Paul Lyons had reason to believe there was a future for him as a distance runner.
That was before he toyed with the hurdles last summer while training with the Modesto-based Central Valley Roadrunners Youth Track and Field Club.
Distance running is now a thing of the past.
Lyons qualified for this week’s USA Track and Field National Junior Olympic Championships at Hughes Stadium on the campus of Sacramento City College. He competes in the 400-meter hurdles Saturday and, should he crack the top eight, Sunday for the finals.
“I tried hurdling for the fun of it a year ago and took a liking to it right away,” Lyons said.
He is making his third Junior Olympic appearance. He placed second in the Pacific Association Region 16 meet at Modesto Junior College June 9-11 to qualify.
Athletes make it by placing in the top three at one of the 16 regional meets or by meeting the performance standard for their specific event and age division. The performance standard for the young-men (17-18) division was set at 55.84 seconds, and Lyons clocked in at 57.83.
Lyons first qualified for the Junior Olympics the summer before his freshman year at Manteca High, doing so as part of the Roadrunners’ 4x800 relay team. He made it again last year in the 400 hurdles, but only because no other competitors entered in the event at regionals.
Lyons debuted on Manteca High’s track team as a promising middle-distance runner, taking second in the Valley Oak League Championships in the frosh-soph 800-meter run in 2008. He won the event in 2009.
“Since I joined the high school team I’ve taken track a lot more serious,” Lyons said. “At first it was something I did for fun, but now I look at it as a way into college. I’m going to start training year-round and run indoor track over the winter.”
Lyons has also ran for Manteca High’s cross country team, but, “not too well,” as he put it.
“I’ll likely drop (cross country his senior year) to train more as a sprinter, which is new to me,” Lyons added. “After my first season of hurdling with Manteca High, I thought, ‘Oh, maybe I can be pretty good at this.’”
He began to realize his potential as a hurdler this past spring, starting with the Valley Oak League Championships where he took third in both the 110 and 300 hurdles.
Lyons recorded his best 300-hurdle time, 41.29, in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III trials and advanced as far as the SJS Masters trials in both events. It was at Masters, which took place at Hughes Stadium, where he posted his season-best time in the 110 at 15.62.
Those times could have been better if not for a series of injuries that hampered him over the final month of the season.
Lyons raced every postseason meet with a cast on his right arm, covering his wrist and extending out to the elbow. He sprained his wrist while playing a pick-up basketball game a day before the VOL Championships, and the following week Lyons broke a collarbone at practice.
“In the beginning the wrist wasn’t a big issue, but after I got hurt the second time it was hard to pump my arms when I was running,” Lyons said.
Now fully healed, Lyons is beginning to get the hang of the hurdling events.
He is thankful for his family’s support and attributes his quick improvement to the coaches who train him: From Modesto Junior College men’s track and field coach Demetrius Snaer, to Manteca High head coach Sean Hogan, to Weston Ranch High assistant coach Alvin Pickettay and Central Valley Roadrunners coach Carl Bryant.
Snaer, a graduate of East Union High, was the first to take Lyons under his wing.
“He’s been kind of a jack of all trades, starting out as a distance runner and mixing in some sprinting before getting into the hurdles,” Snaer said. “He’s grown a couple of inches since I started working with him, he’s about 6-foot-2 now, and the kid just works hard and comes from a good family that loves track.
“His last week of training has been phenomenal, and hopefully that translates to the track Saturday. I’ve seen some great things from him lately and he’s doing better, so we’re hoping he (sets a personal record) Saturday.”
That was before he toyed with the hurdles last summer while training with the Modesto-based Central Valley Roadrunners Youth Track and Field Club.
Distance running is now a thing of the past.
Lyons qualified for this week’s USA Track and Field National Junior Olympic Championships at Hughes Stadium on the campus of Sacramento City College. He competes in the 400-meter hurdles Saturday and, should he crack the top eight, Sunday for the finals.
“I tried hurdling for the fun of it a year ago and took a liking to it right away,” Lyons said.
He is making his third Junior Olympic appearance. He placed second in the Pacific Association Region 16 meet at Modesto Junior College June 9-11 to qualify.
Athletes make it by placing in the top three at one of the 16 regional meets or by meeting the performance standard for their specific event and age division. The performance standard for the young-men (17-18) division was set at 55.84 seconds, and Lyons clocked in at 57.83.
Lyons first qualified for the Junior Olympics the summer before his freshman year at Manteca High, doing so as part of the Roadrunners’ 4x800 relay team. He made it again last year in the 400 hurdles, but only because no other competitors entered in the event at regionals.
Lyons debuted on Manteca High’s track team as a promising middle-distance runner, taking second in the Valley Oak League Championships in the frosh-soph 800-meter run in 2008. He won the event in 2009.
“Since I joined the high school team I’ve taken track a lot more serious,” Lyons said. “At first it was something I did for fun, but now I look at it as a way into college. I’m going to start training year-round and run indoor track over the winter.”
Lyons has also ran for Manteca High’s cross country team, but, “not too well,” as he put it.
“I’ll likely drop (cross country his senior year) to train more as a sprinter, which is new to me,” Lyons added. “After my first season of hurdling with Manteca High, I thought, ‘Oh, maybe I can be pretty good at this.’”
He began to realize his potential as a hurdler this past spring, starting with the Valley Oak League Championships where he took third in both the 110 and 300 hurdles.
Lyons recorded his best 300-hurdle time, 41.29, in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III trials and advanced as far as the SJS Masters trials in both events. It was at Masters, which took place at Hughes Stadium, where he posted his season-best time in the 110 at 15.62.
Those times could have been better if not for a series of injuries that hampered him over the final month of the season.
Lyons raced every postseason meet with a cast on his right arm, covering his wrist and extending out to the elbow. He sprained his wrist while playing a pick-up basketball game a day before the VOL Championships, and the following week Lyons broke a collarbone at practice.
“In the beginning the wrist wasn’t a big issue, but after I got hurt the second time it was hard to pump my arms when I was running,” Lyons said.
Now fully healed, Lyons is beginning to get the hang of the hurdling events.
He is thankful for his family’s support and attributes his quick improvement to the coaches who train him: From Modesto Junior College men’s track and field coach Demetrius Snaer, to Manteca High head coach Sean Hogan, to Weston Ranch High assistant coach Alvin Pickettay and Central Valley Roadrunners coach Carl Bryant.
Snaer, a graduate of East Union High, was the first to take Lyons under his wing.
“He’s been kind of a jack of all trades, starting out as a distance runner and mixing in some sprinting before getting into the hurdles,” Snaer said. “He’s grown a couple of inches since I started working with him, he’s about 6-foot-2 now, and the kid just works hard and comes from a good family that loves track.
“His last week of training has been phenomenal, and hopefully that translates to the track Saturday. I’ve seen some great things from him lately and he’s doing better, so we’re hoping he (sets a personal record) Saturday.”
