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Terry Baker’s perserverance pays off this springBy Brad Davis Assistant Sports Editor“The difference between a good runner and a better runner is that the better runner knows that the better days lie ahead. ”He doesn’t know who originated it, but that saying has a special meaning for Terry Baker. After suffering through a miserable spring in 1976, the senior distance runner on the Auburn track team has bounced back this spring and has qualified for the NCAA championships in three events. Baker’s latest qualification came last weekend during the Penn Relays, when he qualified for the 10,000-meter run with a time of 28:55.“I probably had the worst outdoor season of my life last year,” Baker said. Although I qualified for. the NCAA, I did not live up to expectations.“My main problem was that I was inconsistent. I would do well one meet and then really bomb out in another.”But Baker didn’t give up. Hewent home for the summer and worked harder than he ever has.“I was really down after last spring,” Baker said. “But Coach (Jerry) Smith told me to keep my head up and keep on working. I took a couple of weeks off, then started my workouts.”Baker’s workouts during the summer consisted of running 15 miles a day, which is his average daily workout now. During the summer, he ran an estimated 1,000 miles.It was a lot of work, but it paidoff. Baker has had the best spring of his career this year, qualifying for the NCAA championships in the 5,000-meter and 10,000-meter runs and the steeplechase.I surpassed all the goals I had set for this spring,” Baker commented. “I didn’t set may goals quite as high as I might have, but I was injured and sick most of the indoor season.“I came back in the conference meet and was pretty pleased. But I did not reach my goals for the indoor season, so my outdoor goals weren’t as high as they might have been.”Baker finished third in the mile run in the Southeastern Conference indoor meet.He said the main difference between this spring and last spring is his consistency.“Consistency is very important in track,” Baker said. “You can’t just luck out and win a few here and there; you must win consistent. And as Coach (Mel) Rosen says, you can’t call consistency luck.”The next step for Baker and his Auburn teammates is the SEC meet, set ' for May 13-14 at Tuscaloosa.“My goal in the SEC meet is to be the champ in my three events,” Baker said. “And our team goal is to win the SEC meet. We came very close last year, and we could do it this year.”Baker also says the Tiger tracksters have set a goal to win the NCAA track title, which will be held in Champagne, 111., June 2-4.“We came in sixth in the indoor meet and some of us didn’t run real well,” Baker said. “So I think there is definitely a possibility of us winning the national title.”Baker got his start in track in the eighth grade, when he participated in several field day meets. Then in the ninth grade, he made the track team at Williamsport High School in Painesburg, Md.“I didn’t really start concentrating on track until my junior year,” Baker said. “I guess I realized then that I could be pretty good.” From high school, Baker went on to Hagerstown (MD.) Junior College, where he was the national junior college champ in the marathon and three-mile run.Former Auburn assistant track coach Jerry Smith recruited Baker from Hagerstown, and Baker said the Auburn track program appealed to him.“I was impressed with the :raining procedures here,” Baker said. “And I was impressed with Joach Rosen ind the campus.”Baker also said he is confident he made the right choice. “These past two years have been the best two years of my life. I’ve had opportunities here I probably would not have -had anywhere else.”“The track program has made great strides in the two years I have been here,” he said. “The only drawback as I see it is the track itself. It is probably the worst track in the conference. All the other ones are new and have Tartan surfaces.“But the coaches here tend to make up for that. Coach Rosen has done an excellent job, and assistant coach Mike Muska has really helped the distance runners this year.”After Baker graduates next spring with a degree in industrial arts, he plans to return to Maryland to coach, teach and continue running.“Success in distance running is a long process,” he continued.So needless to say, it will take a lot of patience and hard work.”Photography: Pan DoughtlaTERRY BAKER HAS GOOD SPRING ...Senior distance man qualified for NCAA In three events
Newspaper Details
Auburn Plainsman
Auburn, Alabama, US
Thu, May 05, 1977
Page 5
Full Page
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