4/19/23
By Kevin Taylor
Alma Schools
Jael Nunez didn’t accidentally stumble into the 400 meters. It’s not something that happens by accident.
But he had an idea that’s where his track career was trending last fall.
“This year, I didn’t want to get into the long distances; it takes up a lot of time (training),” he said. “I just wanted to get into sprinting. I tried it out and it’s going to be pretty good.”
But the preparation? That’s a different story.
“It’s a lot more work than I thought it would be,” he said.
Nunez is on the brink of qualifying for the state meet in the open quarter, one of the more grueling track events. He ran a personal best of 50.56 last week at van Buren.
Not bad for a former long-distance runner.
“I was shocked at the end of the cross-country season when coach (Thomas) Mata told me that Jael wanted to sprint,” Alma track coach Joseph Potts said. “But I also knew if one kid could make that change, it was Jael.”
Potts and Nunez have developed a close relationship over the past half-dozen years.
“I’ve known Jael since the sixth grade, and you just always knew he’d be a great distance runner like brother Martin,” Potts said. “Don’t get me wrong, he did amazing for us in the distance races the last few years but what we’ve seen out of him in the 400, the 4x2, and 4x4 this year has been amazing to watch. It’s all credit to him and his work ethic at the end of the day.”
“I think running distance prior to running the 400 has helped me with the endurance part of it,” Nunez said. “At the beginning of the year, I started lifting to get stronger, and I think those two things have helped a lot.”
Nunez needs to break the 50.40 mark, thereabouts, to qualify for the state meet. “It’s 50.46, and I’m at 50.56, so I’m right there,” he said.
“He really wants to run a pre-qualifying time (this week), and in the 5A, that time is 50.40,” Potts said. “At the Van Buren Relays last week, (Nunez) ran a 50.56, so he’s really close to doing that.”
“I’m trying to get into the 49s to pre-qualify, and then I won’t have to run the 400 at the conference — I can concentrate on the 4x2 and the 4x4,” Nunez said.
For Nunez, high school athletics is a way of blocking out some of life’s noises, he said. “It’s just something to help you branch out. It’s a distraction from life.”
His Alma track jersey holds special meaning, he explained.
“It means a lot to be part of a school like this,” Nunez said. “I know a lot of kids don’t have the opportunity to do that — to represent it and do good.”
The Airedales compete at the McDonald’s Relays this week at Southside High School.
“Regardless, we know he’ll go compete at the 5A conference meet to finish in the Top 4 and qualify for state that way,” Potts said. “He comes to track practice every day, but he also does extra (running) away from practice that goes unseen by a lot of people, except a few of his teammates.
Nunez said he knew he wanted to try the sprints back in August.
“Actually, at the beginning of the cross season is when I knew I wasn't going to be doing distance anymore. That’s when I started lifting.”
Nunez is heavy on squats and said he surprised himself a little.
“I thought I would be doing good but not this good,” he said. “I’ve been lifting five days a week and running six days a week. Coach Potts has really helped me a lot.”
“There’s no doubt the lifting has helped with his sprinting,” Potts said. “He’s also used to more of a distance workout in track practices, and now he’s sprinting three to four times a week and just gets better and better every week. Coach Mata and I really try to focus on the quality of our sprint reps over quantity. To sprint fast you have to sprint fast, and he does that every day with a solid group of sprinters that love to compete, so that has to help.
“When you have guys like Byron Standridge and Dillon Flanagan that you’re trying to catch every day in practice, that’s only going to make you better.”