A good old-fashioned GOLD RUSH

A good old-fashioned GOLD RUSH, Lady Jacket style

Menard freshman Danni Ruiz brings home double state gold with wins in the 400m and 800m

She thought she could

Freshman track star Danni Ruiz made her execution of double gold at the state track meet seem just that easy. In addition to her hardware duo, featuring a 400m win, she also broke the 800m conference record by four full seconds. While we’re at it, Danni is also the triple jump district champion and, on the court, she’s the district champion in girl’s singles. She’s also a member the two-time state champion Yellowjacket marching band and just this week was recognized as top marcher of the group.

Danni ran track in junior high, as well as cross country. She excelled there and signed up for cross country when she started at Menard High School last fall. The Lady Jackets won the team district championship in October, led by Danni and her quickest time in all of Class A Region 2 at the time. She went on to the state cross country meet in Round Rock and posted a respectable top ten finish, in eighth place. A senior from Springlake-Earth ISD, Taytum Goodman, won the state cross country meet for the fourth time in a row.

Ruiz, a quiet-natured young athlete, followed up her cross country season by joining her Yellowjacket Band peers in their state champion performance at the U.I.L. Marching Band contest… for the second time. Then she played a little JV basketball and in January added specialized track workouts to the mix. These training sessions were prescribed by second-year head track coach and MISD athletic director Bryson Oliver who had an inkling of the potential at stake. Unnamed sources have reported that Danni despised running 1200m sprints (“yuck”) and was allegedly known to launch rocks at Oliver during particularly tense practice sessions.

Oliver seems unfazed by the purported violence. “We [Danni and I] talked in January and knew exactly what we wanted and exactly who we wanted,” he said of the transition to track season. Who they wanted has been described by sports media and coaches across the state as “the greatest 1A distance runner in Texas history,” with “folklore and legendary status,” a multiple state record holder with 8+ gold state track medals in her cache, the Goliath if there ever was one in this arena… the cross country runner previously mentioned— Springlake-Earth High School senior Taytum Goodman.

Goliath is a Wolverine 

This story is about Danni; however, to stress just how much Danni has achieved we must first assert the elite accomplishments of who she beat to get here. And who she beat to get here, Goodman, is a big deal. Goodman came into the state meet of her senior year unbeaten in competition across her entire high school career. Three years’ worth— freshman, sophomore, junior— of state champion gold medals in cross country, and in the Class A 800m dash and 1600m run. Last year, she decided to add the 3200m run into the mix. She set a new conference record with her win in that event. Taytum is a Texas Tech University signee and will join her brother Trace (a pacer for the competition team) with the D1 Red Raider track squad in the fall.

Taytum, the decorated Lady Wolverine from the panhandle, likely arrived in Austin last weekend looking to complete a perfect high school career and expecting nothing less. Why wouldn’t she? Goodman’s impact on 1A distance running will be longstanding, there is no doubt. But on that muggy, humid Saturday night in Austin, following her predicted win in the 3200m, did the icon even sense a David to her Goliath taking shape in the one race where her literal proven perfection would be up against the newbie from Menard?

Whether Danni was on the champ’s radar before the race or not, the senior runner ultimately became specifically familiar with Danni’s back number as the new kid pulled off a drag race for the ages and left the legend 2 seconds behind her at the finish line of the 800m. When the dust cleared, Danni’s 2 min. 12.48 sec. mark not only pulled off the upset win, but it also smashed the event record of 2:16.29 (held by Goodman) by four seconds.

Pedigree

I am getting ahead of myself here, so let’s back up. Of course, Danni knew she was a strong runner, but our local superstar didn’t realize she was a superstar until the Texas 1A Fan group began posting their weekly compilations of the state’s top Class A track and field marks early in the track season. She said once she saw her name on those lists, she thought ‘Oh, wow. I’m up there!’ And that added to her motivation to excel.

Danni’s mom, Bobbi, describes her own high school running career: “I was quick, but I wasn’t the runner that Danni is, and I certainly didn’t have her degree of dedication and self-discipline,” she said. Danni’s Pa, Mr. Roscoe Heyman, was no slouch in his day, either. He placed in Colorado’s state meet as hurdler "several" years ago. Roscoe's sister Sharon, Bobbi’s aunt and Danni’s great-aunt, was a three-time gold medalist at the Colorado state meet.

Within first couple of seventh grade track meets, Bobbi recognized her daughter had talent to become a powerful runner. She has cultivated Danni’s athletic growth by encouraging healthy eating and good decisions. She’s at almost every cross country and track meet, and makes it a priority to send Danni to the best supplemental instruction. Last year they attended the Texas Tech cross country camp in New Mexico and the Worlds Records Camp in Casper, WY.

The plan

The studious team of Ruiz and Oliver, backed without fail by the MISD coaching staff, reviewed film, conferred with peers, and developed a plan of attack for Danni to take on the outright queen of 1A distance running. “Taytum is a distance runner,” Oliver explained earlier in the year. He continued: “Danni can sprint. And that’s how she’ll pull it off.”

If you’re unfamiliar with outdoor track, the 800m consists of two full laps around the standard oblong track to equal one-half mile in distance. Runners initiate the race at a stagger dependent upon their lane assignment and cut in after the first curve. Danni started her state 800m in lane 9, on the very outer edge of the track. Unlike the eight-lap long distance 3200m run, or the single lap 400m dash, the 800m teeters between the two disciplines, resulting in a hybrid of chaos and pain that I can only describe as an all-out gut race utilizing both endurance and speed. This incredibly technical description is derived from my own unremarkable attempts at the 800m some twenty-five years ago. I needed more guts. And endurance. And speed… 

Back to the cool kids—Danni’s inaugural appearance at a state track meet would match her against the other top 8 runners in the state, including not just Goodman, but the underhyped Hailee Garmer, a senior from Roby. Garmer’s 800m and 400m times nipped at Danni’s heels all season. Hailee and Danni met at the Region 2 meet in San Angelo. Our Lady Jacket was able to best the Roby standout in both events, claiming her regional gold medals and leaving Hailee with silver in both races. As the top two finishers, the girls advanced to state. Danni describes Garmer as “so sweet, so supportive, and I am really appreciative of her.”

To beat a legend at her own race at the most renowned venue for Texas track, Danni planned to keep pace with Goodman. She was not going to get itchy to stay out front where she was comfortable, because it was understood that outpacing the seasoned athlete in the long haul would be a monumental task. Danni executed their plan to perfection, breaking quickly off the start line to build up some slack on the stagger before cutting in. The senior competitors took advantage of their inside lane assignments and charged ahead. From the cut in it was Goodman out front followed by Ruiz, followed closely by Garmer for the remaining 250m or so. At the end of lap one, Garmer was actually a step ahead of Danni with Goodman in the lead taking the curve doing what she does— out-running everyone else.

Along the back straightaway there was a noticeably defined order: Goodman, Ruiz, Garmer, with the rest of the pack not even in the frame. And then it happened. She thought she could. And she did. She, Danni, turned up the jets on the last curve to edge ahead of Goodman. The lead was undeterminable for a few moments, back and forth for some strides as Goodman dealt with something she had never faced before—a challenge on the homestretch. With her target sufficiently rattled, Danni engaged and took the lead, confidently, powerfully, and coolly leaving the shocked phenom in her dust. When the clock stopped at 2:12.48, there was no rushed counting on fingers needed. It was an obvious new record. Menard claimed the gold leaving the favorite with her only silver medal in 4 years. The friendly Garmer finished third before grabbing Danni in a celebratory embrace.

Danni had just over an hour to ascend the podium, receive her medal, absorb her current reality, and regroup before stepping into the blocks for the 400m dash. The 400m is one lap. One quarter of a mile at an all-out sprint. The competition for this race was not as specific as the earlier contest. There was no true standout and no clear favorite. Goodman was not in the picture; however, the familiar Garmer was in the lineup. From her primo spot in lane 4, Danni took advantage of a clean start and began methodically but quickly picking off runners on her way around the track. She did not take the lead until the last 100m where she was challenged by Turkey Valley’s Trinity Schlueter all the way to the finish line. The almost-photofinish saw Danni take a desperate dive and skid across the track... in first place with a time of 57.87 seconds. Schlueter turned to help her up, her silver medal time just .03 seconds off the gold. Hailee Garmer took bronze with a time of 59.39 seconds. With scraped up knees and elbows to show for it, Danni had added the cherry to the sundae of her first state track meet.

The aftermath

Two gold medals to add to the collection, and a decisive new state record. What a dream for any athlete, but don’t think our protagonist has it easy. Apart from a rigorous training schedule, Danni readily admits to battling debilitating nerves and anxiety before races. She can become consumed by the pressure and expectation to win, although Bobbi often reminds her to simply do her best and find joy in the activity. While this is something she battles with the help of teammates and coaches, Danni conceded that her accomplishments and experience over the weekend should provide some level of antidote with that struggle come next season. Hard-earned confidence is a powerful thing.

Danni is still in the comprehension stage of her big wins and just how much she excelled this year. She vows to be humble and continue working hard.

I noticed an unfortunate byproduct of top tier success that Danni now faces: her 4 total U.I.L. state champion gold medals (2 track and 2 band) all look alike. Danni had to add a slip of paper into the pouches of her new track medals, in an effort to delineate which medal corresponds with each running event. Apparently, they don’t label them. While I can commiserate with Danni, I have a feeling this is a problem she is going to have to get used to going forward.

Taytum Goodman finished her high school running career with 2 golds and a silver. She was named Co-Female Athlete of the Meet, tying Brenna Francis of Silverton with 28 individual points.

Hailee Garmer’s contributions helped lead her Roby Lady Lions to a team state championship.

Congratulations to Danni and her extended support network of family and friends!