Glover wants chance to finish

Scott's Anthony Glover, who ran for Woodward last spring, is the favorite to win the 400 and 800 in the City League meet.

Having the distinction of being known as the guy who jumped the gun at the start of an 800-meter race at the state track championships is not something Anthony Glover is proud of.

It's a memory of a moment the Scott senior would rather forget.

But Glover can't seem to completely shake his past.

“I think about it a couple of times every now and then if somebody mentions it,” Glover said. “But I try not to think about it much because it wasn't a good thing that happened.”

In a race that requires running two laps, it's not common to see a disqualification because of a false start. But that's what happened to Glover last spring at the state meet when he stumbled over the starting line just before the pistol sounded to begin the Division I final.

The untimely mishap took place last spring when Glover was running the 400 and 800 for Woodward. He transferred back to Scott at the start of this school year as a result of a family move. He spent his freshman and sophomore years at Scott.

The story of his stumble followed him over to Scott.

“We still tease him about that,” said Scott coach Ernest Carn, who was at last year's state meet in Dayton.

However, Carn is more than pleased to have Glover on his team. Glover ran for Carn as a sophomore and he is the Bulldogs' top man in the 400 and 800.

Glover's season-best time in the 400 is 49.6 while his season-best time in the 800 is 1:59.7. He has won all but one of his 800 races and all but two of his 400 events.

He's a favorite to pull off a sweep of the two races in tonight's City League championships at Bowsher.

“I'm real confident about what I can do and what I should do (in the City League meet),” Glover said. “If I do lose they're really going to have to work hard to beat me.”

Nevertheless, Carn said Glover's expectations are much greater than claiming victory at the City League championships.

“He's confident he'll make it back to state,” Carn said. “There's no doubt in his mind that he will make it back.”

Glover no longer dwells on his past state experience nor is he bothered by the jokes about committing a false-start.

He's looking ahead and plans to conclude his high school track career back at the state meet. This time he intends to complete a race.

“My goal is to get back to state and to compete in the 400 and 800,” Glover said.

Glover considers the 800 the most important. Not standing at the starting line in the 800 state finals a second straight year would be a disappointment.

“If I don't get back to where I was last year that means I didn't work as hard as I did last year,” Glover said.

Glover's personal-record time in the 800 is 1:55.3, which he recorded last season in a regional final in which he finished second to qualify for the state meet. Although he hasn't really come close to topping that, Glover believes he's on the right path.

“I'm not quite where I was this time last year, but I'm still right there,” Glover said. “I know I can make it.”

Carn said the biggest hindrance to Glover's progress may have been not facing enough challenging competition throughout the season.

His most challenging 800 took place a week ago during a meet in Dayton. It included several of the state's top runners. Glover finished fifth, but posted his best time of the season (1:59.7).

The fifth-place finish among a highly competitive group of half-milers didn't ruin Glover's desire to run against stiff competition.

“It was really fun,” Glover said. “It was competitive. I like to run in more races like that.”

The journey back to the state meet will probably entail such races along the way.