Making Up Is Hard to Do

But, as Chad Washington Proved,
It Can Most Definitely Be Done

By Frank Rizzo
BINGHAMTON — August 1, 2000 – Chad Washington of Liberty made up for a bad individual race by starting off his relay team on the way to a silver medal in this past weekend’s Empire State Games at SUNY-Binghamton.
Washington, a recent grad of Liberty CS and the defending scholastic men’s triple jump ESG champ, had no chance to defend in his strongest event.
“The triple jump trials were the day after the state (meet), and we got home late,” Washington explained.
Instead, he entered in the open men’s 100-meter dash. Though he had run a Sullivan County best 10.9 during the season, and was second in the state C-D meet with an automatic time of 11.35, Washington did not reach the finals after Friday’s semis.
“I don’t know what happened. I wish I could have had the race back,” Washington said in referring to his last-place 11.93 (behind heat winner Joel Mascoll of Brooklyn, 10.72). “No excuses. One of the (Hudson Valley track) coaches said I didn’t get a good start, I ‘walked’ it.”
His chance at redemption came Saturday as part of the Hudson Valley region’s open men’s 4X100 relay.
Washington had the leadoff leg, as he did on Liberty’s 400 relay team, and had a good exchange with second leg Byron Campbell of Tarrytown, the 100-meter bronze medalist.
“Yesterday we only practiced the handoff three times, and only got it right on the last try,” Washington said, noting that in Liberty the exchange took place with the receiving hand close to the body, while this was with an extended arm.
“I felt better than I did yesterday — I ran a horrible race (yesterday),” Washington said before joining his three teammates on the medal stand.
Hudson Valley — the other members were Edrick Jno-Charles of Mount Vernon and Jason McFall of Yonkers — ran a 41.68 to place behind NYC (40.45).