Detroit's Motor City TC has made big impact over 50 years

By Brian Towey for DyeStat

NEW  YORK -- One of the top sprint powers in the U.S., with a frequent and strong presence at the New Balance Nationals Indoor and Outdoor, is the Motor City Track Club from Detroit. 

The club is primarily associated with Oak Park High.

"Our club was started in 1965 by Bettye Robinson, Richard Ford and Barbara Vance," said Brandon Jiles, who coaches the club. Originally, Motor City was a girls team."

Around 1969 the club added boys. That was when Robert Lynch, a longtime assistant with the program who currently coaches at Oak Park (with Jiles), joined as a runner following college.

"At first they started with the girls because they didn't have competition in the state," Lynch said.

Scores of talented runners followed, including Marshall Deal, who once ran a 20.39 200-meter race at altitude; Kim Turner, who won a bronze medal in the 100 hurdles in the 1984 Olympics; and Kenneth Ferguson, whose 49.38 national high school record in the 400-meter hurdles set in 2002 still stands. Recent stars include Kendall Baisden, Anna Jefferson and Cameron Cooper.

"We've been steadily producing great athletes," Lynch said.

The club also serves as an important outlet for Detroit's youth.

"Detroit is a city with a lot of crime," Jiles said. "For kids to be in track and do something constructive, it's very important for the city."

The Motor City TC girls placed fourth Sunday in the 4x400 relay, clocking 3:45.91. The boys took eighth in the 4x400 and the SMR.

Finding Right Fit

Career Magnet CT senior Dyshon Vaughn had never competed in indoor track until this winter. Following a big personal best 24-foot, 5.50-inch leap to win the long jump, he appears to have found his niche.

"I started getting recruited by some really good colleges for track," Vaughn said. "I decided maybe I should give basketball up. I feel like this sport really fits me."

Vaughn notched the winner on his last try to defeat Cicero NY's Jeremiah Willis, who also jumped 24-5.50.

Vaughn won a tiebreaker because of a superior second jump (23-8.75).

HJ champ enjoys Armory experience

McCool Junction NE senior Mayson Conner traveled far and wide to find top competition this winter, going to meets at Texas A&M, Air Force and Kansas State. But at The Armory, he appeared to have found a home.

"I'm just taking in the environment," said Conner, who comes from York, Neb., a town of 8,000 people located about an hour west of Lincoln. "There's nothing I can compare it to."

Conner jumped 7-1.75 to win the high jump Saturday and then took attempts at 7-2.50.

Love for the throws

Schalick NJ senior Zyra Thomas finished second in the shot put at the New Jersey Meet of Champion on Feb. 25. She rebounded Saturday with a national championship, throwing 47-5.75.

"My goal is to be 50-plus," Thomas said. "I just want to be the best I can be. I just love throwing. I'd do the jav. I'd do the hammer."

Fully emerged

Jeffersontown KY junior Kaleb McDonald had only two indoor meets under her belt this winter. Her very fast 24.12 clocking in the Emerging Elite 200 meters declared her presence in a big way. 

She also won the Emerging Elite 60 in 7.51. 

"Overall, as an athlete she's been so coachable," said Tameka Townsend, who coaches McDonald with the Louisville Fillies Elite Track Club. "She's just been reaping the benefits of all her hard work. She's a huge leader on my team also."

Switched from tennis

Wilmington Friends DE junior Connor Nisbet, who finished second in the 5,000 meters in 14:44.82., found a path to distance running through an unconventional route. Nisbet rose up through the tennis ranks, becoming a regional class player, before track claimed him.

"My sophomore year, tennis started leveling off, and running picked up," Nisbet said. "I was like 'Damn, I need to re-think this.' I started running in more races. It just sort of happened."

Ohio steps up

Dustin Horter's mile win (4:08.03), on the heels of Chad Johnson's 5,000-meter win, put Ohio front and center as force in the distance races over the weekend. 

"We kind of get overlooked a little bit," Horter, of Lakota East HS, north of Cinncinnati, said.

"Last year in the state meet in the 1,600 it took a 4:12 to get on the podium. We have a lot of talent, but don't always get the hype. We came here this weekend and showed what we could do."

Wings runner 7th in mile

Volcano Vista NM senior Jericho Cleveland, a member of Wings of America, a running team composed of Native Americans, proudly maintains a connection to his heritage.

"My father does a good job of keeping me connected," said Cleveland, who finished seventh in the mile in 4:13.40.

"We'll go back to Washington (where my family is from) in the summer. We'll see the (Colville) reservation and see how they're doing. I'll tell them how I'm doing in cross country and track. They love to hear that."

Cleveland's father, Shane, ran at the University of New Mexico. He backs the Wings of America mission to support Native American runners.

"There haven't been many great Native American distance runners lately," Cleveland said. "Wings of America is trying to bring another generation of top-of-the-line distance runners. To do well at races like this (is part of that)."

Another big-time jumper in Maine

Maine's Cayden Spencer-Thompson continued his rise in the jumps. After winning the Emerging Elite long jump in a meet-record 23-10.25, he went 48-10.25 in the championship triple jump to finish fourth.

"In Maine, I'm probably the farthest triple jumper by six feet," said Spencer-Thompson, who lives in Lincoln, a town of about 5,000 people one hour north of Bangor. "I have to go to Harvard a couple of times a year to find meets."

Spencer-Thompson, of course, isn't the first long jumper from Maine. Kate Hall, the national high school outdoor record holder, helped Georgia win the NCAA women's indoor title over the weekend by taking the long jump victory in College Station, Texas.

Big goals in the TJ

Fountain CO triple jumper Jequan Hogan used to do the high jump. But it's the technical aspects of the triple that he really loves.

"I feel that it's more technical than the high jump and you can improve on technical things and improve your PR," he said.

Hogan won the triple jump at 49-6.50.

"My goal has been 52 since the end of outdoor," said Hogan, who will jump for Texas Tech.

The all-time Colorado record of 51-9.75 goes all the way back to Ken McClendon in 1974. 

Two wins for Mu

Athing Mu's poise and confidence has been built over many years. The sophomore has been winning championship races since she was 6 years old.

"Her first championship was in the 400 and 800 meters," said Bernice Mutchell, who coaches Mu with the Trenton Track Club out of New Jersey. "She's won AAU championships at 400, 800 and 1,500 meters."

Mu (her last name is actually pronounced 'Mo') added an NBNI 800-meter championship Sunday following her meet record 54.98 to win the Emerging Elite 400.

On Sunday, Mu held off Rhode Island's Nikki Merrill for the 2:06.59 win.

"My goal was to go 2:07 indoor, same as I did outdoors," Mu said. "Outdoors I'm trying to go 2:05."

Merrill has broken through this winter with some fast marks as well, including a 1:31.79 600 to go with her 2:07.27 in Sunday's 800.

"I wanted to go 2:05," Merrill said. "It's a steppingstone to get to that point."