Big picture, unbreakable marksWhen he started, gathering information the same way as Shepard, he figured he was about 80 percent complete. Now he knows it was closer to 50 percent. Even now while he strives for more, he knows while it seems like he's getting 95 percent, he may only find 75 or 80.
The Orange County Wine Society
presents a good diversion from
the 60-70 hours Jack Shepard
spends a week producing the
"High School Track" book.
Photo courtesy of Shepard family
He said it does take a certain type of personality to do the job and those who can't usually throw up their hands in frustration or burn themselves out trying to be 100 percent accurate while slaving over those marks for 16 to 18 hours a day.
The two are different, too.
While Shepard is attending meets less and less these days, Kennedy still goes to as many major events as he can, hoping to see those ‘once in a lifetime' performances.
"Doing this requires an inquiring mind and being able to recognize when a mark just doesn't look right," said Kennedy echoing Shepard's words. "If you see where a 6-2 or 6-3 high jumper went 6-10, you check more carefully because maybe it's just a typo and he went 6-1.
"This happens more in track than any other sport and you don't want to give someone credit they don't deserve."
But if that high jumper beat someone who cleared 6-8 for second place, they are quickly added to the list.
Kennedy says the explosion in information has forced him to adjust his standards. In the girls 800, for example, the 2:17 that made his 300-400 name list five years ago has been replaced first by a 2:16 and now 2:15.
"I'll bet it's down to 2:11 in five years because we're getting more results than we used to," he says.
Both statisticians try to look at the big picture, hoping to have the most accurate lists they can so the next generation of stat-gathers and record confirmers won't have to scour quite as hard as they or people like Dick Bank, who first started High School Track in 1956 or the late Scott Davis, helped make the book an invaluable tool for writers and coaches, not to mention limitless athletes who find where they stand (or don't stand) after a particularly fine performance.
Shepard has seen most of the best in his book.
When asked the mark he considers the most untouchable in track, he doesn't hesitate to say Michael Carter's 81-3½ in the shot put.
"The greatest high school track athlete had to be Jim Ryun for his body of work for two years," said Shepard of the Kansas great who dominated in the mile in 1964-65 as no high school athlete has before or after.
"But Michael Carter. I used to tell people I'd never see Michael Carter's record broken as long as I'm alive. But when I saw that (Gresham, Oregon's) Ryan Crouser put the shot 77-2 to break Brent Noon's indoor record this winter, I called his coach and told him I don't want to be dying in the next six months," said Shepard, who did not see the Carter's prodigious toss at the Golden West Invitational in Sacramento in 1979.
"It's still exciting to find good marks. I find myself going to DyeStat 20 times a day during the season looking for that mark that will make my list."
Steve Brand, senior writer/columnist Mitch Stephens and MaxPreps Director of Photography Todd Shurtleff will be leafing through Shepard's book often Saturday while covering the meet in Arcadia. See coverage here throughout the weekend.
