Yvette Michelle Crabtree Davis
April 7, 2008
Cecile D. St. Amant
April 9, 2008
The first time you see Terrebonne junior distance runner Skyla Jackson in a 1,600- or 3,200 meter race, you will probably wonder, “Why is she running like that?”
You figure there is no way she can compete against the girls with that motion. Then she breaks inside and grabs an early lead.
So next you say to yourself, “Ok, she has a fast start. But she cannot maintain this pace. Surely, her competitors’ better technique will chase her down and leave her behind!”
Except that never happens. Well, almost never.
In perhaps the most dramatic race of last Friday’s Tiger Relays, Jackson, the preeminent favorite, trailed Baton Rouge Magnet’s Emmi Aquillard for the first 3,000 meters. In the last 200 meters, Jackson, who usually cruises to easy victories, found a second gear and jetted past Aquillard for a three-and-a-half second win.
The result was thrilling to watch, but clearly it took a toll on her physically.
Unable to generate a similar burst, Aqillard got her revenge by defeating Jackson in the 1,600-meter run in over seven-and-a-half seconds. SportsNet caught up with Jackson after the rare lost.
SportNet: That was quite a burst you put out at the end of the 3,200-meter run.
Skyla Jackson: Yeah. I wanted to stay close to her. I didn’t want her to get too far ahead of me because I knew if she got too big of a lead, I would never catch her. But, I find that my strong point is the end. So I use it to my advantage. I just tried to stay by her and then, after the curve, just took off and prayed she didn’t have a good sprint.
SN: I’ve been covering high school track for a month and this is the first time I saw you lose a race, the 1,600-meter run. How rare is that?
SJ: I don’t know. The 3,200 was really hard on me today, and that affected my 1,600. But I’m concentrating on the 3,200 anyway for state [championships].
SN: [Terrebonne track] coach Chelsey Lucas said you’re the type of athlete who isn’t satisfied with winning races. You feel you have to run a faster time with every race.
SJ: Yeah. I really get frustrated with my times because last year my personal best was 12:03. This year, I haven’t been close to that. Today was the closest I came to my personal best. It was a 12:29 (actually it was 12:30:58). So it’s really not that close. I’m getting closer to it. I want to break 12 [seconds], like 11-something, by the end of this season.
SN: If forced to choose between winning with a slower time or losing while running your best time, which would you prefer?
SJ: I couldn’t choose. I’d need to win with faster times.
SN: What’s your personal best in the 1,600?
SJ: 5:50. This is my first year running 1,600 and my personal best is 5:50.
SN: How long have you been distance running for track?
SJ: I started distance running for cross country last year, which is three miles. And then, I didn’t want to do track. Then halfway through the season I decided maybe I should. I went to like five meets last year. And this year, I started from the beginning.
SN: You don’t pump your arms much when you run? Has anybody tried to force you to change your technique and run with more arm movement?
SJ: It’s very frustrating because everybody tells me if I would pump my arms, I could run faster; but I can’t think about it. It’s just the way I run. I can’t change it.
SN: You have quite a support system pulling for you. Who is in the stands rooting for you?
SJ: My grandpa, my dad and my mom. They come to every meet, no matter where it is. They’re behind me 100 percent, everywhere I go. And, of course, my teammates are always cheering.
