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Lofty goals

BROOKFIELD – Keevon Harris remembers what happened last year during the state preliminaries. The 11th-place finish in the Division II 300-meter hurdles did not sit well with him.

LaBrae boys track coach Ken Kilpatrick said he settled Harris down on the ride back from Columbus.

“It told him you’re going to be the best returning hurdler in D-II,” Kilpatrick said. “It’s up to you to maintain it. His thoughts have been on it all along. He’s a good team player.”

Harris also false-started at the D-II Austintown Regional in the 110 hurdles. Another memory he’d rather leave back in the 2015 season.

“I was really disappointed in myself, so I have a lot to prove,” he said. “Come back and actually do something this time.”

Harris got off to a great start at the April 2 Tiger Invitational in Newton Falls by running 40.57 seconds in the 300 hurdles and 15.04 in the 110 race. He’s run faster hand-timed races since then, including a hand time of 14.3 in the 110 Tuesday in a quadrangular meet at Brookfield with Campbell and Cardinal Mooney.

His times rank in the top 11 in the state according to oh.milesplit.com.

“It’s pretty phenomenal,” Harris said. “I did not know that. I kind of got out there and just ran. Waiting for the competition to come around so I can get a really good race.”

His 6-foot-4 frame serves him well as he powers over the hurdles with ease. That came together near the end of last season. Harris almost edged out 2015 D-II state champion Matt Ludwig from Lake Catholic in the regional final.

The biggest thing Harris has this season is confidence. Add in his hurdling form and that makes for an unstoppable combination for most competitors.

So far, Girard’s Collin Harden has hung with Harris early on as far as times go. The LaBrae senior said Harden beat him early in 2015.

“Come the tail end of the year when I got the form down, I was able to catch him,” Harris said. “He will be a little bit of competition. I think he might be the only competition in this area. We’ll see how it goes down.”

Harris well be going down to Athens this fall to play football for Ohio University as a running back. He’s played football, basketball and track for the Vikings. Running track will help Harris as he plays at Peden Stadium and other Mid-American Conference venues this season.

“They tell all their recruits to play as many sports as possible and to stay safe,” he said. “They want it for the acceleration. I think it’s helped me a lot.”

Now Harris has the confidence to go after more than competitors. He has his sights set not only a Division II state championship in both hurdle races, but a specific time as well, the 13.50 set by former John F. Kennedy standout and current Youngstown State hurdler Chad Zallow who set the mark last year in Division III.

Where does Harris see himself in early June? The LaBrae senior wants to stand atop the podium inside Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.

“Where Zallow was, honestly, time-wise,” Harris said. “I think that’s it.”

The Division II state records are 13.71 in the 110 set by Dayton Christian’s Lamar Hill in 1996 and 36.69 in the 300 set by Shelby’s Austin Wechter in 2003.

“He’s got a mark to go after,” Kilpatrick said. “Zallow set some brilliant, hellacious marks. He knows what he’s got to do to get there.”

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