Park View Track Starts Anew

2-Time Defending State Champs Have New Coach

By Paul Tenorio

Friday, March 27, 2009

The Park View girls' track team entered the season as two-time defending Virginia AA state champions. And, for the second consecutive year, the Patriots also began the season with a new head coach.

Despite guiding the Patriots to a championship in his only season as head coach, Randy Kerico did not return this season, citing scheduling conflicts, said Park View Athletic Director Joe Breinig Jr.

In Kerico's place, Melinda Keesee has stepped in to guide Park View, which has lost several seniors from last year's team, including All-Met Player of the Year Natalie Baird. Park View shared the title with Brentsville last season.

Keesee has an extensive background in track and field.

She has been a runner since third grade, she said, competing through middle school, high school and at Otterbein College, a NCAA Division III program in Ohio.

After graduating from Otterbein, Keesee ran in marathons. In October 2007, she finished third in the Columbus Marathon, running the course in 2 hours 51 minutes and 33 seconds.

Her performance got the attention of Nike, which contacted Keesee through a shoe store in Columbus and connected her to a running team it sponsors in the area.

Keesee has since run professionally for Second Sole Run Ohio, competing in track meets, marathons, 10Ks and half-marathons and as part of the women's developmental program for marathon runners under the sponsorship of USA Track and Field.

Her experience has made for an easy transition to coaching at Park View, Keesee said.

"It really helps solidify aspects that they're going through," Keesee said. "I'm not just saying, 'That's normal to feel that burn' . . . they understand that I legitimately do know. If anything, it puts me on a level that they're willing to trust."

Keesee, who moved to the Washington area eight months ago, continues to compete in Virginia, running for the Pacers team in Arlington County. She has her sights set on the Marine Corps Marathon on Oct. 25.

In the meantime, she will have much work to do with the Patriots, as they look to replace several spots left open by graduation, especially Baird's. Now at the College of William and Mary, Baird became the first high school athlete to win the discus at the Penn Relays three consecutive years, and she never lost to an area competitor in the event.

Despite the loss of the seniors, Keesee said, she has not lowered the bar for this team nor tempered any expectations, pointing to a base of underclassmen who she said have learned much from the departed seniors.

"The kids that you would say have the least talent or don't appear to have the natural talent, they're the hardest-working kids, who come out and surprise everyone," she said.

Extra Points

By Paul Tenorio and Matt Brooks