Pioneers’ Laprade, Wimbush versatile leaders on track

On a team of only 24 indoor track and field athletes this winter, Heritage seniors Amanda Wimbush and Latavia Laprade have learned the art of multi-tasking to maximize their efforts.

Together, they compete in 11 of the 15 events in an average meet, giving the Pioneers plenty of big point potential.

“We don’t have the quantity, but we have quality,” Heritage coach Theo McIvor said.

Wimbush, who was the No. 1 runner on Heritage’s cross country team this past fall, runs in the 300, 500 and 1,000 meters, the 1,600 relay and does the pole vault, which has developed into one of her strongest events.

“Amanda can go from the 300 up to the mile,” McIvor said. “She has great endurance. She can either go up or down.”

The Pioneers are deeper and stronger on the boys side, with about 38 athletes competing. They won last Saturday’s Knight-Bennett Invitational at Heritage, named after former head coaches Rufus and Mike, respectively, while the girls finished runner-up by three points to Halifax.

“We did excellent,” said Laprade, who won the hurdles in 9.1 seconds, the fastest time in the area so far, and placed fifth in the long and triple jumps.

“She throws the shot put as well and she’s thrown 33 feet, so she’s a well-rounded athlete,” McIvor said.

They’re not very vocal leaders, but they let their actions speak louder than words on the track.

“They’re both quiet-spoken,” McIvor said. “You would never, ever hear them complain. They barely talk, but when they get on the track, they get the job done.”

Though, or perhaps because, they don’t compete in any of the same events, they feed off of one another’s success in meets.

“They encourage one another,” McIvor said. “They are leaders.”

Their quiet nature betrays their fiercely competitive sides.

“Amanda is the most aggressive runner,” McIvor said. “She hates to lose. Latavia, she’s more of the calm, subtle person. She hates losing but you would never know.”

At the Knight-Bennett Invitational, Wimbush won both the 600 and the pole vault, clearing 9 feet, the same height that placed her fourth at the Group AA state championships last spring, her first year attempting the event.

“Amanda’s a natural (in the pole vault),” McIvor said.

Wimbush has realistic expectations going into today’s and Saturday’s Asics Invitational, hosted by Liberty University at its Tolsma Indoor Track Center.

“I’m hoping to finish in the top 10 in the 300 and the pole vault,” she said.

Laprade has similar expectations in the 55 hurdles and triple jump, though she expects to be pushed by a host of talented hurdlers, including freshman teammate Kelsey Roark.

“Kelsey’s really improving,” McIvor said. “She gives her a great challenge.”

The Asics event is the biggest high school indoor meet in the state this year with 74 teams and 1,792 athletes expected to participate.

“It’s going to be a mammoth-sized track meet,” said Liberty Christian Academy first-year coach Ramsey Moore, who had 32 teams show up for his first Bulldog Invitational last Saturday. “It’s huge. This is going to be the biggest meet ever held there. It’s going to be pretty exciting to place in the top eight in any event.”

McIvor will enter both of his star athletes in only two events this weekend — Wimbush in the 300 and pole vault and Laprade in the 55 hurdles and triple jump.

“We have less than a month to prepare for the (Seminole) District meet,” he said. “You don’t want to have any major injuries at this point. They’ve competed pretty hard for the last three weeks so we’re giving them a break.”

He believes Wimbush would have a better shot at placing in the 500, but is saving her in that event for next weekend’s Virginia Tech Invitational.

As for the Seminole District race, McIvor expects it to be a wide-open field on the girls side, with Heritage’s boys having a slight edge on the competition.

“It’s going to be really, really tight,” he said. “(Jefferson) Forest has a great team, Amherst has a great team, Brookville’s boys and girls do, too.”