As the races begin to start, the runners tense their muscles, shaking with excitement, sweating profusely as they wait for the sound of the gun. Jesuit Ryan Mehl ‘13 looks up into the sea of people cheering. He looks around, taking in all that is around him. He breathes slowly, hardly nervous at all. He has nothing to prove to himself or anyone else; he is just there to live in the moment and run well.
The Jesuit Track & Field team wrapped up its season this year at the state championship where Paden Gatlin ’13 participated in the discus event earning 2nd place overall, and Ryan Mehl ‘13 ran hurdles earning 7th place overall. According to Coach Bob Molyet, the head coach of the Jesuit Track & Field team, at such a high degree of competition, races are decided by “tenths of a second from first to ninth,” and field events “can come down to inches at that level.”
So, what makes Mehl and Gatlin stand out from the rest of the athletes? Coach Molyet believes that “it is their God given ability.” Also, “when you combine that with hard work, you get these results.” This hard work and dedication especially paid off for Ryan who described this as his “breakout year,” a year in which he placed third in the nation at one point. Ryan even attributed this hard work to his scholarship from Texas A&M, explaining that it was this “improvement that allowed [him] to get recruited by better colleges, including Texas A&M where [he] will be running next year.”
As this year ends, Coach Molyet believes that “new guys will always step up,” and he will “just sit back and see who will rise to the top.” As always, “there are no easy competitions,” but as long as the runners “stay focus, they will [succeed].”
Congrats to both Mehl and Gatlin for representing Jesuit well at the state tournament!
