supercentex
07-06-2005, 09:46 PM
By Brice Cherry Tribune-Herald staff writer
Saturday, July 02, 2005
Quarter-Miler U has landed the state's top 400 runner without even leaving town.
Waco High's LeJerald Betters, the reigning Class 5A state champion in the 400 and the triple jump, announced his intention to sign with Baylor on Friday, giving a serious jump-start to BU's next track and field recruiting class. Betters, who will begin his senior year in the fall, plans to make the decision official during the early signing period for track and field in November.
Betters darted at the opportunity to join a lineage of 400 stars that includes Michael Johnson, Jeremy Wariner, Darold Williamson and, soon, himself and California prep standout David Gettis.
“Knowing that they had produced the best 400 runners in the world, that's what really persuaded me to come to Baylor,” Betters said. “And even though Coach (Clyde) Hart has said he's done with track, he'll still be around, so that's good.”
Hart retired as Baylor's head track coach on June 14 after 42 seasons, but has agreed to continue to work with the program's 400 runners as well as his professional stars Wariner, Williamson and Sanya Richards.
Like Hart, Nat Haynes is a recent retiree, having stepped down as Waco High's track coach after 49 years in the business. Haynes called Betters “one of the top three or four athletes I've coached” and he believes that the tall, angular sprinter and Baylor will be a perfect fit.
“His times are already dropping, and they should just continue to go down,” Haynes said. “With the postseason schedule he's on, he's already on the same kind of schedule that a lot of those college runners use.”
Betters owns the third-fastest 400 time in Central Texas high school history at 46.6, though he has since lowered that in non-UIL meets like the Nike Outdoor Championships in Greensboro, N.C., where he posted a 46.4. He also recently ran a 45.8-second relay split at an AAU meet in San Antonio.
“I really want to break 46 next year,” Betters said. “And I want the Central Texas record, Danny McCray's record.” McCray, a former Ellison phenom, set the record with a 46-flat clocking in 1991.
Keith Willis, Haynes' successor as Waco High's head track coach, has even bigger dreams for Betters.
“LeJerald definitely should be running in the 45-second range next year,” said Willis, a former track and football star at Jefferson Moore and Sam Houston State. “We're going to be going after the national high school record (of 45.24).”
To do that, Betters will have to better Gettis, the only three-time 400 state champion in California history and the nation's top high school quarter-miler this past year with a time of 45.84. The Waco High standout said he is eagerly awaiting the day that he and Gettis can team up on a 4x400 relay team for the Bears.
“That's my favorite race, right there. The mile relay is the race everyone comes to see,” Betters said.
Though Betters is also the state champ in the triple jump with a personal-best of 48-81/2, he plans to focus his energy on the 400 and 4x400 relay for Baylor. A starting receiver on Waco High's football team, he added that there is “no chance” of him playing that sport on the collegiate level.
One sport and, in essence, one event is more than enough to keep Betters happy. He called Baylor's scholarship offer “a blessing.”
“It's neat to see kids fulfill their goals, and LeJerald had a goal of being a Division I trackster,” Willis said. “Now, to see him really exceed that goal and go to Quarter-Miler U, the best in the world, that's really exciting.”
BEAR FACTS: The Los Angeles Times has named Gettis its boys' track and field athlete of the year. Gettis won his third consecutive 400-meter title at the California state meet and led Dorsey High to the overall team championship with three gold medals.
bcherry@wacotrib.com
Saturday, July 02, 2005
Quarter-Miler U has landed the state's top 400 runner without even leaving town.
Waco High's LeJerald Betters, the reigning Class 5A state champion in the 400 and the triple jump, announced his intention to sign with Baylor on Friday, giving a serious jump-start to BU's next track and field recruiting class. Betters, who will begin his senior year in the fall, plans to make the decision official during the early signing period for track and field in November.
Betters darted at the opportunity to join a lineage of 400 stars that includes Michael Johnson, Jeremy Wariner, Darold Williamson and, soon, himself and California prep standout David Gettis.
“Knowing that they had produced the best 400 runners in the world, that's what really persuaded me to come to Baylor,” Betters said. “And even though Coach (Clyde) Hart has said he's done with track, he'll still be around, so that's good.”
Hart retired as Baylor's head track coach on June 14 after 42 seasons, but has agreed to continue to work with the program's 400 runners as well as his professional stars Wariner, Williamson and Sanya Richards.
Like Hart, Nat Haynes is a recent retiree, having stepped down as Waco High's track coach after 49 years in the business. Haynes called Betters “one of the top three or four athletes I've coached” and he believes that the tall, angular sprinter and Baylor will be a perfect fit.
“His times are already dropping, and they should just continue to go down,” Haynes said. “With the postseason schedule he's on, he's already on the same kind of schedule that a lot of those college runners use.”
Betters owns the third-fastest 400 time in Central Texas high school history at 46.6, though he has since lowered that in non-UIL meets like the Nike Outdoor Championships in Greensboro, N.C., where he posted a 46.4. He also recently ran a 45.8-second relay split at an AAU meet in San Antonio.
“I really want to break 46 next year,” Betters said. “And I want the Central Texas record, Danny McCray's record.” McCray, a former Ellison phenom, set the record with a 46-flat clocking in 1991.
Keith Willis, Haynes' successor as Waco High's head track coach, has even bigger dreams for Betters.
“LeJerald definitely should be running in the 45-second range next year,” said Willis, a former track and football star at Jefferson Moore and Sam Houston State. “We're going to be going after the national high school record (of 45.24).”
To do that, Betters will have to better Gettis, the only three-time 400 state champion in California history and the nation's top high school quarter-miler this past year with a time of 45.84. The Waco High standout said he is eagerly awaiting the day that he and Gettis can team up on a 4x400 relay team for the Bears.
“That's my favorite race, right there. The mile relay is the race everyone comes to see,” Betters said.
Though Betters is also the state champ in the triple jump with a personal-best of 48-81/2, he plans to focus his energy on the 400 and 4x400 relay for Baylor. A starting receiver on Waco High's football team, he added that there is “no chance” of him playing that sport on the collegiate level.
One sport and, in essence, one event is more than enough to keep Betters happy. He called Baylor's scholarship offer “a blessing.”
“It's neat to see kids fulfill their goals, and LeJerald had a goal of being a Division I trackster,” Willis said. “Now, to see him really exceed that goal and go to Quarter-Miler U, the best in the world, that's really exciting.”
BEAR FACTS: The Los Angeles Times has named Gettis its boys' track and field athlete of the year. Gettis won his third consecutive 400-meter title at the California state meet and led Dorsey High to the overall team championship with three gold medals.
bcherry@wacotrib.com