Reagan High 400 sprinter is on a mission
(Above: Photo by Craig Greenlee- Chace Washington-Saunders)
This could be the year when Chace Washington-Saunders finally gets answers to all of his “what if” questions. Over the past year, Reagan’s top 400-meter sprinter has had his moments of glory. On the flip side, he’s had his share of down times.
“I’ve gone through some humbling experiences,” said Washington-Saunders, who’s being recruited by Hampton University and N.C. A&T. “With the injuries I’ve had, I’m no longer boastful about my ability. This year I’ve run the fastest I’ve ever run and I feel like I can go faster. My confidence is high, but not to the point where it keeps me from staying humble.”
Last spring, Washington-Saunders had the look of a legitimate state championship contender in his specialty. He was clearly among the top eight high school quarter-milers in North Carolina. But Washington-Saunders’ vision for winning a title was crushed when he pulled a hamstring coming down the stretch of the 400 at the regional championships.
Washington-Saunders was hobbled, but still ran 49.1 seconds to finish fourth, which was good enough to qualify for the state. Pulled hamstrings do not heal in a week and it became painfully obvious in the biggest meet of the year. He clocked 51.43 for a 14th-place finish.
That’s when the questions began to repeatedly bombard his thinking. What would have been the outcome if he had a healthy hamstring?
Washington-Saunders believed he would make amends during the summer track season. Those hopes vanished when he suffered shin splints while competing in an AAU meet. This turned out to be a severe injury that sidelined Washington-Saunders for nearly four months.
What might have happened if it wasn’t for shin splints?
The recovery process didn’t go as smoothly as Washington-Saunders hoped it would. He never reached the desired level of conditioning needed to compete up to his capability for the indoor season.
Ironically, Washington-Saunders was widely viewed as a solid pick to win the 500-meter run at the state indoor championships. That’s because he had the fastest time of all the returning runners from the previous winter season. At best, the indoor season was so-so for Washington-Saunders, who finished 9th in the 500 and 13th in the 300-meter dash at the state.
That was a low moment, but by the opening weeks of the outdoor season, there was no denying that Washington-Saunders was completely healthy and good to go for the 400. In mid-March, which was early in the season, he ran a blistering 48.48 seconds, which put him in the No. 2 spot in the Class 4-A state rankings on the N.C. Runners website.
At the Brent Invitational two weeks ago, Washington-Saunders won the 400 for the second year in a row. Even though there was nobody in the field who could seriously challenge him, he clocked 49 seconds flat.
What if he had been pushed to his limit?
“I’m not where I should be right now,” said Washington-Saunders, who has a 3.7 grade-point average. “But I also know that for me to run faster times, I need to compete against the fastest 400 runners. That hasn’t happened a lot for me this season.”
Washington-Saunders may not get that opportunity until early May at the Class 4-A state championships. That’s provided that he finishes among the top four at the regionals. He looks forward to a rematch with Kaylan Love-Soles of Rocky River, who is No. 1 in the state rankings (48.33).
Love-Soles edged Washington-Saunders by .15 seconds in their only encounter of the season at the Marvin Ridge Invitational in March. The other most likely 400 contenders for the state meet include Southeast Raleigh’s Jayon Woodward and T.J. Bleichner of Fuquay-Varina. Woodward (48.87 this spring) was fourth at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals last year and Bleichner is this year’s state indoor champ in the 500.
“Chace can go 47.6, 47.7 this year,” said Donald Grant, Reagan’s sprint coach. “His work ethic is outstanding. I don’t think you’ll find any athlete who’s more dedicated to his sport. He’s always telling me that the 400 is his baby.”
Washington-Saunders’ devotion to track and field goes beyond his relentless inner drive to train and push himself to the limit. In recent years, he’s evolved as a student of the one-lap sprint.
It’s the norm for him to analyze video footage of races run by legendary 400 sprinters Michael Johnson, Butch Reynolds, Jeremy Wariner and Quincy Watts. As he dissects the various stages of each race he views, Washington-Saunders probes for a myriad of details which run the gamut from how to run the turns to how to stay relaxed when fatigue sets in at the end of the race. These efforts are all geared to help him run at peak efficiency.
“I watch the videos closely to find out how they did what they did,” he explained. “Then I take what I learn from them and try as best as I can to emulate that.”
Washington-Saunders has a vision for his running career, which he hopes will extend past his college years. As a freshman at Reagan, his dream of running in the Olympics one day was born.
That dream, however, isn’t his only reason for running and competing at the highest levels possible. Washington-Saunders runs in honor of his late grandmother, Carolyn Washington and his grandfather, Coy Saunders Sr., who’s been diagnosed with colon cancer.
“I run so that I can leave a legacy,” said Washington-Saunders. “My grandmother passed away when I was a baby and I want to make her proud. I want to do the same for my grandfather because he’s been there for me since day one. When I run, I don’t do it just for me. I do it for them.”
