Quinn Hopes To Continue Florida Dominance In Dream 100

Jun 11, 2015

Charlotte senior Devin Quinn talks about the upcoming Dream 100, the last and biggest race of his high school career

Talk about how this season has gone for you? Did you ever dream of this much success?

This season has gone great, I couldn’t ask for a more successful season. At the beginning of the season I was expecting to run around the 10.70 ranges and closer to 21.40. I said I just wanted to get on the podium at the state meet, not particularly win it; right after the first meet we ran.

What do you attribute the growth to this year?

Just being more experienced, I knew what it would take to be sprinter. Right after the state meet in 2014, I had a huge jump forward in speed, even with a bad hamstring. I took what I did in the 2013/14 season and repeated it, just with more weight. My coach was always there the entire time to support me and change a work out if needed. Trusting your coach and always being on the same page as them will always be to your benefit.

Would you say everything really took off after you ran the 10.31 at Wally Keller?

I truly think that after I ran that time, it shocked a lot of people. Everyone knew my name after that and it amped up my competition to go out and beat try to beat me. I would day that it was a turning point in my season, where I could say I was a contender for top in the state.

You won your first state title in the 100 what was that experience like?

Looking back to when I was a freshman, I wanted to be top in the state like everyone else. Saying it and doing it are two different things, for sure. It’s an inexpressible memory that you will have for the rest of your life.

In the 200 you scratched after running the 2nd time in the prelim. What happened and how discouraging was that for you to not be able to claim two titles?

I over extended my hamstring crossing the line in the 100m dash, AKA, I lost my form. I wasn’t too discouraged; after all I did win the 100m. I was more disappointed that I couldn’t give Adrian Killins, from Mainland HS, a proper rematch. I believe we could have pushed each other to run a bit faster than 21.16 and 21.13.

How important was it to stay focused for Golden South? What was teh game plan coming in to that meet knowing you'd be going against the best of the best?

After the state meet, I took two weeks off to get my hamstring healthy. I only had one week to prepare to run. My overall goal was to run against high competition and run smooth, as to not running smooth was what caused my hamstring problems in the first place. I just wanted to fix what I messed up on and get better.

When you finished first punched your ticket to the Dream 100 what thoughts crossed your mind? 10.49 you were also first in the 200 as well.

My first thoughts were, how in the world did I run that well. Two weeks off, and only one week to prepare, yet I ran my fastest wind legal times of the year. But, when I first arrived to the meet I didn’t expect I would win in the first place. Winning a trip to New York for track, is unbelievable.

Then you run the Great Southwest Classic this week against some of the top Jamaicans and athletes in the country you go 10.35w and 20.96w two of your fastest times all yaer. Was this meet really a preview for you of what you can expect this weekend?

Given the wind was the same as the Great Southwest Classic and ignoring altitude, I plan on being faster. I was a little sore going into Great Southwest Classic, and my form was…shaky.

Before the meet you committed to UNIV of IL what was it about the Illini that sold you? Where else did you visit/consider?

Between the education, the team, and the atmosphere of the campus I knew I couldn’t say no to UIL. I also visited Indiana University, and Kennesaw State University. I also considered many others as well.

This weekend will arguably be the biggest meet of your career/ What's the game plan for the race. What are you looking forward to the most both on and off the track?

Game plan is to enjoy it, I don’t see any reason to stress out about a once in a life time opportunity. I can’t wait to run against some of the top people in the county. But, I’m looking forward to be able to sit back and watch the some of the top people in the world!

Florida has a strong tradition at this meet in the 100...Marvin Bracy won in 2011, Levonte Whitfield won in 2012, Ceo Ways was 2nd in 2013 and Kendal Williams won in 2014. What does it mean to you to follow in the footsteps of those guys?

They were the some of the fastest guys to ever come out of Florida, or in the country even. I wouldn’t say I am as good as them, but to say I’m on “track” to be as good as them is saying something.

Do you plan on doing New Balance the following week or will this be the final race of your hs career?

This will be my last race of my HS career; I took both my school records and feel content with moving on to bigger things. After the state meet, I took two weeks off, I feel like it has put me back into a training mode again. I plan on resting for a week or so, and gear up for collage track.