schools for next fall, describes last season as “the best year I ever had’’ with an eye on getting even better this winter. The next challenge? “To break the record in the 4×200.’’ (That mark was set 10 years ago by a Hope relay: 1:29.72).
TEREZA BOLIBURCH: NO TROUBLE CLEARING HURDLES
“I enjoy the rush of it.’’
That’s how North Kingstown junior sprinter Tereza Bolibruch describes the adrenalin-pumping action of the hurdles race. And she has put that speed to good use. Bolibruch is the state’s defending champ in the event. She clocked 8.46 seconds to earn coaches first-team all-state honors last February. At last month’s R.I. Classic at PCTA, Bolibruch mined hurdles gold with an 8.58 performance.
She began running in middle school, and has built an impressive reputation both on the indoor and outdoor circuit. (She was last year’s state outdoor 100-meter high hurdles champ with a decisive 14.84 clocking).
Bolibruch, who employs a three-step interval between hurdles in the 55-meter race, is aware of the mechanics involved in the event. “There’s always something to perfect,’’ she said. IN addition, she’s a part of the Skippers’ 4×200 relay. During the fall season, she can be found on the volleyball court. “I like the different events,’’ she said.