in Personal by coach mike on 05 Feb 2008

Received some bad news today, actually started hearing the news yesterday. A former trackster, former employee , and a friend was killed in a car accident. The weather has been really weird, snow, rain, cold , hot and then a lot of fog. Twenty-three year Andy was driving in the fog, missed his turn, was backing tracking and was hit by a truck. Andy was a real favorite. He always had a good outlook on life, always had a smile and a firm handshake. He worked for my family at the restaurant, my mother just adored him. On the track, he was a sprinter for the Wildcats, always giving his best. My favorite memories of Andy took place at Harrisburg. He had ran the premli’s of the 200M, didn’t race real well. Later he was in the 4×200, he lined up on top of the exchange triangle, instead of using the acceleration zone. This was a freshman mistake, problem with that was Andy was a upper class man, of course this messed up the whole relay, messed up the hand offs. I gave him a good chewing. He went on his way, back to camp, took his shoes off, took his jersey top off, was playing cards. They announce the finals of the 200’s, guess who made the finals? Andy, he had no idea, wasn’t ready. It was a funny sight seeing him come running out of the stands, trying to put his shoes on, his top on, while the starter held up the race. I couldn’t chew on him again, the sight of him, falling to start, was just to funny. Thanks Andy for all the good times you gave us. Thanks for always having a smile on your face, thanks for always taking time to talk to your old coach. The world lost some of its positive energy! Love you man.

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