Fruits of his labor

Coco caps a brilliant running career at Whitefish by winning the 800, 1,600, 3,200 at state

By DILLON TABISH/The Daily Inter Lake

At last week's state track meet in Butte, Drew Coco made winning three distance races look easy.

But there was nothing easy about it.

It started two years ago after the state track meet his sophomore season. Coco, with dreams of joining the Whitefish High record books, approached cross country and distance coach Bill Brist and asked for a training regimen.

After that, the young runner went to work, covering the miles of trials and trials of miles, as author John L. Parker put it in his classic running novel "Once a Runner."

At first it was five days a week, almost year-round, treading through the snow, around Whitefish Lake and down the neighborhood streets. That eventually increased to seven days a week.

At the state cross country meet his junior year, he finished fifth. And when the spring track season rolled around, he was one of the top time-holders in the 1,600 and 3,200. He placed second in both events at state, helping Whitefish win its fourth state championship in six years.

This season, and after almost 2,000 miles tallied, Coco had whittled his running style into a fluid stride that seemed effortless. In cross country, he didn't lose a race. At the state meet, he won by a half minute. And shortly after, he was named the Montana Gatorade Cross Country Runner of the Year.

Coco kept working through the winter months with the guidance of Brist, who made sure the anxious senior didn't over-do it. Coco began setting goals in the form of times that he hoped to accomplish.

The track season started to no surprise, Coco went out and won his first few races, but Brist started noticing something.

Hours after running the 3,200 at the Russ Pilcher Top Ten meet in Missoula, Brist checked Coco's heart rate on the bus trip home. Brist couldn't believe what he saw. Coco's resting heart rate was thumping at around 100 beats per minute.

"He was definitely fighting something," Brist said. "It doesn't take a Ph.D or M.D. to know that somebody's heart rate should not be at that level hours after a race."

After going to the doctor, Coco was diagnosed with a viral infection. Brist and Whitefish track coach Derek Schulz weren't taking any risks, and held Coco out of racing indefinitely.

As Coco put it, he went on a 'sabbatical" from running.

Coco started training again, but at a limited pace, after his body began building strength and with his doctor's approval.

"I had to start over," Coco said. "It was hard mentally more than anything … I still had my fitness, that was on my side."

Brist drew up a graduated workout program that limited Coco to one mile a day.

Slowly, the senior started regaining his strength. After missing three meets, he was able to begin competing one event at a time.

Coco nearly regained his old stride by divisionals, winning the 800, 1,600 and 3,200. That set himself up for a busy two days at the state meet, which was in Butte of all places.

The Butte-factor is significant. With an elevation of 5,538 feet, over a mile high, Coppertown is not a friendly place for unaccustomed distance runners looking for fast times.

In the end, he still won. His winning times were 1:58.28 in the 800, 4:33.28 in the 1,600 and 10:15 in the 3,200.

He even had enough left after sweeping the distance races to join the 1,600 relay team, which finished second by an inch.

Overall, he scored 32 of Whitefish's 72 points. The Bulldogs finished third as a team.

"Coach Brist told me to just go out and have fun," said Coco, who will attend the Naval Academy Prep School.

"I had pretty high aspirations for school records or going undefeated, but you know, things happen, and you have to look on the bright side.

"I put in a lot of hard work, I'm ready for a break," he added. "But at the same time, it's like this is what I did in high school, this was my thing."

"There's no doubt Drew is equal to any of the great kids that have come through Whitefish," Brist said. "The fact that he was able to overcome the medical problems that he did, and accomplish what he did, that's a testament to him as a runner."

Schulz, who coached Coco for four years in track, went one step further when looking back on the senior's final performance.

"If he would have gone to Butte and tried to put everything in one singular race, he could have spent himself," Schulz said. "But he basically went down there simply to do what he could for our team. I know it probably burns in his heart that he didn't run the times that he knew he could, but he did what he needed to do for the team.

"It was just one of the more remarkable things I've seen in high school sports," Schulz said.