By THOMAS RANSON
Nevada Appeal News Service
Aarik Wilson has been on a mission destined for success. There are no signs of him slowing down.
Seven years after winning his second Class 4A state title in the triple jump and setting a state record, Wilson is on the verge of creating more history when he tries this weekend at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., to qualify for the Summer Olympics. Wilson wants to give back to everyone who's helped him, from his coaches, friends and family in Fallon to his mentors and teammates at Indiana University and on the professional circuit.
"It's a blessing and I can't be thankful or grateful enough," said Wilson, who is sponsored by Nike and has been training at Kansas University this year. "It gives me more purpose and desire to do it and do what I can to give people a piece. Everybody that supported me, been a friend or taken time out to watch a track meet, it's a duty and an honor to try and give back as much as I can."
Wilson, a three-sport athlete in high school, didn't know what path he wanted after high school. He had his options after standing out for both football and basketball teams, but those sports didn't fit right. Wilson decided to give track and field a chance.
Wilson, who graduated from Fallon in 2001 and Indiana in 2005, has spent the last four years trying to improve on his failed attempt to make the Olympics in 2004. He finished 14th at the Olympic Trials with a jump of 16.09 meters (52 feet, 9.5 inches).
He has been unstoppable since.
"Back in 2004 I didn't realize how nervous I was until I actually got a chance to sit back and look at film," Wilson said. "The mental part was missing. It's 80 percent mental, 20 percent physical, if not more."
Wilson's mother, Kirsten, knows what her son must to do to qualify for the Summer Games. She noted his experience has grown and has been the biggest difference.
"He has had so much experience internationally now and has been able to learn and compete under pressure," she said. "His experience is going to make all the difference from the last trials. It was heartbreaking. I don't see that happening this time. He knows what to do."
A GREENWAVE STAR
One person continues to stand out for Wilson's love of the sport.
"Coach Paul was the one who got me started. He got my whole love for the sport, really," Aarik Wilson said. "I've been really devoting myself to track ever since I got into it. The connection I've had with my coaches is more comfortable than anything else."
Paul Orong, a longtime track and football coach for the Greenwave, took one look at Wilson and was overwhelmed by his potential. Orong first saw Wilson during football and persuaded him to do track instead of baseball.
"When I first met him, and he wanted to play baseball, I told him don't play baseball, you're coming out for track," said Orong, who's been coaching football and track for 15 years. "So he came out and you never know when you first get somebody and the special talent they have. With him I knew early. I call it scary talent where the sky's the limit. He's the biggest competitor you'll ever get."
Kirsten Wilson said Orong's coaching and competing experience intrigued her son and made him realize his potential to reach the Olympics. More than 10 years ago since her son first came out for track, he is now a jump from going to China and possibly winning a medal.
"Coach Paul actually first planted the seed because he went to the Olympic Trials for the long jump so he talked to Aarik about that," she said. " The biggest thing was he would get the chance to be in the Olympics. That was a very exciting thought."
After a couple years of training, Aarik Wilson reached the highest plateau in high school track and field. He went to state as a freshman and then won the triple jump title as a sophomore in Las Vegas.
"A boy from Las Vegas jumps 47-9 and he points at Aarik," Orong recalls from 1999. "You're talking about a 16-year-old kid, a sophomore, and Aarik gets on the runway and jumps and everyone knows it's a big jump. Instead of whooping and hollering, he gives me a big hug and jumps 48-6 and wins state. He said it was like another day at the office. He was the perfect package."
Wilson, who competed in both the long and triple jumps, had his eyes set on two state titles during his senior season in 2001. But it backfired when he scratched in the long jump at the regional meet and only qualified for state in the triple.
"Long jump was harder for me to do," Aarik Wilson said in retrospect. "It was easier to skip that and focus on triple jump. Once I got to college and saw the improvements more, it made it much easier to go after that."
MEET COACH PATE
The workouts since high school have become tougher, but they have transformed Wilson into a jumping machine. Wilson's best jump in 2001 was 15.57 meters (51-1 1/4), a 2.01-meter (6.7) difference (shorter) from last year. Wilson credits his coach, Wayne Pate, for a rigorous and challenging workout routine.
"They're pretty hard, a lot harder than high school," said Wilson, a 10-time All-American at Indiana. "Coach does a good job focusing on what we need to focus on. Workouts are Sunday through Friday and it depends on the phase of the season when coach varies it so we can make sure we're able to save our legs and bodies."
Kirsten Wilson said Pate and her son clicked when he was being recruited out of high school.
"When he was being recruited, they got to be friends real early on," she said. "Their personalities clicked because their relationship was really good, and it still is. Another great thing about Aarik's career is that he's been able to work out with the same coach. I think this guy's the best jump coach in the nation."
Aarik Wilson has spent most of workouts at Kansas since he graduated from college three years ago. He does his own workouts with Pate and also helps out the Jayhawks' jumpers.
"Kansas University has taken really good care of me," Wilson said. "Coach Pate and I are learning and growing a lot together."
With the trials this week, Wilson has been taking it easy because of a stress fracture from a few weeks ago. Pain or no pain, Wilson said he's ready to make history and travel overseas and bring back a medal.
"I'm trying to do as much as I can without hurting myself too bad," Wilson said. "I should be able to handle it. I'm not worried about it. I've competed in pain before."
PROFESSIONAL CIRCUIT
For the past four years, Aarik Wilson's had his eyes on China.
"I've been really focused on this especially since 2004 when I was really disappointed," he said. "That's all I've thought about for a while. Over the past two, three years, I've done a good job establishing myself. I don't plan on going to the Olympics as a spectator. I've done too much work for that."
Before the 2004 Trials and this year's event, Wilson has looked to one of his longtime mentors, Orong, for advice. In fact, Orong went to the 1984 Olympic Trials at the Los Angeles Coliseum where he placed 13th in the long jump.
"You just got to go and relax. The Olympics are the equivalent of the Super Bowl times a thousand," the Fallon track and field co-head coach told Wilson. "You take the trials and the top three makes it, anything can happen. You have to relax and be you. In track venues, it doesn't get bigger than this. This is the equivalent to a World Cup when you have that many spectators and that many countries. I told him to relax and be him."
Most of Wilson's family will attend this weekend's trials, and some have already purchased their tickets to Beijing.
"We're all planning on that. I told them actually last year to plan on going," Wilson said. "I don't take anything for granted but at the same time, I put in the training and the work and that's what I believe will happen."
Kirsten Wilson has seen most of her son's meets since he left Fallon and competed for the Hoosiers and then made it on the professional circuit. She has a strong feeling that the family will be vacationing next month.
"I think it's lined up really well. He has to be in the top three and there hasn't been anyone that has beat him lately," Kirsten said. "Hopefully that stays the same. He qualified for every NCAA championship there ever was, indoor and outdoor. I've been to that stadium (Eugene) two other times when he competed collegiately. I've seen him a lot which is always exciting and of course I don't want to miss any of them."
Wilson reached a personal best in the triple jump last year when he leaped 17.58 meters (57-8.25) as he won both national championships at the AT&T USA Indoor and Outdoor meets. He had two other marks that gave him the best three in the triple jump by an American in 2007 and he finished the season with a No. 4 world ranking.
"The United States, by far, is the toughest to make it to the world championships or an Olympic team," Aarik Wilson said. "I feel great and real confident. I honestly believe I'm the best jumper in the country and I'm ready to prove it."
FALLON REPRESENTATION
Wilson is jumping for everyone who's had an influence or even watched him compete in high school, college or on the professional circuit. Wilson's accomplishments have shown that Fallon can produce world-class athletes that represent with pride and honor.
"You look at it like anything else. You look at Harvey Dahl and he's playing professional football and that's a great accomplishment," Orong said about Fallon's representation. "You take a kid from here who's going to be on the biggest stage. We made shirts that say 'Why not here? Why not Fallon?' He has a chance of performing on the biggest stage in the world. He's representing everybody."
For those followers who can't make it to Eugene for the weekend, they can tune in Friday and Sunday as Wilson tries to make history as the first Fallon athlete in the Olympics.
"To me, he's brought so much integrity into so much he does," Orong said. "I have three boys, my middle son Kaleb looks up to him. That's what kids should do. That's what heroes should be. That's what a role model should be. He's done everything right. He won the class and never got in trouble. That's Aarik Wilson. To me, the whole town should be glued to their TVs and watch this kid."
WILSON FACTS
2008 - USA Indoor Champion in TJ, 7th at World Indoor Championships in TJ
2007 - USA Indoor and Outdoor Champion in TJ, 5th at World Outdoors in TJ, ranked No. 4 in the world, No. 2 in the United States in TJ and No. 6 in LJ
2006 - 3rd at USA Outdoors in TJ, runner-up in USA Indoors in TJ, ranked No. 9 in the world (No. 2 in U.S.) in TJ
2005 (Indiana Sr.) - 3rd at USA Outdoors and NCAA Outdoors in TJ, 1st in TJ and LJ at NCAA Indoors, Big Ten Indoor and Outdoor Champion in LJ and TJ, ranked No. 5 in LJ, No. 3 in TJ in the U.S.
2004 (Indiana Jr.) - 14th in TJ at Olympic Trials, 2nd at NCAA Championships in TJ, 3rd at NCAA Championships in LJ, 2nd at NCAA Regional, Big Ten Champion in TJ, ranked No. 5 in TJ in the U.S.
2003 (Indiana So.) - 4th at USA Outdoors in TJ, 2nd at NCAA Indoors in TJ, 6th at NCAA Indoors in LJ, Big Ten Champion in LJ and TJ, ranked No. 5 in TJ in the U.S.
2002 (Indiana Fr.) - 2nd at NCAA Outdoors in TJ, 4th at NCAA Indoors in TJ, Big Ten Outdoor Champion, ranked No. 8 in TJ in the U.S.
2001 (CCHS Sr.) - 3rd at National Scholastic Championships, NIAA Class 4A State Champion in the TJ