Mann: “ I’m going to Michigan”
By Michael Burkholder
6/08/2008

If anyone ever is worried about trying something new for the first time, maybe you should consult with Hailey Mann (10) as she ran the 800-m for the first time competitively on Saturday and qualified for the AAU Nationals with a second place finish.

By qualifying, Mann received a medal and a yellow certificate which reminded her of American Idol.

“The yellow piece of paper reminded me of the American Idol thing. The first thing I said was I am going to Michigan instead of Hollywood,” said Mann.

The meet was also a bit intimidating at first because she was not used to a meet of this caliber and the structure.

“It was a lot bigger than I am used too. I wasn’t used to them calling us by sub-midget or bantam and stuff like that so I had to know what group I was in. I liked in other meets when they would just call us by our age-group,” said Mann.

Mann, who had focused mostly on the sprints over the last two years jumped up to the 800-m for the AAU Region 13A Championship after a 600-m time trial earlier in the week.

“I felt she was ready for it. I had seen some of her 600-m times and mile time at her elementary school. I thought she had a good chance at it so we tried it. I been coaching her for two years now and with her speed and stamina, it was the right choice and best chance to go to Nationals,” said Coach Rik Richardson.

Mann did not disappoint as she placed second with a time of 2:45.59. Tianna Smith of Bakersfield won the event with a time of 2:36.20. Bailee Dodson (Bakersfield) placed third with a time of 2:45.87 followed by Hydeia Barney (Bakersfield) 3:05.00.

“It was different because it was longer than usual. It was a bit tiring but it was fine in the end,” said Mann. “My first reaction was don’t run to fast or I’ll burn out quickly like in practice. I am happy with second, but I am going to continue to work on the 800-m more and improve.”

Her goal at Nationals is to drop her time down to 2:36.00 and come away with a medal in the event.

“We have six weeks to train for this event and I believe she is very capable of reaching her goal. She ran her race in 100 degree heat and it was her first time she’s run the 800-m competitively so she can only improve her time going forward,” said Richardson.

Mann also took part in the 100-m dash as a warm up for the 800-m where she ran a modest 15.49 but did not advance to Nationals in this event. Niesha Pierce of Oakland won the event with a time of 13.62 followed by Jasmine Garrett (San Pablo) 13.80 followed by Briaunna Caver (13.85) and Alanna Epps (14.03).

“I was thinking I didn’t do too well in the 100-m because I came in sixth in my heat. I thought in the 800-m I had to do better because I had to medal [in one of the events],” said Mann.

Although she ran both the 100-m and the 800-m, she still enjoys the 200-m the best out of all the events. She did not shy away either from being open to running more distance oriented events in the future but for now she says 800-m is the longest she wants to run.

Mann, who also plays competitive soccer for the Pleasanton Rage believes soccer is a part of her success in track.

“The best thing in soccer is I run up and down the field a lot. So it helps me in both sports,” said Mann.

Until Nationals, Mann now gets to enjoy her medal and take pride in knowing she got her golden ticket to Michigan.