Taylor’s Ghosts Fly Away in Finale

Her expression--wide-eyed and pale-faced--wasn’t at all promising, not with the biggest race of her career just moments away. If anything, Shelley Taylor walked to the starting line of the State final Saturday afternoon looking less like the nation’s fastest 1,600-meter runner than a girl who had just seen a ghost.

Which she had, several times over. The Cerritos College track may hold some warm memories for Taylor, an Edison senior, but when it comes to the State 1,600, it also brings about some haunting reminders.

Three years ago, as a freshman, Taylor was sprinting down the final stretch with Karen Hecox of South Hills at her shoulder. Fifteen meters from the finish and battling for second place, Taylor and Hecox wobbled with exhaustion, tripped and fell. Both got up and finished--Hecox third, Taylor fourth--but Taylor was disqualified.

As a sophomore, Taylor got beaten by a bad cold and finished seventh. Same story last year when she finished fifth.

These are the ghosts of Taylor’s past. They swirl about in her memory, and sometimes mock her when she looks in the mirror. When she stepped up to the starting line Saturday, Taylor was stepping into her very own haunted mansion.

This time, it turned out to be the ride of her life.

Taylor, who came into the race with the nation’s fastest time, 4 minutes 51.98 seconds, led from the start. Her goal wasn’t only to win, but to run around 4:47, or at least fast enough to break the school record of 4:49.1 set 14 years ago by Sharon Hulse.

When the gun went off, Taylor, running in Lane 2, shot to the rail--and the lead. For the first two laps, her position looked good. She did not. The look on Taylor’s face seemed to convey everything--anxiety, uncertainty, fear--a runner wants to avoid, especially in a career-capping race, especially with Fillmore’s speedy Nikki Shaw right on her heels.

But Taylor’s expression was only a mask. Inside, she felt powerful, guided by a strength, she tried to explain later, that seemed to come from somewhere else. Wherever it was coming from, it propelled Taylor like never before.

With 200 meters to go, Taylor put the final surge on Shaw. She flew down the final stretch, her stride long, strong and graceful, trading three years’ of frustration for a memory that will last a lifetime.

Said Taylor: “I was just staring at that clock, saying, ‘Get me there in time! Come closer, finish line!’ ”

She was obliged, at least in time for the school record. Taylor crossed the line in 4:48.52, the fastest time in the nation this year, and the fourth-fastest in Orange County history.

Technically, it was not the final race of Taylor’s high school career--in two weeks, she will run the mile at the prestigious Keebler Invitational at Elmhurst, Ill., before joining the college ranks at Arkansas.

But emotionally, this was the Shelley Finale. As she walked off the track Saturday, hordes of peppy, pony-tailed teens were there to embrace her. A few tears were shed. Joy--and sweet relief--twinkled in Taylor’s eyes.

“I was so nervous,” she said. “All day I was just thinking about the race and all that’s happened here. Because, you know, this hasn’t been the greatest meet for me.”

Certainly, it was no secret. Taylor’s State meet fate has been something of a conversation piece on the track and field table. Some speculated that, although quite talented, she just couldn’t handle the pressure.

True, up to a point, Taylor says. For the last three years, she fretted herself into a frenzy. Her nerves jumbled and collided inside her like dice in a Yahtzee cup. Anxiety knew no bounds.

“Before, I’d sit in my room all day and go over the race inside my head a million times,” Taylor said. “I’d remind myself that my throat really hurts, or how tired I felt. I’d sit there feeling sorry for myself.

“Today, I just listened to the radio and talked on the phone all day. I wrote thank-you cards, I read my yearbook . . . “

She credits the change to her new coach, Dave White, a.k.a. Edison’s football coach. White, she says, keeps everything low key, and fun. He stresses the positive, never the negative, and Taylor is forever grateful. White shies away from any credit. It’s Taylor’s heart, he says, that guides her way.

Ten minutes before her race Saturday, Taylor stood with White in quiet reflection. Relax, he told her, then walked away.

From there, she was on her own. Alone to face the fear of another possible failure.

Alone to see her spirit outrun her ghosts.

Barbie Ludovise’s column appears Wednesday and Sunday. Readers may reach Ludovise by writing her at The Times Orange County Edition, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, 92626 or by calling (714) 966-5847.