BOYS WINNER: Hugh Graham Jr. - Senior @ Miami Northwestern
Going into his senior season, Graham is slated as the number one returning quarter miler in the country. His personal best of 46.82, which earned him second place at New Balanace Nationals last year, put him #7 on the 2010 list... but 1-6 having departed with the Class of 2010, the throne is left wide open to Florida's 400 Meter King.
And this week down at the Louie Bing Classic on his home track, the University of Florida signee placed that crown firmly back on his head. With his time of 46.97 at that meet, he is already picking up where he left off in 2010 and (though only a few states have started outdoor track) puts him almost a second faster than the second best time in the country this season.
Making things even more interesting, he ran a 100 meter dash for the first time since middle school. Showing his great range, he made his 10.60 win look easy. How could we not choose Graham as our Warrior of the Week?!
Northwestern boys coach Joseph Simpson said of his prodigy, "I've seen a lot of great runners come through, but every runner (who gets really good seem to get) a big head and don't think they need to perform as hard as they need to... Hugh is a different breed. He is a very humble kid. You would never know he's that good by the way he acts... His demeanor and work ethic are totally different than anything I've ever seen."
It was obvious he had talent as he entered the storied track program at Miami Northwestern as a ninth grader, but no one there quite realized the caliber of athlete he could one day become. Coach Simpson added, "When we first got him, he didn't believe he was going to be on top like he is today... what he does... will go down in history. We've got big plans for him!"
And that plan for him this season is to have him run the 100 meter dash, which should help propell him to even higher heights at his primary event. And of that 400 meter dash, Coach Simpson says simply: "He's on a mission this year to make a legacy for himself."
Running for the Bulls, the perenial team powerhouse, you can't forget about what that will mean also for the team overall and their quest for the 4x400 state record. Big things. Big things!
Article: Hugh Graham, A Quarter-Miler's Quest for Gold
Athlete Profile: Hugh's Athlete Profile
GIRLS WINNER: Brittany Wagoner - Senior @ Key West
Anyone who has ever made the long drive down US-1, over the seven mile bridge, and finally on to Duval Street in Key West will tell you it is OUT THERE (physically). And let's face it you have to be a little OUT THERE (mentally) to be a Conch! The remoteness doesn't stop those tenacious islanders though, and it certainly has not done anything to stop Brittany Wagoner.
The senior and her teammates made the long three-plus hour trek to the mainland (and back) not once, but twice last week. And both times Wagoner absolutely cleaned up. On Monday, after the conclusion of the Luis Ripoll Relays in Miami, she headed back to the Conch Republic with three gold medals around her neck with victories in the pole vault (9-6) and long jump (18-0), and the high jump (5-4). Then Saturday she was at it again, this time in Ft. Lauderdale at Westminster Academy, adding three more wins to her long resume: 17-10.5 long jump, 10-6 pole vault, and a 5-foot high jump.
Looking at that kind of week in those varied events, you might think she is an all-around athlete. And looking at her athlete profile and seeing she can also lay down a pretty decent 200 and 400 time as well, you might think this girl can do it all. And you'd be right, but you wouldn't yet know the half of it!
Pretty much on the go non-stop, Wagoner is also an avid surfer and wake boarder, plays varsity basketball (recording a double-double this year, as one of her team's leading scorers), and has a black belt in taekwondo. And some where... some how... on top of all that... "Britt" finds the time to do one more thing very well. She is one of the best paintballers in the nation! She travels around the country from tournament to tournament from Florida to Hawaii and has competed on the semi-pro level in the sport.
Man! I'm exhausted just reading that... she is living it!
The past year though has been anything but an easy one for the senior. On top of some personal tradgedies, she has had to overcome major injuries that threatened her career. As a sophomore in 2009, her primary focus was the pole vault where she cleared a 10-6. But while preparing for the start of her junior season, she suffered a serious shoulder injury. Her doctors recommended that she sit out the 2010 season entirely, but the determined youngster would have none of that.
"There was no way I could just disappear off the charts and then come back my senior year," she told the Key West Citizen last May. So she decided to adapt instead. If her shoulder couldn't take the vault, she would just become a long jumper... and boy did she!
After jumping just 15-10 in the event at the state meet as a sophomore--and despite not being able to lift her arm over her head--she hit 18-2.75 at last year's state championship in Winter Park. But as soon as she hit the Showalter Field sand for the last time that day, Wagoner found she could barely walk. So from the awards podium she headed straight to the emergency room. An MRI determined she had strained her calf and hamstring and had a Baker's Cyst behind her right knee. So the long jump silver medalist spent some time celebrating by learning to motor around on crutches.
Shortly thereafter in June, the surgery she had been putting off for months to repair her shoulder was scheduled. Recovering throughout the summer and fall, she was finally able to return to training in October. And now she's back! Off to the best start of the season in her career, the future Coast Guard Academy enrollee is hoping to add one... maybe two... maybe three state championships to her long list of accolades!
Britt's Athlete Profile...
