HIGH-SCHOOL

North Oconee's Tyler Jones and Harper Sigler push each other to new limits

Justin Fedich
North Oconee's Harper Sigler loses his balance diving forward to win the AAA 800 meter run during the Georgia Olympics GHSA Boys State Track Championship on Saturday, May 10, 2014, in Jefferson, Ga. (AJ Reynolds/Staff, @ajreynoldsphoto)

Running is an individual sport, in which a strong pair of legs, lungs and mind are often the tools pushing a competitor from the pop of the gun to the final white line. North Oconee's track-running tandem of Harper Sigler and Tyler Jones have turned running into a team sport, using each other just as much as they use themselves.

It's worked out well so far.

Jones, a senior, and Sigler, a junior, in the North Oconee track and field are easy to find in the North Oconee track record book. They've cemented their names in almost every distance event imaginable. But with less than two weeks left until the region meet and just over a month until state, Jones and Sigler aren't done yet.

Sigler is a better sprinter than Jones. Track runs in Sigler's blood. His father ran track and started coaching after college. His sister ran, too, and inspired him to start running. While his sister provided the motivation to begin, Jones provides Sigler the motivation to keep going.

"We're great teammates. It's always great to have a great teammate to push you," Sigler said.

Sigler stands third all-time in North Oconee history in the 800 meter event at 1:57.16 and he and his teammates hold the second best all-time record in the 4x400 meter relay at 3:25.55. These are the rare times when Sigler competes without the help of Jones.

Jones is a better distance runner than Sigler. He set the North Oconee record last year in the 3200 meter event at 9:43.16. Sigler is fourth on that list at just over 10 minutes.

"He beat me all cross country season and I think for him the longer the better and the shorter the better for me, but we've had great battles for years now," Sigler said.

The 1600 meter event is where the two are dead even. Jones sets the pace for the first three laps and Sigler tries to keep up. The last 400 meters is where Sigler makes his mad dash for the finish line. The winner changes all the time. But there's usually one constant.

Jones and Sigler finish first and second.

"There's no way I could do it without him," Jones said.

But next season, Jones will compete without Sigler at the University of Georgia. He's used to looking ahead to six open lanes with Sigler constantly closing in.

The front-row view will look a little more crowded at Georgia.

"It's going to be a hard transition going from the

5K to the 8K and there's going to be numerous competition of course. It's UGA," Jones said.

Jones isn't the only North Oconee runner heading to UGA next fall. Senior Mary Terry is also gearing up for the short trek to Athens. While Terry serves as a leader and a mentor for the girls' team, she said the role is no different of Jones and Sigler on the boys' team.

"They are definitely leaders," Terry said. "Harper is very vocal leader and Tyler is right there beside him. Obviously they push each other a lot."

Sigler and Jones also hold the North Oconee record in the 4x800 meter relay and are second all-time in the distance medley.

But there's something special about watching them run the mile together. Jones is third in the record books at 4:25.48. Sigler also happens to be third at 4:25.48.

"I'm going to miss the battles in practice and on the track. Running the mile with him has just been great for three years now," Sigler said.

Next season, Sigler will be the unquestioned leader in the mile for North Oconee. He must learn to compete individually for the first time in three years in his longest distance event.

With the departure of Jones, Sigler will only have one pair of legs, one pair of lungs and one mind pushing him past his physical limits. It will be a big challenge competing without his friend by his side.

And he knows it more than anyone.

"Losing him will be a big loss to the team," Sigler said.