When Lisbon High School’s Tyler Bard was in the sixth grade, his track coach was looking for someone to compete in the race/walk.
Though Bard knew little about the event, he stepped up and volunteered to give it a try.
His decision appears to be the right one, as the recently-graduated Bard will look for his third consecutive Class C State track and field title in the 1600-meter race/walk on Saturday when the Greyhounds compete at Dover-Foxcroft Academy.
The race/ walk is an event that is difficult for the average track fan to grasp. According to www.racewalk.com, race/walking requires the competitor to use a “progression of steps so taken that the walker makes contact with the ground so that no visible ( to the human eye) loss of contact occurs. The advancing leg must be straightened (i.e., not bent at the knee) from the moment of first contact with the ground until in the vertical upright position.”
In simple terminology, race/walking just looks weird and oftentimes unnatural.
“I tried it and stuck with it. I wanted to get better at it, and I never worried about what it looked like. I know it looks funny, but I don’t care about that,” said Bard, who enters Saturday’s state meet as the top seed with a time of 7: 12.40, nearly 29 seconds ahead of teammate and second- seeded Jeff Willey (7:41.13). “I haven’t thought about the individual accomplishment because I am more concerned with the team winning its first state title in track. Winning a third straight state title would be great. We have put a lot of effort in, knowing if we put that effort in we will have success as a team.”
Bard’s accomplishments have kept the Greyhounds’ long streak of Mountain Valley Conference titles in tact. On May 29, both the Lisbon boys and girls made it nine straight conference titles, with Bard winning the race/walk.
“ It is a great feeling to win the conference tournament, and the coaches know how to push us the right way and put us into the right events,” said Bard. “ For us, it is a pride thing to win MVCs. Every senior class talks about not being that class that lets the streak go.”
“He has been the glue, a kid we can count on to represent the school,” said longtime Lisbon track coach Dean Hall. “He is a national champion, and you have to be a hard, determined athlete to go through the process. To do it on our dirt track makes his accomplishments even more amazing.
“He will give 100 percent this Saturday, just like he has done throughout his career.”
With the race/walk normally contested in the early stages of the state meet ( the boys race/walk begins at 2:15 p.m.), Hall feels if his team can succeed once again in the event, the Greyhounds will have a chance of getting off to a good start in their bid for a state title.
Early success
As a freshman, Bard won the Central Maine Freshman Championship in the race/walk, followed by a seventh-place showing at the state meet.
In 2012, Bard took home the state title, crossing the finish line in 7:07, with teammates Ben Kates taking second and Alex Hall finishing sixth.
Last year, three Greyhounds again finished in the top six, led by Bard (7:07.61). Kates took second, with Jake Angelico sixth. In both years, the race/ walk garnered 21 points for Lisbon.
And, this year, Bard has added the pole vault to his repertoire, entering Saturday as the sixth seed in 10- 06, with teammate Cam Ramich the third seed at 11-00.
“Those are points you walk in hoping you can count on,” said Hall. “ You never bet against Tyler Bard, and adding the pole vault has made him even more multi-talented. He is a person that is impossible to replace.”
“ The past couple of years with Ben Kates, we would load up with 18- 22 points in the race/walk and get off to a good start,” said Bard. “ That has always been big. This Saturday, we can get Jeff (Willey) and I up there, with Jake ( Angelico), who has been having trouble with his feet, up there. We should be able to get a lot of points.”
Saturday will be Bard’s last meet, as the Lisbon graduate is planning on attending Central Maine Community College in the fall. The New England championship meet does not offer the race/walk.
For Bard, winning a state title is something he thinks about a great deal.
“I get goose-bumps thinking about winning a state title,” said Bard, the son of Stephen and Tammy Bard. “We want to win it because we haven’t before and we want to get it for coach Hall. He has put so much into this program, so to win it for him would be special.
“ I have been working hard, and I want that state title, not for me but for the team. If everyone has the right attitude, which we always do, we can pull it off.”
State Track & Field Championships
Saturday
Class A at Windham, 10 a.m.
Class B at Brewer, 10 a.m.
Class C at Dover-Foxcroft,
noon.
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