JUCO track and field: Ewing, staff teach basics at sprints, hurdles and throws camp

Jul. 24—OTTUMWA — In less than a decade, Brent Ewing has overseen an Indian Hills track and field program that has risen to contend with some of the best in the country.

The program has produced multiple NJCAA and NCAA national champions, including Olympic Silver medalist Kenny Bednarek, in multiple individual events in addition to nationally-ranked men's and women's programs. Despite that fact, there are times that Ewing has to get back to basics when it comes to coaching some of the top athletes in the sport.

"Whether you're a state champion in high school or a national champion, you learn the same principals," Ewing said. "There are some athletes that are just inherently faster, but that doesn't mean they do everything right. Even the faster athletes have something they need to work on."

Ewing and his coaches got back to basics last week, teaching middle school and high school athletes in various techniques for sprinters, hurdlers and throwers at Schafer Stadium. Ewing worked with sprinters on the track on everything from striding to something so simple as how to position the starting blocks.

"It's most technical thing and the thing I see the most at the college level that needs the most work," Ewing said. "Sometimes, you don't have all the time in high school to spend on that just because you don't have as big of a coaching staff or you just have so many kids.

"That's one of the main things we break down when kids get here. Nine times out of 10, when I ask an athlete what they feel they need to work on coming out of high school, it's almost always the starting blocks."

While Ewing worked with the sprinters, IHCC assistant coach J.R. Adams worked with hurdlers on a variety of techniques. The camp brought out some familiar area faces, including soon-to-be Sigourney junior Reagan Clarahan who qualified for state this past spring in the Class 1A girls' 400-meter hurdles as well as state-qualifying Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont hurdlers Russell and Thomas McCrea.

Clarahan finished 22nd at the state meet in the 400 hurdles, crossing the finish line in 1:11.16. Russell McCrea finished 16th in the 2A boys 110-meter hurdles in 15.99 seconds before joining Thomas McCrea, Conner Arnold and Clayton Sandifer in running in the 2A boys shuttle hurdle relay.

"We made it to state this past year. Now, we're looking for any little bit of help that will allow us to make that next jump to make the finals or possibly win the shuttle hurdle relay state title," Russell McCrea said. "It was a great opportunity to come here close to home and find out if there's something we could learn from these coaches."

For the McCreas, current student athletes at EBF, there's an added bonus to learning from Indian Hills track and field coaches. Kalen Walker, another former state track standout at EBF, used his time running at Indian Hills as a springboard to bigger and better things running currently at the University of Iowa becoming the school's record holder in the men's 60-meter dash and a second-team All-American this past spring running the lead leg on the the Hawkeyes' 400-meter relay.

"Seeing Kalen go from our school to running in the NCAA national championships, there's clearly something here where they can get the best talent out of people and help them run faster," Russell McCrea said.

"We're just trying to get better. The coaches at Indian Hills know what they're doing to get kids to take that next step," Thomas McCrea added.

The newest member of the Indian Hills coaching staff can speak to taking that next step. Elijah Barnes returns to IHCC as the school's first throwing coach after going from being a record-setting All-American thrower for the Warriors during the 2018-19 campaign to one of the top throwers in program history at the University of Iowa.

"It's one of the big reasons I wanted to come back to Indian Hills and coach. When I competed here, there wasn't a coach dedicated to throwing. There were a lot of things I had to learn on my own," Barnes said. "For me, this is a chance to give back to the program that has been such a big part of my life. This is a great step in the right direction.

"Between myself, Kalen, Kenny, Damoy (Allen). There are so many walking testimonies to what you can accomplish here at Indian Hills."

One of the students that Barnes worked with last week may go down as one of Ottumwa's all-time top female throwers. Delilah Subsin, who qualified this past spring as a freshman for the Class 4A girls shot put and discus, earning a fourth-place medal in the shot put, picked up some helpful techniques from Barnes that may help the soon-to-be sophomore go after bigger goals over the next three years throwing for the Bulldogs girls' track and field program.

"Coach Barnes taught me about patience. You're not going to be the best at everything right away. You have to take it one step at a time," Subsin said. "I'm learning to rotate this year. Last year, I was only gliding. It's a lot more fun to spin it.

"Practice makes perfect. I'm really thankful to be here. It's all about meeting new people, learning from everyone and having fun in the process of improving your skills."

— Scott Jackson can be reached at sjackson@ottumwacourier.com. Follow him on Twitter@CourierScott.