Hardworking on and off the track, Connor Meech (12) succeeds in every challenge that life presents to him. He is a hurdler on the Varsity Track and Field team at SJHHS.

Meech is  ranked second in the state for the 300 meter hurdles with a time of 37.52 seconds, and in the top ten for the state in the 110 meter hurdles with a time of 14.64.

He began his hurdling career during his freshman year, but it wasn’t his initial passion.

“I didn’t want to take PE and I used to play football, but I broke too many bones so I tried out track and it turned out to be a good thing,” said Meech.

The sport proved itself more difficult than Meech had previously thought, but he persevered through hard work and dedication.

“I definitely had to work my way up, freshman year I wasn’t that good and then sophomore year Coach Summers put me in my first varsity race and then it just clicked from there,” said Meech.

The most inspirational people to him is “[his] trainer in the off season Howard Dell, he is a decathlete, he just really showed me how to run great and to just love the sport, he is my idol, he’s a great guy, and he can run fast.”

“The coaches have helped me a lot, Coach Trumble definitely helped me my freshman and sophomore year, he helped me with a lot of form and technique. Then Summers and Hernandez took over and they were giving me good workouts and I found a way to improve.”

He is seen by his friends as “a great athlete, he’s an exceptional hurdler [and] I think he’s doing great this season,” said Brett Wippler (12)

Sanjan Kumar (12) says Meech is “ a funny kid. Every time we do our workouts we complain as much as possible, including Meech. But Meech always does them, no matter what. He’s a dedicated kid, he’s hardworking, and in regards of how much he complains he always does his stuff and he’s amazing.”

Meech has been with Kumar and Wippler since freshman year, they see themselves as “the three hurdle bros,” but Wippler added that “Meech is a straight savage, he just kills it.”

Meech has plans to run in college. Though he has been accepted into the University of Oregon on an academic scholarship, he has a chance to walk onto the track team.

“I haven’t committed yet, I’m getting offers from some schools, I got accepted into University of Oregon and I’d like to run there, I’m talking to the coach and we will see what can happen,” said Meech.