Kegarise gains lot more than berth to state

The Fitch junior had to overcome acute asthma before placing in the 400.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
AUSTINTOWN -- Here's Adam Kagarise's story in 10 seconds or less: He was diagnosed with acute asthma at age 7, forced to quit playing football as a freshman and advanced to the state track meet as a junior.
That leaves a lot of gaps.
It doesn't tell you what it's like to be a kid who can't do the things other kids take for granted.
It doesn't tell you about the countless trips to the hospital, about being forced indoors in the summer, the struggle just to breath when it's hot and humid and the allergies have taken over.
Which is why, when the Fitch junior settled into the blocks before the start of Saturday's 400-meter dash, he wasn't just looking to beat the other runners.
Lifetime of frustration
He was looking to beat a lifetime's worth of frustration.
"I never in a million years thought I would be here," Kagarise said. "I never even thought I'd be an athlete. I was a bookworm when I was younger. I never even played sports."
Things were bad at first, but slowly his asthma got better. And Kagarise got better. He was forced to quit football -- asthma is worst in the summer -- but track became his outlet.
And beating asthma became his motivation.
"Definitely," he said. "I even volunteered to go to an asthma camp last summer and they made a video of me showing that if you try hard and work at it, you can succeed.
"I try to be an inspiration."
Nervous in the blocks
Which brings us back to Saturday's meet at Fitch High.
"I was so nervous in the blocks," he said. "I wanted this so bad. I trained all year for this and I knew I'd only get one chance. I knew I couldn't screw it up."
He didn't. Kagarise placed second, joining junior thrower Sam Cassano as the only two Fitch boys to advance. The top four in each event move on.
After the race -- and dozens of congratulations -- Kagarise walked over to the bullpen tent and collapsed.
"You do a years worth of training for a 50-second race," he said, smiling. "It's pretty exciting to make it."
Harding brothers qualify
Warren Harding brothers Benja'Lan and J'Abneb Provitt both qualified for the state meet in the 100 and 200, gaining a small measure of redemption after the Raiders' two sprint relays were disqualified at the district meet.
"I wanted this real bad," said J'Abneb. "We were pretty mad after the relays and we wanted to make it out. We just gave it all we got and me and my brother stepped our game up."
Added coach Charles Penny, "We feel we gave the district away because those 20 points would have given us the title. They just used that as motivation and proved we were still good."
Boardman junior Brandon Rader was the only other area boy to advance, placing third in the shot put.
Warren Harding senior Patrick White, last week's district high jump champion, missed Saturday's meet after having surgery on his pinkie finger. He did not get a medical clearance to compete.
Frimpong wins long jump
On the girls side, Canfield freshman Audra Frimpong capped her sensational rookie season by placing first in the long jump with a school-record leap of 18 feet, 1/2 inch.
The jump broke the record of 16-5, set in 1977.
"I was just happy to be moving on in something," said Frimpong, who made the finals in the 100 and 200, but did not advance. "I've worked really hard in practice this year and our coaching is really good. It's been a lot of fun."
Her teammate, junior Natasha Kassim, broke the school record in the discus by almost two feet, throwing 135-2 to finish third.
"I was really nervous about this meet all week -- I actually had dreams about it," she said, laughing. "When I started throwing, I forgot about it and everything came together."
Hall has personal best
Fitch junior Alexis Hall placed fourth in the discus with a personal-best throw of 125-4. She missed advancing last year by just four feet.
"I really wanted to go last year," she said. "I just worked harder at practice this year and I'm really excited to be going down."
Did she eat anything special for breakfast?
"Dunkin' Donuts donut holes, actually," she said.
Boardman senior Jessica Moore qualified in the 800 -- the only other area girl to advance.
scalzo@vindy.com