Wayne TC (OH)

Team Website / NTN Profile

Top Athletes: Demoye Bogle (sprints), Tyler Dukes (throws), Jared Harrison (throws), Trey Hammons-Scott (hurdles), Marcus Glass (jumps), Michael Shiverdecker (pole vault), Chris Moss (jumps) and Jon Sheehan (distances)

Team Strengths: Wayne TC is led by sprint/hurdle standout Demoye Bogle, who won the Ohio state 110m hurdle title, while finishing second in the 300m hurdles and seventh in the 400m dash.  His versatility was a key to the team all season, and he’ll be expected to run some very fast times in the 100m and 400m events at NTN.  In addition, Wayne boasts some very talented throwers in Tyler Dukes and Jared Harrison.  Both athletes showed time and again this season that they were two of the best throwers in the state.  In addition, Trey Hammons-Scott finished fifth in Ohio at the 110m hurdles, and should be a factor in challenging for top three at NTN in the event.

Key to Success: With so many strengths, Wayne’s success could come from their jumps and distance athletes.  If a few of their jumps or distance athletes can set new PRs, big points could be in store for the squad.  Bogle, Dukes, Harrison and Hammons-Scott will all push big marks and big points, so it’ll come down to how strong the other teammates can compete in their events.

Q&A with Coach Jim Findlay

NTN: Ohio is always a strong track and field state.  What are a couple of the key principles you instill in your team that help drive them to do their very best meet after meet?

Jim Findlay (JF): The biggest things that we try to instill in our student athletes is that hard work pays off and trust.  When athletes can see their hard work pay off in dropping times and improving distances and heights, they begin to trust both themselves and the coaches.  Our athletes trust that we, as coaches, will put them in position to succeed and when they start to trust their abilities, they then begin to take chances and get out of their comfort zone, which often results in them taking that next step to success.

NTN: With NTN right around the corner, what are the team's expectations heading into July 2?

JF: The team is very excited about qualifying for NTN, and with a month between our State meet and NTN, we are looking at a long time between competitions for most of our athletes.  We expect to be competitive against the strong field of teams that have been assembled and too have a great time while out in Eugene. 

NTN: Demoye Boyle has had one standout season, winning a state title at 110m and placing runner-up in the 300m hurdles, while leading your team in the 100m, 200m and 400m events.  What has Demoye meant to this team both as a standout athlete and a team leader?

JF: Demoye is a big part of the team, but the best part about him is that he will do whatever is best for the team.  If the team needed him in relays, he would run relays, if the team needed him in individual events, he would run individual events.  

This Demoye's first year hurdling and he stepped up to make a strong group of hurdlers even stronger.  I think what most speaks to Demoye's versatility and willingness to do whatever is best for the team is that even though he won the 110m hurdles at our State meet this year, that he is running the 100m and 400m dash for the team at NTN.   

NTN: Your squad has tremendous strengths this year, but it is shown that your two throwers, Tyler Dukes and Jared Harrison, are going to compete for the top spot in their respective events at NTN.  What's the training approach you take with them from the state meet to NTN?

JF: After the state meet we took some time off to let them recover a bit as it has been a long season and we didn't know for sure if we were going to be one of the at large bids for NTN.  Tyler has started conditioning and weight lifting again for the upcoming football season, so his strength levels will be up a bit from where he finished the season.  Right now for Tyler, the main focus is to maintain his form when he has a chance to throw.  

Jared, on the other hand, has qualified for the USATF Junior Nationals in the hammer and will be traveling to Des Moines, IA the week prior to NTN.  His focus right now is the hammer, but he still mixes in the discus when he has time.  

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.