GUILDERLAND — Late in the indoor track season this winter David Slingerland, a Guilderland junior had a change of plan — with good results.

He and his coach, Pete Wachtel, decided to change up what Slingerland was training for this season. Slingerland had been running the 300-meter sprint and the 4x400 relay but, as sectionals neared they decided he would run the 600 meters instead.

The first big competition he ran the event in, was sectionals, though he had dabbled in it before.
"I didn’t think I’d be that good at it," said Slingerland. "I thought it was too long of a distance for me. It really surprised me I could be that good at it."
"He ran the 600 once at Union [College] and we thought he had a better chance placing in that event and he took third," Wachtel said. "And, all of a sudden, he’s got a sectional patch. We entered him in multiple events but saw the 300 card and that he might not have a chance and to just focus on the 600.
"We weren’t shooting for number one," Wachtel added. "But we thought he could be number two. And he hung onto second, but he found the guy was a little speedier at the end."

The third-place finish gives Slingerland a chance to go to the state meet March 3 and 4 as a member of an intersectional relay team.

Slingerland had never ran track during the winter but has been running for the Dutchmen for the past two springs. He is mainly a sprinter and has run the 100, 200, 400, and 800 meters. The 4x800 relay team he was on holds the freshmen school record.

But Slingerland took to running the longer distance.

"Push him"
"We had him work out with distance runner Corey Leggerio," Wachtel said. "We wanted to sort of push him. He ran his first 3,000 meters and he wasn’t breathing hard. So we knew he would be tough to beat at this distance [600]. It’s due to his good work ethic, he can have the cardio-vascular strength that he has."

It also shows Slingerland’s willingness to learn how to run a race that is a little longer than he is used to.
"I kept asking Coach how to run it," Slingerland said. "He said to just follow the leader and in the last lap try to sprint by him."

Slingerland took third in the Class A meet at the University at Albany two weeks ago and also came in third at the state qualifier, which includes all classes. At the Class A meet on Feb. 10, he finished in a time of 1:29.17. He ran faster the next week, clocking 1:28.78 at the state qualifier last Saturday.

He knew going into Saturday’s race that he could qualify for the state meet if he had a good finish.
"Coach told me before the race that, if I finished third or faster, I would qualify," Slingerland said. "I thought I could take second, but it was tough to do. I fell to third and I held on as much as I could. With two laps to go, I was catching everyone. I just tripped up and lost some momentum."

"Inner drive"

But Slingerland is looking forward to going to the state meet and being a member of a relay team with runners from different schools.
"It’ll be different," he said. "But the relay will be pretty fun. I’ve never done a relay with guys from other schools. I like running relays a lot."

This spring, Slingerland will be running the short distances again — mainly the 100 and 200 meters. He will also try to run on the 4x800 relay team and run with another accomplished Guilderland runner.
"I’ll get to run with Brian Rhodes-Devey," Slingerland said. "He’s a great distance runner and running with him will be a privilege."

That humble attitude shows the true nature of Slingerland.
"He’s the kind of guy that you want 25 of on a team," Wachtel said. "Because he’s always asking, ‘What do I need to do"’ And we’ll say, ‘Hey, we need someone for a relay.’ He’s willing to do things for the team. He has an inner drive. He’ll be working on starts for the 55 [meters] and he’ll ask us to look at his starts. He wants to know what he can do better and he works at those things."

Right after the state meet, the outdoor season will begin, but Slingerland is hoping to get a little break in between.

Right now, he is focused on running in the state meet.
"It’ll be an excellent experience for a junior at indoor states," Wachtel said. "It will build confidence for the outdoor season. It’ll be a great experience for him and I’m excited for him."
"It’ll be a great experience for me," said Slingerland, echoing his coach.