Boys Track & Field: Hilliard Darby's Alex Smith stays grounded as performance soars

The big city lights were not too bright and the moment wasn’t too big for Alex Smith. And through it all, he found time to sightsee.

A senior on the Hilliard Darby boys track and field team, Smith capped his indoor season by winning the long jump at the New Balance Nationals Indoor meet March 13 in New York.

“Along with the track meet, it was my first time in New York, which was pretty cool,” Smith said. “The day before I competed, we walked around and toured the city. It was cool to see Central Park and Times Square and stuff like that.

“The actual meet was pretty cool because I was surrounded by some of the best athletes in the country and I got to perform with all of them.”

Smith won the event with a jump of 7.47 meters, capping an indoor season in which he won a state title in the triple jump (45 feet, 4 inches) and placed second in the long jump (23-1 1/2).

Last spring, Smith ran on the 800 and 1,600-meter relays and in the 200. He finished second in the long jump (23-7 1/4) and seventh in the high jump (6-4) in the Division I state meet before finishing 13th in the long jump (22-7 1/4) in the Nike Outdoor Nationals last July.

“Once I started bringing more speed on the runway and it really translated into jumping farther,” he said. “This past year, I started lifting a lot more with my coaches at Darby. I feel like that helped me a lot because I got stronger and it translated into jumping higher and farther.”

Smith, an Indiana commit, has his sights on winning a state title this season and making another trip to Eugene, Oregon, for the outdoor nationals.

Through all of that, Smith is grounded.

“He does it everywhere,” ninth-year coach Matt Fox said. “He’s a 4.0-plus GPA (student); he’s a team leader. He’s a good mix of (someone who) doesn’t take himself too seriously, but is also a hard worker, which is nice.

“He doesn’t put too much pressure (on himself). If you watch him at a meet, he almost seems stoically calm. But there’s a quiet intensity there as well. I think some people don’t realize how much competitive spirit he has just because he’s so stoic and relaxed.”

Missing out on his sophomore season because of the COVID-19 pandemic was a lost opportunity to get better, but that didn’t deter Smith.

“I started working out in my basement almost every day and then I started training with my club, the Ohio Speed Academy,” he said. “I trained with my long jump coach, Mike Hartfield. He went to the Olympics in 2016 and went to Ohio State. I feel like I learned a lot from him during (that year).”

The Panthers lost a couple of state qualifiers in Sean Carney (distance) and Cameron McNeil (throws) after winning their first regional title since 2006. Fox, however, feels like he has a fairly well-balanced team.

“We have a lot of depth in the (800 and the 1,600),” Fox said. “While we lose Sean, and you can’t always replace a guy like that, we have five to six distance runners that are all very, very good.”

Some of those include the state-qualifying 3,200 relay of seniors Jon Alecusan and Justin Fleishman and juniors Collins Applegate and George Hughes. They are back along with senior Jacob Long.

Senior Jackson Carey leads a sprint group that includes sophomore Corey White-Stewart and freshmen Joshua Lindskog and Kaiden Molnar. Senior Ethan Williams is the top returning thrower.

“Sprints are young, but probably some of the more natural talent we’ve had in a while,” Fox said. “(Williams) had a pretty good indoor year – jumped up into the 40s in shot (put). So, we’re hoping by May, he can really progress into one of the better throwers in the region. He has that kind of potential.”

mrich@thisweeknews.com

@ThisWeekRich

BRADLEY

•Coach: Ben Gadfield, ninth season

•Top athletes: Evan Corea, Bradyn Fleharty, Connor Gleason, Chris Kill, Jackson Lemle and Trevor Schuler

•Key losses: David Lamb and Chance Roberts

•2021 OCC-Central standings: Olentangy Orange (137), Davidson (104), Dublin Coffman (92), Olentangy Liberty (76), Bradley (65), Upper Arlington (49)

•2021 postseason: Eighth at district, tied for 21st at regional, did not score at state

•Outlook: Seniors Evan Corea (distance) and Connor Gleason (400, 800) and juniors Jackson Lemle (throws) and Trevor Schuler (100, 200) lead their classes, while Chris Kill (200, 400) heads a talented sophomore class for Jaguars. Bradyn Fleharty, Ethen Tebbetts, Nicolas Vecchio and Preston Wolfe are sophomores from the football program who will compete in sprints.

Senior Daniel George, juniors Matt Connell and Noah Buschur and sophomore Alex Keating are the top distance/middle-distance runners. Senior Gadiel Guerra Sabillon and juniors Leonardo Aguirre, Elijah Qualls and Griffin Way compete in hurdles. 

Junior Robert Snyder throws the shot put and discus. Fleharty competes in the long jump and sophomore Denis Shishlo is in the high jump.

•Quotable: “This is a year of unknowns right now. We have guys back but not as many as we normally do. We have a lot of new kids that we’re working out and trying to see where their skills will help the team most. It will be fun to work with the coaching staff to put the pieces of the puzzle together.” — coach Ben Gadfield

—Scott Hennen

DARBY

•Coach: Matt Fox, ninth season

•Top athletes: Jon Alecusan, Collins Applegate, Jackson Carey, Justin Fleishman, Jacob Long, Alex Smith and Ethan Williams

•Key losses: Braden Bower, Sean Carney, Jackson Gunn, Nathaniel Jamison, Andrew Konkus and Cameron McNeil

•2021 OCC-Cardinal standings: Thomas Worthington (128), Darby (111), Olentangy Berlin (87), Dublin Jerome (80), Marysville (63), Olentangy (54)

•2021 postseason: Second at district, first at regional, seventh at state

DAVIDSON 

•Coach: Ryan Aleshire, third season 

•Top athletes: Connor Ackley, Jack Aldridge, Nathan Brubeck, Mikey Clark, Jack De Francesco, Jordan Lilly, Jakson Mazzulo, Hayden Morrison, Adrick Phillips, Nick Puhl, Owen Scott, Brady Whiteside and Zach Whitney 

•Key losses: Nate Gilbert and R.J. Sagrilla 

•2021 postseason: Third at district, fifth at regional, 12th at state  

•Outlook: Led by senior Jack De Francesco (pole vault) and junior Connor Ackley (distance), the Wildcats expect another strong season. 

Other key contributors should be seniors Jack Aldridge (long jump, high jump), Hayden Morrison (high jump, long jump), Adrick Phillips (discus, shot put), Nick Puhl (distance) and Zach Whitney (distance), juniors Nathan Brubeck (sprints) and Jordan Lilly (sprints) and sophomores Mikey Clark (long jump), Jakson Marzullo (sprints) and Owen Scott (sprints, distance). 

•Quotable: “I love this program. It’s always nice to get back out in the spring and these kids have been working hard since November, lifting weights and getting ready for the season. This will be the first normal season we’ve had in a few years. A lot of these kids are ready to get back to a normal type of track season. We have some kids that have potential to make state, but potential is a scary word. You have to live up to it each meet.” — coach Ryan Aleshire 

—Frank DiRenna