Endeavor Games notebook

By Scott Wright

Published: June 11, 2006

EDMOND -- On a hot, windy day at Deer Creek High School, Brian Frasure didn't expect anyone to run a good time in the Ultimate Endeavor Invitational 100-meter race, Saturday's feature event of the Endeavor Games.

Q&A with Abeba Benton, basketball/archery
Endeavor Games Web site

Frasure, from Apex, N.C., was in disbelief when he learned he won with a time of 11.31, just two-tenths of a second off his personal best.

"I was shocked," Frasure, 33, said. "I knew I was in shape to run fast, but not with the conditions. An 11.31 in these conditions is great. It puts me right where I need to be heading into (the World Championships)."

Ryan Fann of Brush Creek, Tenn., was second at 11.96 and Oklahoma City's Roderick Green was third at 12.25.

The crossing headwind that the runners dealt with Saturday led some of them to alter their usual styles.

"When you raise your prosthetic leg, the wind kind of carries it to the side," Green said.

"Most amputees put their prosthetic leg back to start, but I've been training to put it forward. With the cross wind, I decided to put my sound leg forward, because of the wind. I wanted a little more power to push through that. It played against me today, because when I pushed back, I slipped and my first 10 meters was really slow."

Saturday's race was a warm-up for the Paralympic National Time Trials, which will be held in two weeks in Atlanta.

"This is a good primer for trials. It was particularly good for me, because this is the first year that I've trained and worked full-time as well."

Deer Creek steps in: Edmond North usually hosts the tennis and track events for the Endeavor Games, but because all three Edmond high schools are currently resurfacing the football fields, none of them were available.

"We asked Deer Creek High School if they could step up and they've been wonderful," said Katrina Shaklee, Central Oklahoma's assistant director of disabled sports.

"I think they're a little overwhelmed with everything we're doing. Their athletic director, Bob Diefenderfer, has been a God-send and we so appreciate them stepping up and letting us have this out here."

From hardwood to hard courts: Tennis seems to be a popular event with several wheelchair basketball players. Many of them not competing in track events were on the tennis courts Saturday morning at Deer Creek.

"I actually just started playing last Friday," said David Hosch of the Oklahoma State wheelchair basketball team. "I'm still learning. "The toughest part is getting the right hit, learning how to swing right. You're used to swinging it like a bat, like baseball, but you can't do that."