There are big expectations surrounding Jay Duncan this year, but none greater than those he has for himself.
“It’s nervous because I have to hold my title as state champ,” the Chandler High School senior said, “but it’s exciting to think about how far I have came to get to this point and now that all the work is paying off.”
Last spring, Duncan took home a gold medal in the 110m hurdles at the 3A state track meet.
“I was never the fastest out of the blocks,” Duncan said, “but that played a big factor in the race. I was fourth going over the third hurdle but ended up winning.”
Going into last season, Duncan was nursing a pulled hamstring he suffered at the state track meet his sophomore year. He felt nagging pains throughout the season, but after regionals, his hip pain intensified, leading him to sit out the 300m hurdles. He remembers punching out of the blocks at the state meet.
“All year, I had no competition, so it was weird for kids to be running next to me,” Duncan said. “I started to pull away from then and when I went over the fourth hurdles, I felt a pop and I knew in my mind that this could be bad, but I kept my rhythm and tried to go over the fifth hurdle, but I couldn’t get any power, so I ended up finishing the race by walking it.”
It was a heartbreaking day for the then-sophomore. To this day, he says it still crosses his mind.
“I sat on the medical bench for 30 minutes after just crying,” Duncan said. “I wanted to win badly, so starting my junior year, I ran cross country to get in shape and rebuild my muscle that I lost from not working out that much over the summer.”
Work ethic is central to Duncan’s life. That’s how he persevered to win the title as a junior. His senior year will be a success, Dunan said, if he perfects the little things “like starting in blocks, and a lot of form work.”
“Yes, I want to win, but it’s a hard-to-win every meet now. It’s just working on me trying to get faster each meet and pushing myself because I don’t have competition.
After high school, Duncan plans to run at the next level. He holds offers from Western Colorado University and Coffeyville CC in Kansas.
“I plan on going into the med field to study anesthesiology,” Duncan said. “I also want to minor in athletic training and kinesiology.”
