Lansing’s Somchanhmavong wins two at IACs

Lansing senior Morgan Somchanhmavong (Som-chahn-muh-vong) was a standout striker on the soccer field for the Bobcats, scoring 11 goals over the past two seasons. However, he was able to make his mark in outdoor track this year too. He won both the 100m and 200m dash at the IAC Championships and finished as one of three individuals to win two events at the meet that was hosted by Trumansburg on June 3.

He won the 100m dash in dramatic fashion, defeating Dryden’s Aidan Kalousdian by 0.01 seconds in an incredibly close race. Somchanhmavong shared his reaction to his performance.

“I thought I came out of the blocks pretty well,” Somchanhmavong said. “I didn’t see anyone on the left or my right, not until the end. I saw Aiden from Dryden right out of the corner of my eye. I thought he had me at the finish line. But right when I finished, people were saying it was neck-and-neck, so I was a little nervous about that.”

The official times then came in, and Somchanhmavong was crowned the champion. Earlier in the season, the Lansing senior had lost to Kalousdian, but their rivalry has led to camaraderie between the two.

“It was awesome because we’ve been running together throughout the season,” Somchanhmavong said. “We always push each other to do our best, so it’s great to see that we are evenly matched. We’re at the same caliber, so it’s awesome running with him.”

The 200m dash was a little less stressful, with Somchanhmavong pulling away and defeating Kalousdian by 0.28 seconds. He felt more consistent with his pace in the 200m compared to the 100m that happened earlier at the event.

One outside factor that was present was the weather. It was a very rainy day in Trumansburg that Thursday. In fact, a baseball game that was supposed to be hosted in Trumansburg was canceled that day. Track held strong, and the event went on in the rainy conditions.

“It [affected me] a little bit at the beginning because that’s when the weather was the worst,” Somchanhmavong said. “It felt like we were a little rushed going into the meet, honestly. It was like the warm-up was rushed, so the prep wasn’t the best. But afterward, it was just like any other meet.”

Due to COVID-19, this year was structured differently with fall sports going into spring sports. Having the soccer season go right into outdoor track, especially after not having an indoor track season, helped Somchanhmavong’s performance.

“I thought it was beneficial for me that soccer was beforehand because that helped me get in shape for the upcoming season,” he said. “So, that gave me a little bit of an edge over my competition. However, I still had to train and [do] all the necessary stuff I needed to do to win.”

Considering the long offseason that came with COVID-19 preventing competition for over a year, Somchanhmavong planned out his training to optimize him for both soccer and track.

“I mostly focused on soccer and then I switched over to track,” he said. “Focusing on soccer helped me a lot with track because it was mostly conditioning and calisthenics and stuff like that, which would help me for the later track season. There wasn’t too much of specifically focusing on one skill set or the other, so they translated pretty well.”

Somchanhmavong was a soccer player first and foremost and then joined the track team later on. The decision helped elevate his game on the soccer field.

“It’s definitely helped with my speed,” Somchanhmavong said. “I relied mostly on my speed for my soccer game. I’m not so much of a technical kind of player. I like to just kick the ball forward and run out there. That speed in the short distances has really helped me.”

Somchanhmavong has experienced both team achievements, winning the state championship with the soccer team in 2018, and now individual accomplishments with a pair of IAC Championships for track. However, the victories are not what he will remember most from his time as a Lansing athlete.

“I’d say the bond that was created with everyone on the team [is what I’ll remember] because a lot of people do soccer and track and all these other sports,” Somchanhmavong said. “So, I’m not cutting off any relationships that I’ve made with any of my friends. Those are really just carrying over between sports and they’re being strengthened as the seasons go on.”

The Section IV Class C Championships took place in Trumansburg on June 8, after this article went to print. Somchanhmavong’s goals for the meet were to focus on himself and block out the competition, which would help him go faster in his mind. The sectional meet marked the end of Somchanhmavong’s career as a student athlete as he’ll be focusing on academics when he heads to New York University in the fall.