OT - Friend's kid does good
 

I know we sometimes mention other sports here, but I don't know if we've ever mentioned track. Anyway - here goes. A story about the son of one of my best friends was on the front page of the local paper's sports section this morning. He is a sophomore at a local HS and he set a state HS record for fastest time in the 100 meters - 10.43 seconds. He did this last week and then he ran in another meet this week and ran the same exact time! What are the odds? The story also told about how he's a really nice kid who is well liked by his classmates. Thomas (that's his name) was quoted as saying his goal is to break 10.3 seconds. I wouldn't bet against him.

Do colleges give track scholarships? :)

They sure do, though some more than others, and with Title IX in place, sometimes the men's track programs have fewer to give than their female counterparts, especially if the school has football.

Mark, the University of Oregon, Oregon State. and both UW and WSU all give track scholarships. I would imagine that if his times continue to improve in his Jr. and Sr. years, he will be getting offers from all four of them.

Or, if he wants some REAL competition.....
 

He could go to.....wait for it......the ACC! ;)

Bwahaha!

PS - My son ran track in HS too......he always wondered why anyone would want to run anything longer than the 100?! Too much work!

Just to put this in perspective...

The NFHS 2010 Honor Roll (top 10 in the country) had times from 10.19 to 10.46 for the Boy's 100. The NFHS record is 10.15.

So running 10.43 as a sophomore is pretty dang good!

The kid goes to Aloha HS, which is west of Portland between Beaverton and Hillsboro. He might want to go to the same college as his dad. That would be Willamette University in Salem, although his dad also went to Gonzaga law school and spent a year studying at some university in Yugoslavia (not kidding). I wonder if they have a track team over there. :D

The kid has also played rec basketball for quite some time and every once in a while, I work one of his games, usually in a spring league. His mom always comes up and hugs me before those games (not kidding). And yes, she is incredibly hot (again, not kidding).

It's even pretty good without the dang part too!

Mark, is he a WR or DB in football? I found that to be the case around here.

He plays running back and outside linebacker. Here's a link to a video of him scoring some touchdowns this past season.

YouTube - Thomas Tyner Aloha High Class of 2013 Oregon 6' & 200 lbs

Oregon and OSU have both had good luck stealing Texas running backs... he would be welcomed in Texas. Tons of track scholarships. His football skills are equally impressive.

Sophomore, huh? Nice!

That's one happy coach! :)


Evan Royster (RB, PSU) played here locally. While our distirct has a lot of talent, as do many, D1 talent is pretty rare. His Sr. yr he used to destroy schools like ours. I mean routine 60/70 yard plays, 250 yds and 4 TD's at half-time and then he was standing on the sidelines watching the rest of the game. He was really something to watch - a man among boys..... it levels out for most though.

I hope this kid stays grounded and does well!

OK - here's my best HS football story. I think I've posted it before, but what the heck. When I was in HS (back in the dark ages), we had a kid who seemed destined to eventually become a NFL quarterback. I'd known him since fifth grade. He was about 6'4" with a blond flattop and a throwing arm like you couldn't believe. He started varsity while only a sophomore, which was unheard of at my HS. His dad worked for Wilson sporting goods and his sister, Connie, was a cheerleader. As a senior, he made the Parade magazine All-American team. He had a bazillion scholarship offers and decided to go to the University of Illinois because that's where his dad had gone. The first week of practice, he tore up his knee and never played again. Because the injury happened during an "official" team practice, the university had to honor his scholarship. Amazing.

Oh yeah - I think he became a lawyer in Las Vegas.

One of my good friends grew up playing football in the back yard with Neil Lomax and his brother. You know him Mark, works PBOA.

I spoke with my friend on the phone this morning and he told me his son wants to go to Harvard. Oooooookaaaaaay.

Even more about this kid
 

I don't want this thread to get "Diebler-esque", but the newspaper had yet another story about this kid today. His district held its track meet yesterday and he ran anchor on the 4x100 and they won. His time was 10.54. Still pretty good for a sophomore. Oh yeah, I spoke with his dad on the phone yesterday and he mentioned that his son had been voted the state class 6A (our largest school classification) football player of the year this past season.

My guess is he might wind up at the University of Oregon eventually because his dad has had some dealings with Phil Knight regarding local issues.