Lower Track Times Prove Frack Is Feeling Just Fine

Shawn Frack is running injury free and with peace of mind these days, but things were different last fall and winter.

The difference can be clocked. Frack, a senior distance runner at UC Irvine, has collected personal bests like junk mail, lowering his previous top times in every event he has run this season heading into this weekend’s Steve Scott Invitational at Irvine.

Even as far as his psyche has come, and with all that success behind him, Frack is still trying to grasp his performance in the 10,000 meters at the Pomona Pitzer meet on April 17.

His time of 30 minutes 32.08 seconds was the 10th fastest in school history. It was the first time a male runner has cracked the top 10 list since 1992.

“That didn’t surprise me,” Coach Vince O’Boyle said. “I think he’s still capable of going faster. Whether he’ll be able to do that or not, I don’t know.”

O’Boyle may have expected such a performance, but Frack was taken aback.

“I’m trying to absorb that,” said Frack, who attended Esperanza High School. “Everyone keeps telling me how good it was and how good it looked. They don’t know how bad it felt. I’m still recovering from that race.

“[Sports Information Director] Bob Olson showed me the top 10 and it was cool to see my name on it. It wasn’t so much that I was on list, but it is something to show for the four years I’ve been here. I finally got everything together.”

There’s one other thing about his performance.

“No matter how bad I would have run, it’s not a big deal anymore,” Frack said.

Frack’s problems began in the fall, with a disappointing cross-country season. The carried through the winter with personal difficulties.

Frack, who was the Southern Section Division II 3,200 champion as a high school senior, has had injury problems before. He originally attended Cal Poly San Luis Obispo but left after one year because he was not happy at the school or with his training, which he says caused several bouts with tendinitis.

He suffered through injuries again last fall running for Irvine’s cross-country team, but found a cure for what ailed him.

“The obvious reason is I lost weight,” Frack said. “I had bulked up so much that it had become a problem.”

Frack was hardly bloated at 150 pounds, but the 10 pounds he lost had a dramatic effect.

“I didn’t think it would make that much difference,” he said. “But my legs weren’t used to that much weight. I had a lot of leg injuries, stuff like cramps and shin splints.”

Frack also has taken a load off his mind.

“I had some tough times, some personal stuff,” he said. “Some things I don’t want to discuss. I was depressed after the cross-country season because I was injured again. During the holidays, I found out my grandfather had cancer. I really hit rock bottom. With the help of my family, friends and coaches, I’ve begun to look at things more positively.

“I learned to appreciate things a little more. The way I look at every day is it can’t get any worse than it was before.”

No, in fact, every day, things seem to get better.

Frack has run his top times in the 1,200 (3:08), 1,500 (3:56.7), 3,000 (8:27.43) and 5,000 (14:46). He has even tried the steeplechase and had a respectable time of 9:27.

He then hit his stride in the 10,000.

“The [Big West Conference] championships is the next time he can run 10,000,” O’Boyle said. “There is a tactical side to running in a conference meet, so it’s not conducive to running fast times. Still, he might [win] the dang thing. It may be a situation where he gets going and it’s all over.”

Considering Frack’s health and state of mind, anything is possible.

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Frack also has taken up sportswriting. He works part-time for a Garden Grove paper, covering the Garden Grove League.

“It’s tough with this schedule because of track and school,” Frack said. “I cover three high schools. Between press releases and talking to people and going to games, I manage to get a page or two out. I really enjoy the writing.”

It comes with some minor hazards.

“No one on the track team is ever going to let me live it down,’ Frack said. “They all give me a hard time about it.”

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Former Irvine basketball assistant Cameron Dollar, now the Southern California College coach, has two jobs this spring. Recruiting for SCC and prepping for his role in the movie “Ziggy.”

That’s right, he replaces Bill Reynolds, former coach at SCC, and will be in a movie with Burt Reynolds, star of “Ziggy.” The movie, which is written and directed by a UCLA acquaintance, begins shooting in July.

Dollar’s role? A basketball player? A coach? A classy former player turned coach?

Nope. A bookie.

Not exactly type casting.

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Repairs to the Bren Center basketball court, damaged by flooding during the winter, have been completed. A company that specializes in drying out buildings was brought in, making in unnecessary to sand and resurface the court.

Total cost of the repairs, including the original draining, was about $30,000.

Anteater Notes

There are still spots available for California Youth Soccer Assn. C license courses to be held May 7-10 and May 14-17 at Irvine. George Kuntz, Anteater men’s soccer coach, runs the training sessions. Call: (714) 778-2972. . . . Spotted recently playing pick-up basketball at UC Irvine--former Anteater, now UNLV player, Kevin Simmons.

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Coming Attractions

Key events this week for UC Irvine:

* Golf at Big West Conference Championships, which conclude today at Pacific Golf and Country Club in San Clemente.

* Track and field at Steve Scott Invitational, Saturday at Anteater Stadium. Field events start at 8:30 a.m., running events at 10. Scott, a three-time Olympian, will compete in the 1,500-meter race.