Central Michigan University Athletics
Drake: America's Fastest Collegiate Runner
3/4/2005 12:00:00 AM | MTF
March 4, 2005
By Theresa Roach
CMU Sports Information Student
For the second straight winter, Johnie Drake is America's fastest collegiate runner.
The Central Michigan University standout from Detroit Cass Tech was recently featured in Sports Illustrated's Face in the Crowd section after running a 6.56 60-meter dash.
The All-American ran a 6.54 in 2004 before finishing eighth in the NCAA Indoor Finals.
To stay focused and motivated for a big event, Drake said he usually keeps his regular routine and tries to stay relaxed. He said the main concern for preparing for a big meet is keeping everything the same and keeping motivated.
"You don't want to put any extra pressure on yourself," Drake said.
After winning both the 60m and 200m indoor MAC titles in 2004, Drake placed second in both events to teammate Pierre Vinson at the 2005 MAC indoor meet hosted by the Chippewas.
"I tried to focus on qualifying for the nationals and breaking my record," Drake said.
Drake said he usually is excited about the competitive atmosphere of the bigger meets.
"Our schedule didn't place us where the fastest people where this year," Drake said. "I wasn't pumped up for this year."
He said he wasn't as excited about this year's meet as he usually is. Although he wasn't motivated to beat his personal best during the meets, he was motivated to help his team win the championship.
"I was definitely disappointed in my race, but I'm very happy for my team," Drake said.
Drake said it was very important to him that his team did well. He said he was not there for himself.
"It's not just about how well I do," Drake said. "It was just my time to take a loss and I can deal with that. What is important is that we did well as a team."
Track coach Jim Knapp said Drake has always been a team player. He said when Drake joined the team he was already a team player.
"Johnie hasn't changed his attitude since he joined the team," Knapp said. "He was always the one to get everyone else excited for the meets"
Knapp said Drake was mainly concerned with the success of the team at the 2005 MAC meet.
"He finished in second place and could have been complaining about that, but instead he was glad we got our points as a team," Knapp said.
Knapp said he thought Drake's reaction to placing second in the meet gives a lot of light on the type of person that he is. Knapp said that Drake has always been an inspirational person on the team and also a leader.
"He was more concerned with everyone else's success and everyone else doing well," Knapp said. "He might not have been happy with what he got, but I think he did a great job."
Drake, a senior during the indoor season and only a junior outdoors, said accepting a loss was something athletes have to go through during their career.
"One of my biggest motivations is God and my religion," Drake said. "I think it was just part of the plan for me to have a loss this year."
Drake said he doesn't blame himself for the loss and wasn't going to look at it in a negative light. He said he would focus more on what he could learn from the meet.
"There was a reason for the loss, so I'm just going to learn from my mistakes and prepare myself for next year," Drake said.
Next up for Drake is the NCAA indoor championship on March 11-12 in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
