GALION — Colin McCullough shouldn’t lack for confidence as the track and field postseason approaches.
The Richland Bank Athlete of the Week cleared that, ahem, hurdle a couple weeks ago.
A senior hurdler, McCullough won both the 110-meter and 300-meter hurdles at the Marion Night Invitational last week. His time of 38.21 seconds in the 300s broke the school record of 38.7 and the meet record of 38.3. His mark is believed to be the fastest Division time in the state this spring.
If he had any doubts in his ability, McCullough laid them to rest at the 85th Mansfield Mehock Relays on April 15. He finished fourth in the 110s in 14.75 before striking Mehock gold in the 300s. His winning time of 39.53 was more than a half-second faster than runner-up Gerald Brewer of Watkins Memorial.
“Beating all these guys from bigger schools gives me a lot of confidence going forward,” said McCullough, who was a Mehock runner-up in the 300s last year. “I proved to myself I can run with anybody.”
As a junior, McCullough was a member of Galion’s state-qualifying 4×200 and 4×100 relay teams. The 4×200 unit of McCullough, Caleb Ivy, Houston Blair and Drake Barnett took fourth. The 4×100 team of McCullough, Blair, Barnett and Jacob Fryer was the Division II state runner-up last spring.
Individually, he advanced to the regional meet in both the 110s and 300s last spring. He placed sixth in both events at the Division II Lexington regional.
Extra distance work has served McCullough well in the 300s, one of the most grueling events in track and field. McCullough runs cross country in the fall.
“I’ve done a lot of training for distance, so I am able to use my endurance and push through,” McCullough said at the Mehock Relays. “Down the stretch I believe I got two people. We all went over the first hurdle on the home stretch together.”
Given his recent success, McCullough is looking forward to the postseason.
“I feel good about where I’m at in my training,” McCullough said at the Mehock. “I feel like I’m right where I want to be.”
