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Trentavis Friday runs top-10 all-time 100 and 200 at Tune Up

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DyeStat.com   Jun 3rd 2014, 7:07pm
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Trentavis Friday set sights on World juniors

 

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

 
Trentavis Friday figured that he might be ready to run something fast, but the 10.17 and 20.33 that he put up on Saturday at the Champions Tune-Up Meet in Kernersville, N.C. was beyond what he imagined. RESULTS


"Mentally I wasn't quite prepared for that," Friday said. "I thought 10.25, that was my goal. But so much for that. I guess I realized what I can do now."


What Friday has done -- and what he can still do -- is put his stamp on the all-time high school record book.


The senior from small-town Cherryville, N.C. turns 19 on Thursday and what better birthday gift is there than a matching set of PRs? The 10.17 clocking is No. 6 all-time. The 20.33 is No. 7 all-time.


Friday buckled down as a senior and hit the weight room and put more dedication into his training. During the week he worked with the Cherryville track team and on the weekends he worked with his club coach, Valentino Sykes of the Gastonia Jaguars.


"I laugh when I see a race from my junior year because my technique is better and I'm stronger," Friday said. "I can finish a workout and being stronger really helped me."


Being stronger is also helping Friday snap out of the blocks, which is one of the reasons his times last weekend were so fast.


Friday dreamed of being a basketball star growing up, but by his junior year of high school he had to accept the reality that his chance to move forward in Division I athletics was on the track and not the basketball court.


And Cherryville -- a town of about 5,000 that's as sweet as its name -- gets some credit, too. Friday grew up in rougher Gastonia but moved to Cherryville to live with his father in the eighth grade. That meant more discipline at home and also a safer community.


"Cherryville is a small country town," Friday explained. "There's a lot of hospitality and everyone is civil. I call it a ghost town because there's no one really here, there's not a lot of people. But I like it. It's peaceful. There's not trouble here. Everybody knows one another."


Before coming to Cherryville, Friday said he "found myself in troubling situations."


In Cherryville, he has been able to explore his talents and pursue his dreams with far fewer distractions. Competing for a Class 1A school -- the smallest classification in North Carolina -- has meant domination and very little competition within the state. In March, he won national indoor titles in the 60 and 200 at the New Balance Nationals Indoor in New York City.


But he also knows what lies ahead. He will soon be surrounded by some of the best sprinters in the country at Florida State. A "Fab Four" recruiting class includes not only Friday but Kendal Williams (Florida), Musta'qeem Williams (Virginia) and Zyaire Clemes (New Jersey).


"All four of us stay in contact," Friday said. "I met them all during recruiting. It feels like a Fab Four kind of thing and that excites me."


There are also more opportunities to go even faster -- and in races with more competition -- come up. He will run the 200 at the New Balance Nationals Outdoor (the 100 and the Adidas Dream 100 both conflict with his graduation ceremony), and is also going to the Brooks PR meet in Seattle on June 21. After that, he will try to make the U.S. team for World Juniors.


"I'm trying to wear those USA colors," Friday said. "The times I ran this last weekend, hopefully that means I'll be in the mix (to make the team). When I ran 20.33 (last Saturday) it boosted my confidence. I can't wait for it now."



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DrBob
Go Noles !
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