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In
1987, George Kersh dominated the high school 800m. The lanky senior
from Pearl, Mississippi, broke the national high school record twice,
finally lowering it to a then-best of 1:46.58. Kersh still
owns four of the top 10 all-time high school 800m times (his slowest
being 1:47.84).
From
1987 to 1994, Kersh earned seven U.S. top 10 800m rankings; his
highest ranking being second in 1990 and 1991. His best of 1:44.00,
set on June 24, 1992 in New Orleans at the Olympic Trials, ranks
him 11th on the American all-time list. In that race, Kersh finished
a heartbreaking fourth behind Johnny Gray (1:42.80), Mark Everett
(1:43.67), and Jose Parilla (1:43.97) to just miss a trip to the
Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain.
Kersh,
who will turn 36 on July 3rd, is an assistant coach at his alma
mater, Pearl High School. Kersh's former coach, Woody Barnett, has
amassed a dynasty there, accumulating five state titles and going
undefeated against Mississippi competition since 1999. The team
also boasts 100 members in grades 7-12, including Kersh's son, who
recently completed seventh grade.
Ricky
Quintana spoke with Kersh during one of the rain delays at the Golden
South Classic in Orlando, Florida, on June 5. One of his track stars,
Raymond Newell, won the high jump there with a clearance of 6' 8".
Kersh still holds the Golden South mile record of 4:08.91, which
he set in 1987.
Ricky
Quintana: What have you been up to all these years?
George Kersh:
Nothing much. Doing a little coaching. Doing a little running. Nothing
major. Just running with my cross country and a few of my track
kids. That's about it.
RQ:
You ended up back in your hometown, Pearl, Mississippi.
GK:
Oh yeah. Yeah. Back home. I have a family. I've been married for
several years. I have a 12-year-old son and an 8-year-old daughter.
I'm enjoying being a father and enjoying my family. I'm slowly getting
them involved with running. That's what I've been doing.
RQ:
Any running potential in your kids?
GK:
Maybe. You never know. My son is a jack of all trades. He can pretty
much do anything. He had a pretty successful cross country season
as a seventh grader. He did a pretty good job for his first time
running. Hopefully, my girl will do some running in the near future.
I'm slowly, trying to get them there, not a rush. I'm letting them
enjoy themselves.
RQ:
What kind of times did your son run last season?
GK:
He ran 19:08 for 5K. Not bad for a seventh grader. We were pleased
with it. He was always one of the top guys on the junior varsity.
He was always there. He gets after it and works hard. I'm just going
to work with him every year and hopefully he'll become a good runner.
RQ:
What do you try to tell these younger kids?
GK:
Stay focused and dedicate yourself to the sport. If you want to
be successful, you have to dedicate yourself. There's going to be
some ups and downs, and you have to take the good with the bad.
That's basically it. You have to stay strong. You may not have a
successful year the first year, but if you hang with it, you're
going to have some good races. Those good races are going to outweigh
the bad by far. So just hang in there, knowing you are going to
do well.
RQ:
You must be a household name in Pearl. Do these kids know who you
are?
GK:
Yeah, they do, they do [laughs]. We show them a few tapes and these
kids, they don't remember. Most weren't even born when I was running.
We'll go and show them some tapes when I was running. Their eyes
will pop. They're shocked. I get out there and run with them and
they say, 'OK, he can still run.'
RQ:
What got you back to Pearl?
GK:
I was out in Santa Monica and I just missed home. I went back and
trained a little bit. I ran for a couple of more years. My coach
got me out there to help the Pearl team a little bit. I got the
hang of it and started loving it. It's been wonderful to get out
there and run with the kids and see them develop year after year,
and get faster and faster. [I] just try to motivate them and teach
them a few things.
As
a matter of fact, for cross country next year, just in the junior
high alone, we have 80-90 runners signed up. We had a lot of runners
last year and we only lost about five guys. [We try to] keep them
motivated and keep it fun. We won the state cross country meet this
year, both boys and girls, and also won the boys' track [title].
We had an outstanding track and cross country season this year.
RQ:
As an African American male, do you carry a different perspective
into cross country and distance running that you can share with
the kids?
GK:
With the distance runners, you don't get many blacks out, we do
get a few, though. We'll slowly get them out, they see that it's
for everybody. Anybody can do it, if they are well trained. You
just have to motivate the kids and get them excited. In Mississippi,
cross country and distance running are not that big. If you keep
[the kids] motivated and excited, they'll stay out there. Once they
have a little success, they're going to hang in there. Get 'em hooked.
Once you do that, they're going to believe in what you do.
RQ:
Do you teach at Pearl?
GK:
I handle detention. Kids that get in trouble, they come to my classroom
and hang out there because we can't send them home nowadays unless
they fight. If they get in trouble, they come to me and I talk to
them. If we send them home, they can get into a lot more trouble
so they stay with me. I try to motivate them and ask them if they
are into sports or staying active. If not, I try to get them on
my cross country or track team. That's basically how I get some
of them out.
RQ:
Do you follow track or cross country anymore?
GK:
Just at the high school level, pretty much just Mississippi. As
far as track, I keep up with it a little bit with television and
magazines, and things if that nature. On a world class level, I
don't. Every once and while, [I follow the college scene].
RQ:
Not many guys have run as fast as you did. What do you think the
problem is?
GK:
No idea. I went to the SEC meet two weeks ago and I saw some potential.
I think that in time, America will be there in the 800m again. It's
just a matter of time.
It
just so happens that those couple of years [when Kersh was running],
it was a great time for the 800m. In the early 80s also. Earl Jones,
James Robinson and those guys set the tone for us, and we kept it
going. Hopefully, someone will step it up. I know in the past couple
of years, we've faded, but once again, I saw some potential at the
SEC meet.
RQ:
Who really struck you at the SEC meet?
GK:
I think there was a freshman from Tennessee [Paul Cross] who ran
1:46. That was pretty amazing. Any time you have a freshman running
that fast, it's just a matter of time for him to step it up and
take charge of being the next great American half miler. There's
also another guy at Santa Monica [Khadevis Robinson] who's still
running pretty decent. In don't know his name, but every now and
then he runs 1:45. We still have a few guys, but just not at that
top-notch level. But it's just a matter of time. Not just yet, though,
but they'll be there.
RQ:
What led to you ending your competitive running career?
GK:
Got lazy [laughs]. Family, working, and spending more time with
my kids. I guess when you have a family, everything changes for
you.
Every
once in a while, the fire will flame up. I want to do it again.
You just never know. Last year, during cross country season, I went
down to the Foot Locker South Regional and ran a 5K. I ran 16:15
for my first race. I was there my first two miles, but after that
I just faded. It's there, I just have to make up my mind and just
do it. No guarantee. I'm just out there training with my younger
runners, getting them over the hump and showing them what it takes
to be a good runner. If it happens while I'm there and while I'm
training with my runners, so be it. I'm not pushing it. If it happens,
it happens.
RQ:
Are you a little more interested in track since it's the Olympic
year?
GK:
Oh yes. Everyone always comes out of the woodwork. Someone is going
to surprise you here and there. I've been keeping an eye on whose
going to make the Trials and who are the favorites going into the
Trials.
It's been interesting watching the news and the preparations for
the Olympic in Athens. All the security and all that stuff. [When]
you hear about all the people taking all the drugs and everything,
people getting banned, you keep up with it a little bit more.
RQ:
What is your take on the drug situation?
GK:
If you're doing it, you need to be out of the sport. Point blank.
If they are doing something illegal, they should be gone. That's
what I've always felt and I still feel that way. They shouldn't
be doing it. I'm totally against it.
RQ:
Was it as prevalent as when you were running?
GK:
Not like it is now, because they've come up with all these types
of tests. A few years before I was running, they caught Ben Johnson.
That was pretty big.
With
all the runners getting caught now, it's all coming back into the
spotlight. It started with the baseball thing and now it's rolling
on into track. It's a good thing. They're on top of it and they
are catching the people who are dirty.
RQ:
Is Raymond Newell your first top-level track athlete?
GK:
In the high jump, yeah. Raymond came down last year with us. We
also had Bianca Knight last year. They were on top last year for
us and now we just have Raymond.
RQ:
Do you have any other athletes with a lot of potential?
GK:
You just never know [laughs]. Anything can happen if you work hard
and stay focused. It may happen. We have a lot of good athletes
at Pearl. A lot of them have to commit to the sport if they are
going to get to this level.
(Interview
conducted June 5, 2004, and posted July 1, 2004.)
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