By Ken Hansard
There’s an old expression in the sporting world that “To be the best, you have to beat the best.” Eisenhower senior track athlete Justus Reynolds understands the wisdom behind that saying and stands as a living testament that a commitment to that sentiment can produce great results.
Reynolds stood at the pinnacle atop the podium at Cessna Stadium last spring after winning the boys 5A 300 Meter Hurdles at the KSHSAA State Championships in stunning fashion, coming out of the eighth lane to do so. He also placed in the 110 Meter Hurdles, finishing sixth at state.
However, despite Reynolds’ past success, his commitment to his teammates and loyalty to his school are two of his greatest attributes, “I look to be not only a teammate or athlete, but a leader for those around me. I have set goals to improve my times, of course, but my larger goal is to compete as a team for the AVCTL and Regional titles. Our boys’ team has never won either of these, so competing for those things this year is an opportunity worth being excited about.”
Reynolds comes by his athleticism and his love of the sport, and particularly of the hurdles, quite naturally. His father, Tim, is a Division I pedigreed sprinter / hurdler who is now a sprints coach at Bishop Carroll, “Once my father introduced me to hurdles in the seventh grade, I knew what God put me on this earth to do – to help lead others through the gifts and opportunities He has given me.” His father’s association with the Carroll team has also allowed Justus to work out in the off-season with several of the state’s other top hurdlers, “I needed to improve my footspeed, so we (shout out to the winter conditioning group) focused on flying 30-meter wickets and some speed bands.”
Justus is very aware that talent only takes an athlete so far, and that a willingness and dedication to train at the highest level and then compete against top-tier competition is necessary if one is going to perform at the highest of levels, “Of course, I am excited about Championship season – League, Regional, and State – but also any meet with great competition. It’s nice to know that I can race those guys out at Carroll or Andale at any time, which really pushes me to improve my times.”
Reynolds, who is currently nursing an off-season injury back to health, will have to meet some lofty goals if he is to improve on his times. Besides his state championship time of 38.6 in the 300 hurdles, he has a personal best 14.9 in the 110 hurdles and is additionally gunning for the Eisenhower school record in the 400 Meters and the 4×400 Meters.
Justus qualified in three separate events as a sophomore, and he appears very capable of qualifying in all four of his events as a senior. Furthermore, based on his finishes last season, he should be a favorite to reach the finals in each of his events. Still, his first and foremost goal is to help his team in any way that he possibly can, “It would be awesome to defend the 300 Meter Hurdle state title, but improving and winning team titles come first. The Eisenhower track and field team is young, experienced, and hungry. We have a good group of people with experience leading the way, and we have a lot of young potential that I can’t wait to see.” If some of that “young potential” can follow Reynolds’ lead and relish competing against the very best, they will likely have a great chance to bring home some of those team titles.
Justus is also a star in the classroom, carrying an impressive unweighted
GPA of 3.95. His weighted GPA is a remarkable 4.49. He is a member of the prestigious National Honors Society and participates in Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He also competed in Cross Country for four years at EHS. After graduation, Justus will attend Grand Valley State University in Michigan to run track and major in Physical Therapy.
