Carey knows what lies ahead

GARY

For Mercedes Carey, the "what if" game starts with Mrs. Gabbert, her ninth-grade gym teacher.

What if she hadn't recognized a talent Carey didn't know she had? A talent the Calumet junior will showcase for the second consecutive year at the IHSAA Girls State Track and Field State Finals on Saturday.

"I'm kind of glad God put her in my life," Carey said. "She opened up a lot of doors."

Carey, who began her basketball career in middle school, had heard people compliment her quickness before. She never really thought much of it. And certainly she never considered joining the track team.

"(I) wasn't even close to running track," she said. "I was worried about basketball."

Just from watching her dash around the gym, Gabbert was immediately struck by Carey's potential.

"She saw me sprinting and she said I was fast," Carey said. "Every day she told me, 'Run track, run track.' She kept bugging me about it. So I finally said, 'OK, I'll run.'"

Sure enough, Gabbert was right about Carey, who in hardly any time blossomed into one of the area's top sprinters.

"I was amazed to hear that because she seems like she's been running for a long time," said first-year Calumet sprint coach Rob Lukowski.

It only seems like that because Carey had such a slight learning curve. As a sophomore, she was a sectional champ and regional runner-up in the 100 meters. As it is for most first-time state qualifiers, the ambiance at Indiana University's Robert C. Haugh Track and Field Complex was overwhelming.

"The stands were full," Carey said. "The college atmosphere was crazy. I was nervous."

A return trip to Bloomington won't take the edge off those nerves.

"But I'll know what to expect now," she said.

Carey is seeded third in the 100. She also qualified in the 200 for the first time. A regional champion in both events, she has yet to be beaten in a sprint this season. "She hasn't even been challenged in the 200," Lukowski said.

Carey also long jumped at the Greater South Shore Conference meet. She proved a natural at that, too.

"I came in second," she said. "I was surprised because I didn't really practice that at all."

But Carey wanted to help the team. With those valuable points, Calumet edged River Forest and captured its first conference title since 1986.

"She's the full package," Lukowski said. "She's an honors student, she's extremely respectful, she wants to work hard and she is the ultimate lead-by-example leader."

More than anything, Carey has impressed Lukowski with her relaxed running form. Block starting is the biggest thing the two have had to work on, though Carey has improved her starts dramatically.

"In the 100 meters, it's going to come down to her block start," Lukowski said. "Will it be as good as it has been the past two weeks? Her start in the 100 at the regional was the best block start I've seen in a decade of coaching."

No matter what happens, Carey should substantially improve upon her 18th-place finish in the 100 last year.

"Coach says the goal for this year is top five," Carey said. "But my goal is to win, of course."

Contact David Robb at 648-3122, drobb@post-trib.com or visit his blog at blogs.post-trib.com/robb