Sterling Bryant picked a heck of a year to run a wind-legal 13.86 in the 110-meter high hurdles.
That time is equal to the former section record run by Montgomery’s Reggie De in 1997. It lasted 27 years until Helix’s Shon Martin clocked a 13.84 last season.
And Martin’s mark was obliterated this year by San Diego High freshman Jasir Fontenot, who rolled to a 13.62 at the Mt. SAC Relays.
Who could have known a super freshman would come along? Not that the Ramona High senior worries about things like that.
By finishing second in the section championships, where Fontenot would have lowered the record to 13.40 if not for a 2.7 mps breeze (2/0 is the maximum allowable wind), Bryant punched his ticket to the state championships Friday and Saturday at Veterans Stadium in Clovis.
His breezy 13.40 is No. 2 in the state, which is quite a drop from last year when he finished fourth in the section championships at 14.54.
Fourth is the worst place to finish. Only the first three advance to state.
“I was pretty bummed,” said Bryant, “but the more I thought about it, my best time of 14.52 wasn’t going to make it to the finals last year and that would have been a long way to go just to run one race.”
Instead, the senior took a week off and then threw himself into getting faster, stronger and working on his start, which now usually rockets him into the lead at the sound of the gun.
The result was immediate. In his first meet he ran a personal record 14.22. He kept shaving 10ths of a second off until he ran a 13.98 in a dual meet versus Del Norte. The bad news was an aiding wind of 2.1 meters per second wiped out any record chances.
Still, a sub-14 under any conditions is monumental — especially mentally.
“My goal before the season was to break 14,” said the Bulldog senior who quietly moved up the all-time section list until with his wind-legal 13.86 at the Mt. SAC Relays moved him to No. 4 all-time in the San Diego Section.
Now he’s No. 2 under all conditions and he credits Fontenot for improving so fast that by the end of the season, he had run off four straight sub-14 times. Saturday’s time makes it five and he has another week to go even faster.
“Jasir is really good and he makes me work harder than I might normally,” Bryant said. “I want to get under 13.8 and maybe even 13.7 something.”
Bryant said although he got his best time in the section finals, he really didn’t care about that, he just wanted to continue his season by placing in the top three.
“I was aggressive and I hit some hurdles,” said the Bulldogs senior who actually drew blood. “I’m excited about going to state and really excited about being No. 2 in the state this season.
One of the few hurdlers to beat Bryant this season was Murrieta Mesa’s William Bright who ran a 13.85, a tick of a second ahead at Mt. SAC. But Bryant was injured, and in his stead, Long Beach Poly’s Lynnox Newton moved to No. 3 at 14.84, winning the Southern Section Masters meet.
Bryant will also be able to focus on just one race after his fourth place finish — yes, that again — in the 300 hurdles in 39.08 was not good enough to advance.
Somehow, you know he’s more than a little happy to be right where he is.
