Coach Grant Turning A Corner of Pennsylvania Fast

By Brian Towey of DyeStat

NEW YORK -- Tucked unobtrusively on the second turn at the Armory, Rohan Grant watched. 

An assistant coach at Pennsylvania's Church Farm School (30 miles west of Philadelphia) and the founder of the southeastern Pennsylvania-based Maveric Track Club, Grant, a 46-year-old Jamaican-American and former sprinter at Brooklyn Tech, has found his niche in  distance running country, turning out Pennsylvania-born athletes who are tough to beat. 

ARMORYTRACK VIDEO COVERAGE OF MARINE CORPS HOLIDAY CLASSIC

Austin Kratz, a two-time All-American 100- and 200-meter runner at Dock Mennonite Academy, validated Grant's purview over a 10-year stretch.

He stands as one of a number of accomplished sprinters who've blossomed from this unassuming corner of Pennsylvania, including Josh McLemore (a 21.17/46.83 prep), Keegan Hughes (48.4), Nate Alleyne (21.29), and now, Westtown PA's Julian Klenner (47.45), who finished second Saturday at the Marine Corps Holiday Classic 300 in 34.62 at the Amory. 

"What's great about (Grant) is he's filling a specific need for that area," said Cheltenham PA coach Jerome Lowery, who coached nationally ranked 4x200 relays while at Philadelphia's Imhotep Charter High School.

"The edge of Delaware County, Chester County, that area hasn't had many sprinters. That area, their primary focus is distance running, with good distance medley relays, good 4x800-meter relays. For good 4x200-meter relays, you have to go to Philly." 

According to Klenner, the club's welcoming atmosphere, which brings out athletes from a myriad of high school programs from this part of the state, has equaled results. 

"Because of (Grant), I've been able to make the transition from swimming to track," Klenner said. "I've fallen in love with the sport. And on the team, I know I fit in. 

"I got involved with Maveric two-and-a-half years ago. It's a very friendly, good coaching environment. It's not about a coach-athlete relationship. (Grant) coaches kind of like a father figure. Especially because he cares so much. … Over the summer I pulled my hamstring. He never left my side for those couple of weeks as I recovered. He's just an amazing person." 

A frustrated parent and financier (his daughter was a runner at nearby Bayard Rustin High), Grant dove headlong into books and knowledge of the sport. 

That's how Maveric Track Club was born. 

"To be honest, I was a parent," Grant said. "I had a daughter who was in youth athletics. Although I had not run since high school, I saw that they were using the same methods as 20 years ago." 

The program's easy-going culture is what draws kids in. While there, the coach works dutifully to provide his athletes with highly developed training methods that work. 

"If you can get kids excited about how they can apply science in their sport, you have a lifelong (connection) in their sport," Grant said. "We have a disconnect with what they're learning in the classroom and what they are doing on the track. We have kids really excited about physics, really excited about biomechanics, really excited about chemistry because they understand how these things relate directly to their performance on the track." 

When Grant's athletes run 10-meter bursts under measurement, it's an exercise they'll later connect. 

"We measure kids in fastest 10-meter velocity," Grant said. "We want them to understand the correlation between their 10-meter time and what they produce on the track." 

Science aside, it's the social connections, and the sense of belonging, that makes Maveric work. 

"It's like a family," Klenner said. "I could go to anybody on the team with anything. You never have to worry about fitting in. Someone takes you under their wings." 

Adds Grant: "I tell parents from day one that the culture is more important to producing champions than workouts." 

Brodie Breaks Record

Christopher Columbus NY's Anthony Brodie broke the boys 300 meet record of 33.85 with a 33.76 win. 

Ursuline School NY's Lily Flynn won the girls invitational 800 in 2:08.15. 

Mills Godwin VA's Britton Wilson broke the meet record in the girls 300 (38.80) with a 38.66 win. 

Webster Thomas NY's Monique Hardy beat the meet record in the girls weight throw (51-0.50) with a toss of 56-7.50. 

Bullis MD held off Union Catholic Regional NJ in the girls 4x400, 3:53.90 to 3:53.95. 

Germantown PA's Lily Cohen won the girls pole vault, clearing a height of 12-10. 

Rham CT's Michael Browning won the boys shot put with a toss of 58-10.50.

Ashton Allen of Bullis ran a nation-leading 47.83 to win the boys 400.