Corey Nicholls of McEachern enroute to Winning the Classic 800 1:50.69 Image by Pinion Photography
Dedication and hard work makes a difference. Both of these young men had set backs during the last year, injury and illness. Their accomplishments come as no surprise. Driving for hours and waking up at the crack of dawn to train were the things these young men were willing to do. Their sacrifices are starting to pay off. Congratulations to Corey and Henry, who trained together during the last year.
Henry Dwyer from Athens Academy takes it out early in the Classic Mile Image Courtesy Jason Byrne fl.milesplit
In Saturday night's Classic Mile at Golden South in Orlando, a future SEC 1500m rivalry may be brewing as top seeded Cameron Villarreal (headed to Texas A&M) and Athens Academy's Henry Dwyer (# 2 seed and future UGA Dawg" gave the fans a show.
The mid-afternoon balmy 90 degree heat gave way a bit to some Fla breezes, settling in for a great night of racing in front of a big crowd at the Payne Stewart Athletic Complex . Dwyer went out strong and Cameron was on his shoulder as the two pulled away from the pack, making the 800 turn at 2:03. At the bell lap, Villarreal pulled even, and with 200m left made a final charge down the homestretch for the win at 4:08.11. Dwyer, who took the Georgia Class A title in the 800 and the Best Performance in the 1600 at the 2013 Georgia Olympics, finished with a 4:10.46 well ahead of a field of top runners from SE USA including Georgia Olympics medalists Kenan Farmer, Jordan Flowers, Daniel Navarro, and Patrick Fleming.
From his video interview, Dwyer commented, "I just tried to run my race and stay comfortable, be consistent. I came out a little fast, but felt confident with it." One of Dwyer's goals is to make the 'Dream Mile' and though he may fall a bit short, Henry commented, "he has no regrets and is very satisfied with his Senior Outdoor season. Especially after having mononucleosis for 6 months wondering if he'd ever get healthy again as feeling some collegiate coaches may have began to jump ship on him...
Henry is very excited about his scholarship to UGA and the opportunities it presents. Having lived in Athens the past 6 years he's familiar with the town and campus atmosphere and looks forward to the next 4 years in becoming the best runner he can be for the Bulldogs.