OT - Friend's kid does good

[Mark Padgett]

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?

[bainsey]

Originally Posted by Mark Padgett

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.

[rockyroad]

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.

[grunewar]

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!

[Altor]

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.

[rockyroad]

Originally Posted by Altor

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!

[Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.]

Originally Posted by grunewar

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!

Grune:

Why would anybody want to run 100m? LOL

MTD, Sr.

[grunewar]

Originally Posted by Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.

Grune:

Why would anybody want to run 100m? LOL

MTD, Sr.

Maybe to get out of a bad situation quickly?

[Mark Padgett]

Originally Posted by rockyroad

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.

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.

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).

[Mark Padgett]

This kid bettered his own mark yesterday in the district meet. He ran a 10.35. They checked with some stat bureau and this is the best time ever run for the 100m in the US by a HS sophomore.

State finals are next weekend. Yeah - he's in them.

[Mark Padgett]

The state meet was this past weekend. He won the 100m dash, beating the three-time defending champion. He didn't set a new record, however. But before that, he anchored his HS 4x100 meter relay and they won and did set a new state record.

His coach held him out of the 200m because he apparently hurt his foot a little at the end of the 100m when he came down hard on it. They didn't want to risk a real injury.

In an interview after the meet, he said his goal is to make the US Olympic team. I wouldn't bet against it.

[grunewar]

In Mark's absence let me just say that this young man was featured in the Top Ten of ESPN this morning with with a record-setting 38 carries for 643 yards and 10 touchdowns yesterday.....Yikes.

Be well and hurry back Mark!

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by grunewar

This young man was featured in the Top Ten of ESPN this morning with with a record-setting 38 carries for 643 yards and 10 touchdowns yesterday.

Were they playing the American School for the Blind?

[Mark Padgett]

Originally Posted by Mark Padgett

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?

Thomas is running in an invitational this weekend (his second one in a month - the first one was in NY and sponsored by Adidas) and if he finishes in the top two in the 100 meters, he'll get asked to participate in a world meet in France! His dad, who I saw this morning, said Thomas is supposed to be in the "Faces In The Crowd" section of Sports Illustrated either this week or next.

[grunewar]

Originally Posted by Mark Padgett

His dad, who I saw this morning, said Thomas is supposed to be in the "Faces In The Crowd" section of Sports Illustrated either this week or next.

And WE can all say we all knew him from way back when......