The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/259021
what they are made of is just re- markable and awe-inspiring." Organizers of the obstacle rac- ing series named it after the an- cient Spartans, according to its website, "because the Spartans were tough as nails." "Spartans believed while on this earth they should achieve one mo- ment of Excellence and understood they might die trying," their web- site, www.spartanrace.com, states. West said that the Spartan Death Race not only challenges partici- pants physically, but psychologi- cally as well. " That 's why I say it does re- mind you a lot of Hell Week in Na- vy SEALs training, because they're constantly in your head, trying to get you to quit," West said. "Be- cause they'll put you in the wa- ter—even in the summer time, in Vermont, the water's pretty cold, like 60 degrees—for a long time, to the point of hypothermia, real- ly, or close to it. Then you get out and you take off. It's not like you get a chance to warm up. You take off and go to the next evolution. " They've got people working here and there along the course, and they'll tell you, 'Oh, man, you're so far behind, you might as well quit. I've got a fire right there. You can warm up. All you've got to do is quit,'" West added. "Just like the military, just constantly in your head, just trying to get you to quit, really. They don't give you food. They don't give you water. They don't give you anything." West said that he expected that the only reason he wouldn't finish the Death Race is because he is physically unable to do so. "I hope the only reason I quit is from injury," West said. "Because every time I've been involved in something that's pushed my en- durance to the limit, whether it be in CrossFit or whatever, once you quit, within minutes, you think, 'Well, I can go again.' It doesn't take but a few minutes to say, 'Okay, I can do something again.' "To just throw that down and say 'I quit,' I'm sure within minutes I would just totally say, 'What did I do that for? That was stupid.'" West admitted, however, that not knowing what tasks competitors will be asked to do in this year's Death Race presents a challenge in determining the best way to pre- pare for it. "Without knowing specifically what tasks you're going to do, it's hard to really put together some kind of a training program," West said. "I guess my idea is to keep changing it up, to keep training in different ways. Cardio is always there. I'm always working on car- dio. But do I need to run? Do I need to be able to run five miles or 10 miles or something? I don't think that's really a key element." In addition to weight training at The Zone Fitness Center in Peters- burg and doing CrossFit training at On Point CrossFit in Princeton, West also works out at his home. "I do a lot of cardio out here in my garage, my little gym," West said. When the weather permits, West straps a pack containing 60 pounds of wood shavings onto his back and goes for a hike around Hor- nady Park, while also carrying a 50 -pound rock in his arms. "The thing is, I can't quit or I can't put it down," West said. "I'll go for 30, 45 minutes, something like that, just try to keep going. I go around the park. I go around and around and around." Laughing, West said that no one has stopped him and asked what he was doing. " T hey don't say anything," West said. "I think they're prob- ably afraid." West also puts on a 60 -pound weight vest and rides his bike for 15 or 20 miles or more. "Just different things to keep the cardio up," West said. "And get my body used to carrying more weight than normal." In addition, West plans to re- sume training with a truck tire in his backyard in the spring. "It's on a rim, so it's fairly heavy," West said. "I'll strap it to me and I'll do sprints dragging the tire, or I'll carry the tire and I'll run around the yard, and then I'll throw it. I get to the bottom of the hill and I throw it until I get to the top of the hill. Three of those is one evo- lution, without taking a break, so it's pretty tough." Last month, West traveled to Tampa, Fla., to participate in a workout led by De Sena and UFC welterweight Johny Hendricks as part of a special operations con- ference. "It was a two-hour workout that was brutal," West said. "We did 350 burpees altogether, probably a thousand jumping jacks. We did 100 -yard bear crawls, 100 -yard cr- ab walks. Ran around a track with obstacles. You were just constant- ly doing something for two straight hours. "I gave myself a B for that work- out," added West. "I think I did pretty good. Crab walks I had a hard time with. A hundred yard crab walk is tough. I hadn't been doing crab walks and it really hurt my wrists. Other than that, I think I probably would have had an A." West said that he was invited to participate in the workout with Hendricks—who will face Robbie Lawler at UFC 171 in Dallas, Tex- as, on March 15 for the vacant wel- terweight title—because he had signed up for the Death Race. "That was a good workout," West said. "But, looking around, there wasn't too many that was older than me on that field. Just a few, but not very many." West expects he'll be one of the oldest, if not the oldest, competi- tors when this year's Death Race begins on June 27. "I thought maybe I would have the opportunity to be the oldest to ever finish one of these races, but I found out that they had a 55 -year- old finish once," West said. "So I'll be about 53 and a half." West doesn't think that his age will prove to be a disadvantage against much younger participants. "Strengthwise, unless you're talking about some powerlifter guy, my strength is there," West said. "Cardio is half there right now from where it needs to be." West feels that, mentally, he may have an advantage over younger competitors due to his life expe- riences. "Just like what I talked about a while ago, you know, the times when I've quit, moments later re- gretting quitting because I really didn't need to," West said. "So, it's like, unless you're injured, keep going." The theme of the 2014 Death Race is "The Explorer." Accord- ing to race organizers, competi- tors can read the exploits of Sir Ed- mund Hilary, Shackleton and Lew- is and Clark to prepare for their journey. Past themes have includ- ed gambling, religion and money. West said that he interprets the race's theme to mean that compet- itors will not have marked trails to follow. "They never really have a trail," West said. "What they'll have is a marker tied up in the trees every hundred yards or so. But, this year, what I think that means is you're not going to have those mark- ers. They're going to tell you, you need to go here. You're here and you need to go there. It's going to be to navigate, figure out how to get there." While competitors are provid- ed a gear list of more than a doz- en items weighing in excess of 50 pounds in advance of the race, West plans to include topograph- ical maps, a compass and perhaps a GPS device. "I've never really seen them say you can't have something in your pack," West said. "They tell you things you have to have in your pack and, after that, it's however much you want to carry. Whatev- er you take, you have to carry with you the whole time." Participants who finish the Death Race receive a skull tro- phy—and a feeling of accomplish- ment, West said. "There's nothing to gain mon- etarily," West said. "It's just that sense of accomplishment, that you did it, that you could do it." West said that his wife, Julie, a sixth grade teacher at Pike Central Middle School, has been support- ive, if a little dubious, of his entry in the Death Race. "She thinks I'm crazy," West said. "Everybody thinks I'm crazy. "It probably is, somewhat, a mid- life crisis," West added. "I'm just trying to prove to myself that I've still got something." No one has ever died attempt- ing the Death Race, despite the race's name as well as the three- word waiver that participants must sign stating "You may die! " "Even though it 's called the Death Race and the website is youmightdie.com, nobody's died," West said. "Yet." West and his wife live in Peters- burg. They have one son, Zeffrey, 27, of Bicknell, and one daugh- ter, Lisa, 23, of Haysville, and two grandchildren. West is using his participation in the Death Race as a fundrais- er for the Wounded Warriors Proj- ect. Anyone wanting to be a spon- sor can contact him at (812) 354- 4472 or through his Facebook page, Gary West Death Race Char- ity Fundraiser. Pledges can be made based on the number of hours West can stay in the race or sponsors can pledge a fixed amount. In addition, West suggests that sponsors consider pledging an extra bonus amount if he finishes the Death Race. Pike Central—following an ex- change of baskets by Charger freshman center Gabe Elliott and Sprinkle early in the second half—got back-to-back three-point plays from sophomore forward Ty- ler Toopes and senior guard Keg- an Aldridge to pull to within 32-20 with 5:42 left in the third quarter. However, Vincennes Lincoln, powered by three baskets by Sprin- kle and a three-pointer by junior guard Brandt Nowaskie, outscored the Chargers 9-2 to stretch its lead to 41-22 with 2:53 remaining in the third period. After a basket by Aldridge pulled Pike Central to within 41-24, junior Tyjuan Hawkins hit a three-point- er to give the Alices a 44-24 lead heading into the fourth quarter. The Chargers were not ready to call it quits, however, as back-to- back baskets by Toopes and senior Bailey White cut the deficit to 44- 28 with 6:57 left in the final period. Two free throws each by Gabe Elliott and Toopes and a three- point play by freshman Colton White completed a 11-0 scoring run that slashed Vincennes Lin- coln's lead to 44-35 with 5:25 re- maining. The Alices, after going scoreless on their first six possessions of the fourth quarter, finally scored on a basket by Mickens to reestablish a double-digit lead—at 46 -35 —with 4:47 left. Forty seconds later, Mickens hit one of two free throws to stretch Vincennes Lincoln's lead to 47-35. A fter a free throw by Aldridge pulled Pike Central to within 47-36, the Alices answered with a three- point play by Mickens that Mokris disputed, claiming that Mickens had traveled. "I really thought Mickens trav- eled, bigger than life," Mokris said. "He got an and-one on a foul, and there's no possible way. I mean, he travels. He's got happy feet all the time. We didn't get a call there." A pair of free throws and a put- back by Sprinkle capped a 7-0 scor- ing run that extended the Alices' lead to 54-36. Gabe Elliott, off an assist from Toopes, hit a three-pointer to end the scoring with 38 seconds left. Mokris said afterward that he was pleased with how team played in the second half, hitting nine of 20 second-half field goal attempts and turning the ball over just four times while hitting eight of nine free throws. The Chargers also converted seven turnovers by the Alices in- to 16 points during the final two periods. "They could have just folded, but they showed character in the sec- ond half, came out after halftime and played hard," Mokris said. "I'm very proud of them. They did a nice job getting back into the game." "Vincennes is quick," Mokris added. " They're strong. I don't think they realized how quick and strong they were until about three or four minutes into the game. They're just a good team, plain and simple." Mokris said that the second half performance by the Chargers, who outscored Vincennes Lincoln 27- 24 in the final two periods, showed that they can compete when they translate what they are told to the court. "Playing my way the second half, they did an excellent job," Mokris said. "They got to the hole. The shot selection was good the second half. We made free throws. We won the second half by three. I know that's not much, but to me, after not playing for a week, I think that's significant for us." "I've told them, if they want to play my way, we're going to be in every game," Mokris added. "We'll be there at the end, where we're going to have to take care of the ball and knock down free throws to win ballgames. If they're going to just do what they want to do, then we're not going to be in any games, because we're not disci- plined enough." Toopes hit five of 10 field goal attempts, including one of three tries from beyond the three-point line, and was 3-for-3 from the free throw line to lead Pike Central with 14 points. He also grabbed seven rebounds and blocked two shots. Gabe Elliott and Aldridge added nine and eight points, respectively. For the game, Pike Central made 13 of 42 field goal attempts, a 31.0 percent average, and hit 10 of 12 tries from the free throw line while turning the ball over 13 times. Mickers added 15 points for the Alices. Mickers, who also had three steals, and Sprinkle both had 10 rebounds. For the game, Vincennes Lin- coln made 18 of 46 field goal at- tempts, a 39.1 percent average, and hit 14 of 18 tries from the free throw line while turning the ball over 14 times. In the junior varsity game, de- spite a game-high 20 points by ju- nior forward Zach Hulsman, Pike Central dropped a 34-26 decision to Vincennes Lincoln. Junior cen- ter Kevin Pratt led the Alices with 13 points. Pike Central returns to action on Thursday, Feb. 13, when the Char- gers will travel to Tecumseh. The junior varsity game will tip off at 6:30 p.m., Eastern time, with the varsity game following at 8 p.m., Eastern time. The Chargers will play their fi- nal home game of the season on Tuesday, Feb. 18, when they will host Gibson Southern. Pike Central final four regular season games will be on the road at Forest Park (Feb. 21), South Knox (Feb. 25), Northeast Dubois (Feb. 28) and Tell City (March 1). "From now on, every game that we play, we have an opportunity to win," Mokris said. "We need to start stringing some games togeth- er here where we're competing, go- ing down to the last second with either a chance to win or up three or four, no matter what." Continued from page b-1 Continued from page b-1 HALICES HWESt gary West (second from left) participates in a workout in January in tampa, Fla., as part of a special operations conference. the Petersburg resident is currently training to compete in the 2014 spartan death race in vermont in June. Photo submitted. gary West prepares to get pummeled while running a gauntlet during the Mid-West super spartan race last July in Marseilles, ill. the Petersburg resident is currently train- ing to compete in the 2014 spartan death race in vermont in June. Photo submitted. Pike Central high school senior Kegan Aldridge (12) considers his options while vin- cennes lincoln senior Josh sprinkle (left) and junior brandt Nowaski (background) defend during game action on saturday, Feb. 8. Ed Cahill photo. The Press-Dispatch Wednesday, February 12, 2014 B-7