UA coach Fred Harvey believes he’ll have two men’s hurdlers competing in June’s NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
Both specialize in the 400 meters.
Freshman James Smith and sophomore Maksims Sincukovs are teammates, first and foremost, but they’re also rivals.
Smith shattered Sincukovs’ freshman school record at this month’s Jim Click Shootout, crossing the finish line in 50.29 seconds. The former Junior Olympic champion bolted out of his blocks and rounded the first turn with ease. Harvey says Smith lost momentum coming over the third hurdle, though, which forced him to change his approach on the next barrier. As a result, Smith took the fourth hurdle with the wrong leg, negating what could have been a school-record run.
“I had a little mix up on my fourth hurdle, but then coming home I did alright,” Smith said. “I just wish I executed the first half of my race better.”
Smith’s misstep prevented him from finishing in first, but he wasn’t too worried about the result afterward. He knows he’ll perfect his rhythm soon enough.
The Wildcats will take part in the Mt. SAC relays, which begin Thursday in Torrance, California.
“Not a lot of people thought I was going to run this fast, so it feels good,” Smith said. “I’m happy with what I ran.”
He should be. Smith’s time currently ranks fifth among the NCAA outdoor leaders in the event. He’s one of just four freshmen listed in the top 25 nationally.
Smith’s performance was just a glimpse of what he’s capable of achieving.
“We’ve been waiting to open him up,” Harvey said. “To run that fast is really satisfying.”
Harvey says it’s just a matter of maturing and fine-tuning some of the details in order take that next leap and run a sub-50-second time.
Fortunately, Smith doesn’t have to wait for official meets to elevate his mindset. Sincukovs is a perfect mentor.
“It’s interesting, obviously Maksims being Latvian, and James being a young American, their personalities are so different. But that isn’t necessarily a bad thing,” Harvey said.
“James, right now, he’s figuring it out. He knows that he’s talented and he knows that he wants to be able try to run at the next level. Maksims is a little bit more serious about his total development as an athlete.”
Both runners are elite competitors, and their coach is confident that will pay dividends.
“Their competitiveness is really what I think is going to drive them both to be exceptionally good,” Harvey said. “Having that level of an athlete that’s on the same team is really what drives you.
“The difference is just the attention to some of the details.”
Smith and Sincukovs have yet to race one another in the 400 hurdles in a scored setting, but they’re well aware of each other’s potential.
Even before the start of the outdoor season, Sincukovs had Smith on his radar.
“My main rival is James Smith,” Sincukovs said. “He looks really strong.”
Sincukovs didn’t run in the Jim Click Shootout because of a bruised toe. He’ll look to make up for his prolonged start to the outdoor season at the Mt. SAC relays.
“Hopefully we’ll make nationals together,” Sincukovs said.
