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August 13, 2013
Thibodaux High School track standout Dewayne Reed will head into the new school year with his eyes on the LHSAA Class 5A State Long Jump Championship.
Reed has a big, fat gold medal around his neck that serves as proof that the lofty goal is well within reach.
The Tigers’ standout won the gold medal in the long jump at the AAU Junior Olympics track and field meet this summer in Michigan.
His winning leap was 24-feet, 3-inches.
Reed is now the national champion in the 17-18-year-old division.
“To win a national championship – it just felt amazing,” Reed said following his victory. “It was a big honor.”
Reed’s victory marked a comeback story on two separate fronts.
For starters, the Thibodaux standout said he wasn’t 100 percent healthy while competing at the Junior Olympics and didn’t know if he would even be healthy enough to jump at the meet.
Reed injured his hamstring early in the meet while running in the 100-meter dash preliminaries.
He qualified for the 100-and 200-meter dashes in addition to the long jump.
The early injury on the track forced Reed to withdraw from the running events, but even while in pain, he decided to give it a go in the jumping pits.
Reed admits it wasn’t easy, but he pushed through it and came out on top.
He outlasted New Jersey’s Mikhail Micheaux (23-feet, 3-inches) and Nevada’s Arphaxed Carroll (22-feet, 11-inches) to win the gold.
“I was hurt going into the long jump,” Reed said. “I definitely felt it a little bit when I was jumping, but I phased through it and put it in God’s hands.”
Away from the physical pain, Reed’s gold medal win also marked what he calls his rebirth as an athlete.
Reed missed his junior athletic season at Thibodaux because of academic issues.
He said that he has spent the entire summer working to reclaim his study habits so that he can return to the Tigers’ team this coming spring.
Reed said that when he does, he has one goal – he wants to right his form, return to the team and take home the gold medal at next year’s state championship meet.
“I am looking to get better at my studying habits for sure,” Reed said. “So I can do what I have to do in the classroom before I earn the right to perform as an athlete.”
