Chris Youngs and Kent Harris will soon embark on a campaign to break records. Photos by Alan Versaw, Jeff McCoy.
Both the 3A 100 and 200 meter state meet records currently belong to Mead's Alex Mead. The current records were set in 2012, before Mead made the move up to 4A.
There's a good chance that the 3A all-time sprint crown will not be a unified thing after this year, however. And, there are a couple different paths that could take.
One, Mead could retain one record and lose the other to one of Lutheran's dynamic duo of Chris Youngs and Kent Harris. Two, Mead could lose both records, one to Youngs and the other to Harris.
The standing state meet records are 10.62 for the 100 and 21.66 for the 200. If you've been around high school sprinting any time at all, you already know those are solid marks that won't go down easily.
But, if you've been watching Lutheran's sprint program for any time at all, you also know that Youngs and Harris are bearing in on the marks.
Last year, Youngs had best wind-legal marks of 10.85 and 22.09 (the latter came after the CHSAA-sanctioned season). Harris posted top marks of 10.85 and 21.61, meaning that Harris already owns the 3A all-time best mark, just not the state meet mark.*
Both Harris and Youngs had very nice indoor seasons this winter, indicating they are sharp and ready to make a run at owning the 3A short sprint records. Youngs, of course, posted the monster 6.73 60 meter dash at the Western State High School Indoor Open.
That said, almost every time Youngs and Harris step onto the track, a record is in danger. Sprints don't wait for opportunities the way distance events do. Most of what you need is wrapped up in a stiff field, a little atmosphere, some warmth to the air, a good start, and a cooperative wind. All of that might come together at almost any meet.
In any case, you want to be watching the 100 and 200 at any meet Lutheran is attending this spring.
* - I came lately to this realization while doing the research for writing this article. The 3A classification records list has been updated to reflect Harris's 200 meter mark.
