MANSFIELD, Ohio — Quez Wellington was late to organized athletics, but the Mansfield Senior sprinter has spent the spring of his senior year making up for lost time.
The Richland Bank Athlete of the Week, Wellington swept the 100 meter and 200 meter dashes at Friday’s Galion Kiwanis Invitational at Heise Park. He edged Division II state placer Kyle Galyk of Marion Pleasant to win the 100 in 11.19 seconds and cruised to victory in the 200 in 22.06.
That Wellington has the area’s top times in both the 100 (10.8) and 200 (22.06) is all the more impressive considering he had never so much as lined up in a starting block before the start of the season. He didn’t participate in track until this spring and didn’t take part in any organized varsity sports until suiting up for the football team last fall.
“My parents motivated me to go out (for sports),” Wellington said earlier this season. “Football showed me that I was fast, so I started working harder and getting faster.”
It’s Wellington’s willingness to work that has impressed Senior High track coach Khalil Ali.
“He’s one of the hardest workers I’ve ever seen,” Ali said Friday at Galion. “It’s his first year, but he is a leader.”
While he has excelled in both the 100 and 200 this spring, Wellington said his best race is the 100. He won the 100 at the Lexington Invitational (11.21), the Lorain Titan Invitational (10.94) and the 66th Marion Night Invitational (10.81) leading up to last week’s Galion Kiwanis Invitational.
“I had a good start and that really got me going,” Wellington said. “I knew I had (Galyk) out of the blocks. I had to maintain my speed and I felt like I maintained it well.
“I wanted to run a better time, but my pick-up speed was good.”
Wellington is also the anchor man for Mansfield Senior’s 4×100 relay team. The Tygers won the 4×100 at Lexington and Lorain and were second at Marion and Galion.
Next up for Wellington and the Tygers is Friday’s Ohio Cardinal Conference meet at Madison.
“I wanted to run my best to get ready for the OCC meet,” Wellington said. “I feel like I’m ready.”
