Lucas Peebles’ sophomore season ended at State and nearly in the 400 finals, after he overcame a season debut in which he looked like anything but a contender for State.
At Clever’s season-opening trip to the Marshfield invitational in March, Peebles turned in a :54.2.
"I didn't start out too well,” he said. “I got out too quick. I got to the 200 mark too fast. I needed to take my time down (early) so I would have more energy at the end.”
Over the course of the spring, Peebles shaved his PR to :50.73. He posted a :51.09 while placing ninth at the Class 3 State Meet last weekend.
“I pushed myself harder and got to know my strategy that would put me in a better spot for the end of the race,” Peebles said of his improvement. “I like to plan out the strategy. My strength is finishing. Kicking in at the end and finishing strong is when I passed most people.”
“Lucas has come a long way,” coach Luke Brosius said. “His work ethic is unbelievable. He works his butt off every single day. Between him and Gage (Evans), they are the two most driven kids I've coached as far as track goes on the boys side.”
Looking ahead to his next two seasons, Peebles has his sights set on Matt Christopher’s 2017 school record of :49.6.
Like Peebles, Evans made State this year for the first time. Evans ran a :41.48 while finishing 10th in the 300 hurdles.
He found the experience at State to be enlightening.
“It was nice seeing competition like I'd never seen before, crazy athletes," Evans said.
Next year, Evans hopes to lower his school record of :41.13 and set a mark that could stand for a long while.
“It took me a little bit to get a PR this year, but once I got on my horse, I kept going,” he said. “My goal next year is :39.”
The Jays’ Xavier Robinson was seventh at State in the high jump (6-2 1/2). He set a PR of 6-5 1/4 at Sectionals.
“He was above 6-2 all season long,” Brosius said. “It’s been good to see him be so consistent. When he got his PR, his back was four inches over the bar. That was pretty impressive and shows what he could potentially do in the future.”
Evans, Peebles, Robinson and Matthew Edge made State in the 4 x 400 relay and finished fourth (3:28.12). The relay will return intact next year.
“We went from a 3:45 to 3:28 this year,” Evans said. “We kept going and kept motivating ourselves.”
