The Stateliner senior overcame some issues at the start to run 14.58 seconds and advance to the Meet of Champions.
Just imagine what John Martin could do in a perfect race.
Which Saturday’s 110-meter high hurdle final at the NJSIAA Group 4 track and field championships was not -- by his own admission
“I completely baffled the first two hurdles,” said the Phillipsburg senior.
Now, to be sure, “baffled” in this context does not mean that Martin, or the hurdles, went flying. In the words of Stateliner head coach Brett Hyland, Martin “clipped” the first two hurdles.
And he still ran a time of 14.58 seconds, good for fourth place and an automatic berth in the Meet of Champions June 10 at Northern Burlington High School.
Martin, who qualified for the final with a 14.61 clocking in a morning preliminary, said the opening can be tricky for him against the best competition.
“Sometimes when I see guys in front of me I push as hard as I can (at the start) and sometimes I clip a hurdle or two,” Martin said.,
And in Group 4 this season, even a hurdler as skilled as Martin (his 14.46 personal-best ranks No. 2 in the lehighvalleylive.com region this spring) will see people in front of him – specifically, East Orange.
The Jaguars went 1-2-3 in the final – Cory Poole first in 13.85, Akeem Lindo second in 14.23 and Al-Tariq Dunson third in 14.34.
So you could say Martin was the Group 4 champion in the non-Orange division.
“I like competing against those guys,” said Martin, who also faced the Jaguars in his sectional meet. “It’s a way to get me to run as fast as possible.”
Martin did just that in Saturday’s final after his full-contact start.
“I was trying to stay focused and stay fast, and keep my rhythm going,” Martin said. “The end of the race was a lot better than the first half. Over the last five hurdles I felt fast and powerful.”
Martin thinks he may well have a faster race – or two (prelims and finals) – in him next week.
“It should be a very fast race,” he said of the Meet of Champions. “If I can run a clean race under perfect conditions, I should be able to run my best time.”
And maybe if Martin hits another hurdle, he should make it the final one. It has worked before, after all.
“I have only fallen over a hurdle once,” he said. “At the Skyland Conference indoor meet, I fell over the last hurdle and rolled over the finish line in first place.”
That may not be the perfect strategy to win the Meet of Champions – but a perfect race might be for John Martin.
Brad Wilson may be reached at bwilson@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @bradwsports. Find Lehigh Valley high school sports on Facebook.