Driven: Hard Work By Country Day Girls Track Pays Off With State Title

This past year, the Detroit Country Day girls varsity track team had all the motivation it needed in the offseason.

A second place finish at the 2010 Division 2 state finals to Divine Child pushed the Yellowjackets to really push themselves, using the loss as a rallying cry from the moment last season ended — they weren’t going to fall short of another state title; they were going to win one. 

“Every single day it was like we don’t ever want to have that feeling of getting second again,” said junior Brittany Mann. “We won't ever have to look back at those pictures with the trophy and not be smiling because we knew we should of won. It was definitely the reason we worked a lot harder this year. We were a lot more motivated this year.”

The girls did just that in Grand Rapids last weekend and enacted some revenge on Divine Child in the process. with 58 points, 14 points ahead of the Divine Child Falcons, who finished in second. 

“Last year we came in second to Divine Child,” Mann said. “This year we pretty much did what we were supposed to do. Kendall (Baisden) did amazing, she won all her events. I did well in my events, Sydney (Cureton) did well in her events. It was a great weekend.”

All three girls were part of the 2010 squad that finished just 12 points back of Divine Child.

Mann finished in second place in two individual events (discus and shot put) last year. The junior made it her mission to improve her scores and help her team.

“She won’t tell you how hard she worked, but she really poured it on this year,” Country Day Director of External Affairs Sue Murphy said. “She worked all year towards the goal (of winning a championship).”

The work paid off with two individual titles. Mann improved her discus throw by 12 feet and crushed the competition. Her throw of 141’10’’ was 16 feet ahead of the second place finisher. 

Mann also slightly improved her shot put score. She threw a 40’4’’ in 2010 and a 41’ even in 2011. It was enough to put her in first. 

“It was the icing on the cake,” Mann said of the second individual title.

Cureton and Baisden made similar improvements.

Baisden improved on her 2010 state title run in the 100-meter dash by setting a Division 2 record in 2011. She set a new lower peninsula Division 2 record with a time of 11.92. It was .07 seconds faster than Battle Creek Lakeview Erica Mann’s 2006 record of 11.99.

Baisden also beat out her teammate Sydney Cureton by less than two tenths of a second. Cureton finished in fifth place behind Baisden last year by over a half a second. This year Cureton was right on Baisden’s heels, coming in third.

Baisden also won individual titles in the 200-meter dash (24.56) and 400-meter dash (55.12).

The five individual titles and one second place finish were more than enough to help the girls go back home with the first place trophy. And it probably won’t be Country Day’s last.

Mann and Cureton, both juniors, and Baisden, just a sophomore, will all be back next year.

“We’re going to do it again,” Mann said, smiling.

The motivation this offseason will be simple — the Yellowjackets want back-to-back titles.

“It’s not pressure, it’s drive,” Mann said. “It makes you want to work so much harder to defend your title and get to say, I did it twice.”