Gussio going for gold – at a brand new level

It did. But for former Boonsboro High School sprint sensation Coby Gussio, it also brought up at least one question: Just how fast can he go?

The 47.11 wasn’t perfect. Running the anchor leg of the 1,600-meter relay at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals last month in Greensboro, N.C., Gussio grabbed the baton close to the start of the exchange zone. In other words, he ran more than 400 meters.

Couple that beginning with the end – over the last few strides, it was clear his body had done all it could do – and one wonders what he might accomplish now that his high school athletic career is over. One thing’s for sure: the process of finding how fast he can go begins soon.

An athlete like Gussio “comes along once every 30 years,” said Cumberland Valley Athletic Club president Mike Spinnler, who watched as Gussio clobbered the competition on Tuesday during a low-key all-comers track meet at North Hagerstown High School.

Gussio, who recently relocated to Buckeystown in Frederick County, is planning to major in history at NCAA Division I Mount Saint Mary’s University in Emmitsburg. He’s expected to report to the northern Frederick County campus late next month. He’s also going to run. And he’s bringing along a fan club.

“I can’t wait to see what happens,” said Shawn Cutsail, assistant cross country and track coach at Boonsboro. “No one really knows how fast he can be.”

Not even, both Cutsail and head coach Becky Walter said, Gussio himself. His 47.11 put was the 10th fastest recorded time by a high school sprinter during the 2011 season. The 47.11 is 0.83 seconds faster than the winning time in the Northeast Conference championship in which Mount St. Mary’s competes.

He is a two-time state title winner. In May, Gussio won the Maryland Class 1A championship in the long jump – posting the best mark of all four state classifications – and the 100 dash (10.93 seconds).

Gussio is the first to point out that there is plenty of room for improvement. He sees it as an opportunity to close the gap between his performance so far and that of world class athletes on a stage slightly larger than what Washington County has to offer.

He said he has a tendency to go out too slow at 400 meters – individually or on a relay, as evidenced by his wild comeback and near-win at the New Balance meet last month. In the 800, though, “I go out a little too fast … and then die.”

The 800 is important for this student-athlete who has typically stayed to the sprint and field events. That’s because he’s expecting to compete in the decathlon for the Mountaineers as soon as next spring.

Walter said it was pretty neat to watch an athlete who, until his senior outdoor track season, had been unable to secure a first-place finish in a state meet. Within a period of just a few weeks, though, Walter noted that Gussio won two state titles and earned a medal with a sixth-place finish in the 200 at the outdoor national meet.

Walter called Gussio “one of the … hardest working athletes on the team” who puts in extra time on the track and in the weight room whenever possible.

Chances are a work ethic like his will continue to be reflected in personal achievements and milestones. What’s unknown, though, is where it will take him.

“There’s only so many seconds between him and not just national but world-level competition,” Cutsail said. “It’s a matter of a few seconds. Those are the hard ones to take off … but to put himself in a chance of that is just amazing. It was fun to coach and fun to be a part of and watch.”