Mitchell High School track athlete Jason Greenway standing ‘alone at the top’

Mitchell High School senior Jason Greenway says it’s never a goal of his to break any records.

“For the most part, I just try and do my best,” Greenway said.

But in his track and field career, Greenway has already broken two school records and tied two more. He’s also tied a state record.

Last year, at the Howard Wood Relays, Greenway broke the school record in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 37.89 seconds. That time also tied the South Dakota 300 hurdles record. In the 4x100 relay, he broke the school record by three seconds along with teammates Nick Kummer, Austin Loes, and Jade Miller with a time of 3 minutes, 23 seconds.

Track coach Geoff Gross said he’s hoping Greenway will break his own record in the 300 hurdles, but that’s going to be tough.

“It’s going to be very difficult to do that, because he kind of stands alone at the top,” Gross said.

“There aren’t as many good hurdlers in the state this year, so he’ll be trying to beat himself. Last year, there were three or four guys in the state that were really good that he competed against.”

Greenway has also tied the school record in the 200-meter dash event with a time of 22 seconds flat, a mark that had gone untouched for more than 30 years.

Another record Greenway is hoping to break is in the long jump. The school record is 22-feet-1.75 inches, and so far this season, Greenway’s best jump is 22-1.5. He has a chance to try to break the school record in the long jump, or tie it, today at the Yankton Invitational in Yankton.

“I’m a quarter-inch off the school record, and I’m really hoping I can break it,” Greenway said.

Even though he’s hoping to break more records during upcoming track meets, Greenway said each time he goes out to compete, that’s not what he’s focused on.

“If I keep getting better, then I know toward the end of the year that I’ll do really well.”

Gross said records are not something he tries to promote during practice. He said breaking school records isn’t the main focus of track, and even though track is considered a team sport, it’s all about improving as an individual.

“We always really stress personal records to the kids,” Gross said.

“Whether they’re the caliber of athlete like Jason Greenway or not, they’re still always competing against themselves or the clock or the tape measure or whatever it is. They may not medal, they may not score points, but there’s always that individual competition and beating your best.”

Tags: sports, track, field, updates, mitchell, kernels