A MAN OF MANY TALENTS
Cato realized that track would take him where he wanted to go. It was just a matter of identifying his stron- gest event. That was complicated, because he did everything.
Cato realized then that track would be the vehi-
cle to take him where he wanted to go. It was just a matter of identifying his strongest event. That was complicated because he did everything. "I always had to ask my coach, 'What am I do- ing today? What am I doing next?''' Cato said. "I remember one meet where he goes, 'Why don't you do the 400 meters?' "I had never run a 400 in my life. I didn't know
how to run it, so I sprinted the whole way. My first ever 400 and I ran it in 51 (seconds).'' On first glance, Nuttycombe didn't want to pi- geonhole Cato into any one event. "The great thing about recruiting athletes is
that you can project them into many different ar- eas,'' Nuttycombe said. "I didn't know where he would be as a vaulter. Or a long jumper-vaulter.'' However, he did have a hunch that Cato could
do multiple events "if he chose to.'' He also thought that he was ideally suited for the heptath- lon because of his sprinting and jumping skills. But he would need more seasoning, so Cato redshirted as a freshman at Wisconsin. "Like so many athletes in high school, although
he had great talent, he had never hurdled, had never thrown the shot put,'' Nuttycombe said. "When he picked up the shot, the shot nearly threw him.
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