Hydration importance not lost on athletes

Perhaps the best friend of area track and field athletes May 25 during Day 2 of the Division I Austintown-Fitch Regional was inanimate.

It wasn’t a teammate or classmate. It wasn’t a coach or family member.

On the hottest competition day of the spring to date, with temperatures in the 90s and humidity spiking along with it, the best friends for athletes were the two water coolers under the infield tent and the temporary water fountains on the finish line at Fitch.

Limousine and tuxedo rentals and flower shops during prom season have nothing on spring popularity compared to that.

If anything, as another state track and field weekend awaits in Columbus, that sultry day at Fitch was a reminder once more of the importance of hydration and the broader point of athletes being smart about the conditions in which they compete.

“You’ve got to take care of your body,” Brush senior Quentin Woodall said matter-offactly, after a three-final meet with 110-meter hurdles along with the 100 and 200. “If you don’t take care of your body, you’re not going to be successful.

“You’re going to be injured all your life.”

Or, just as painful, not on the road to state anymore.

Woodall’s race regimen is indicative of why there must be an eye for physical preparation as well as times and technique.

The returning D-I 110 hurdles state qualifier, who was fourth in Columbus in the event a year ago to become the first Arcs’ boys hurdler in school history to crack the top four at state, has added both sprints to his postseason slate.

With the 100 right after his signature event in the 110s, Woodall has to maximize the brief respite he has with water and rest in order to ramp up for a sprint right after.

He handled it well at Fitch, winning 110s with a time of 14.21 seconds and earning regional runner-up in the 100 (10.80) and the 200 (21.56). The last part

of that — a strong mid-21 in the 200 — is evidence of Woodall managing his day properly with enough rest and fluids to be ready for his final event.

Mentor standout freshman Paige Floriea gets it, too. Floriea, who will go into Columbus this weekend as a favorite to win the D-I long jump as a ninth-grader and with good chances to advance to the finals in both sprints, lauded what being smart with proper hydration and rest can do to maximize performance.

Floriea had the 100 final and long jump prelims and final early in the day at Fitch before jumping right back in with a 4x200 and ending up with a 200.

“(Hydration is) probably the biggest aspect, because you can tell when people crash and it’s actually kind of devastating,” Floriea

said. “I have brought so many waters — big gallons full — and I’ve been sitting there making sure I drink full bottles of water, keeping track of that even starting yesterday.

“My coaches got me wrapped in an ice towel (before 4x2), and we were pouring water on me, making sure I cool down and having me drink anything that had electrolytes in it.”

The National Scholastic Athletics Foundation reported a study found being “more than two percent dehydrated in warm environments can cause a drastic decline in sports performance.”

This weekend in Columbus, temperatures are expected to peak in the lowto-mid 80s, with a chance of scattered thunderstorms June 1.

Humidity has been known to be a significant factor at state over the years, especially in distance for athletes who didn’t hydrate enough before a race.

There are typically several

water stations at Ohio State — in the trainer’s tent, and under the athlete and media tents by the podium.

Jokingly in recent years, for athletes who may need it, gray buckets have been put out marked “official OHSAA puke buckets.”

No one wants to see that, of course — which is exactly why hydration and body awareness are so vital.

Teenagers sometimes feel immune to lack of energy, but track and field athletes typically know better.

“Oh, it’s so important,” said Geneva’s Taylor Wilms, who won the D-I Fitch Regional title in 300 hurdles. “Because I know, even on the bus, I was drinking as much as I can. And every time I could get out of the sun, I was back by the trees in the shade drinking water.

“After events, kids were getting sick, and I was handing them water.”

Water ... an athlete’s inanimate best friend.