4 minute read
Junior Olympian Brian Smith
By Via Kelly
North Shore’s very own senior, Brian Smith, is establishing a lasting legacy here by racking up wins in regional, statewide and national championships. He is the first North Shore Country Day student in the school's history to win an indoor statewide track championship. His name has been etched into our history by being the all-time NSCD record holder of the Indoor 400m, 600m, 60m and 50m sprints. His accomplishments also include hitting the third-fastest time in the 100m sprint and the sixth-fastest time in the 200m sprint. Brian was also one of the first athletes in the ISLs (Independent School League) to run the 400m dash in under 50 seconds. From there, Smith went on to compete at the state level, earning second place in the 1-A 400m dash. Finally, he earned the indoor state for 400m last year and he finished the outdoor season by being ranked 33rd among 5,500 400m dash competitors.
Brian has had a long road to all of these victories. He first started running competitively at 12 years old. He would run the 200m and 100m dash in a district track meet at Evanston Township High School. Brian continued to compete in track and baseball skills through middle school. Unfortunately COVID-19 disrupted his ability to practice. Yet, high school provided a new opportunity, where Brian signed up for the track team freshman year.
Now, Brian’s training consists of waking up at 6 a.m. with Brian Smith Sr. (his father/coach) and hitting the gym. He spends many hours with our very own Coach Patrick McHugh, and practicing mental ed, or preparing for races mentally by imagining succeeding. His dedication to the sport allowed for Brian to participate in the American Athletic Union (AAU) Region 13 Meet this past summer. By earning first place in both 4x400 and the 400m, he qualified for the AAU Junior Olympics at North Carolina A&T, an HBCU. It was a hot summer day on which many national teams had come together to compete for the title of champion. After a few delays, it was finally his turn. Right before the race, Brian was nervous and jittery when his father gave him very wise words to remember before any race: “Nothing bad can happen.” Then, it was time to start running. During the 4x400 race, at the 200 mark, the star athlete thought “It’s almost over, and all I have to do is maintain this pace and this speed so I can hand it off to my teammate.” His relay team placed 16th nationally. He ended up leaving the Junior Olympics ranked 48th nationally in the 400m open as well. When describing the experience afterward, he said “It was great to see other teams from different states compete, [and see] a lot of national records being broken, being made. A great experience overall.” When talking about the competition, he extended much gratitude to his coaches: Coach McHugh, Coach Gauthier, Coach Moreau, and Coach Boatright.
For the upcoming year, Brian has many goals. He intends to maintain his first place title in the indoor state competition, and he has his eyes set for the outdoor title. He is currently training to maintain a sub-49 time, or running the 400m in 49 seconds. Finally, his end goal is to go to college where he wants to study aviation. There, Brian will no doubt continue to build on his legacy of a track star, carrying with him the lesson learned along the way: that nothing is achieved without consistency and hard work.
