VENICE — Running track means a lot to senior Matt Groves.
It means so much that the four-year track athlete decided it was best for him to move on from his childhood sport of soccer, prior to his senior year, to devote all of his time to training on the track.
To say that decision has paid off would be an understatement.
During his senior campaign, Groves has continuously lit the track on fire, winning 11 individual events and leading the 4x400 relay to a number of first-place finishes as well.
“I’ve had a goal set in my mind, and that’s been pushing me,” Groves said. “I’ve really enjoyed focusing all of my attention on track, because it’s mostly on me. With an individual sport, when something goes wrong, the only place you can look is in the mirror. I like the responsibility of that.”
Groves’s choice to stick to track full time allowed him to attack the offseason training without any distractions.
As a junior, Groves saw flashes of his potential, placing seventh at state in the 400-meter event.
But, that wasn’t enough.
“I had hoped there’d be more,” Groves said. “If you look at my progression from each season, I’ve progressed well in the 200 and the 400. This season, I haven’t progressed as much as I’d like in the 400, but we’ll see what I can do at state.”
Considering what Groves has been able to accomplish in the 400, the senior not being satisfied with his performances in the event is eye-popping.
Groves has won the event five times this season, including an individual district championship with a time of 47.92. He was second in the event at regionals with a time of 48.01.
At the Pepsi Florida Relays in late March, Groves finished in fifth with a time of 47.98. That time broke the Venice school record that had stood since 1976.
“I looked up and saw that I had broken it by like .2 seconds, and I was really happy,” said Groves, who broke his own record during the district championships a few weeks later. “I think I was mostly relieved, because it was just one more goal of mine that I got out of the way.”
“That’s going to be a tough one for future athletes here to break,” Venice track coach Joe Showers added. “I knew he could do it. He just had to be systematic about it. It was very satisfying as a coach to see it happen.”
On Saturday, Groves will be competing in three different events at state. He’ll be in the 200-meter event, the 400 and will try to help the 4x400 relay finish in the top three as well.
In his top event — the 400 — Groves is seeded fourth out of 18 runners (48.01), but only .27 seconds separates him from the top seed in Miami Southridge’s Curtis Bain (47.74).
“Anything can happen,” said Showers of Groves competing in the 400. “The weather’s supposed to be nice, and he was running really fast during the first 300 meters in regionals on Wednesday before slowing down a bit. He’s a consistent runner, so it could end up being his day.”
“Obviously the goal is to win,” Groves added. “The way I’m setup in my lane, I know the faster people will be on the inside of me, so I won’t see them. The plan is to not see them until after the race, so I know I need to get out hard and hope that I can finish the fastest on that last stretch.”
State champion or not, Groves’s future is bright.
The senior will be running track at the University of North Florida, where he plans on studying Kinesiology. He chose the Ospreys over other schools like Coastal Carolina, Army West Point, Southeastern and Louisiana.
“I’m really grateful to have the opportunity to do this in college,” Groves said. “The plan is to stay there all four years. I trust that coaching staff and the other athletes that are there. When I visited UNF, I felt like it was the best decision for me. I’m focused on improving, and I think they’ll help me do that there.”
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