How record-setting SLO runner traded basketball for track — and earned a college scholarship

When Wyatt Maulhardt entered his freshman year of high school at Mission Prep, his focus was on basketball. He played on a travel team in the local area throughout his childhood and considered trying to play in college.

But pursuing basketball at the next level felt more like a dream.

“I just knew that basketball is a difficult sport to get recruited for,” Maulhardt said.

It wasn’t until his sophomore year when he found his love for track under Mission Prep coach Erik Terry.

Now, in his senior season at San Luis Obispo High School, Maulhardt has become the top sprinter in the county.

At a meet on April 10 featuring SLO, Nipomo and Lompoc, the 6-foot-3 senior broke the school records in the 100-meter dash and the 200-meter dash in one meet.

He finished the 100-meter in 10.63 seconds, a result that puts him top 20 in the entire state of California.

In the 200-meter race, Maulhardt ran a scorching 21.35 time, which broke a 60-year old school record, according to SLO athletic director Adam Basch.

His time in the 200-meter ranked him sixth in the state and 23rd in the country.

His senior season was cut short when he suffered a minor injury in a recent meet, but his outstanding performance in sprinting events earned him scholarship offers from Power 5 colleges, including UC Santa Barbara, University of Arizona and University of Connecticut.

“I feel so lucky that I have the abilities that have gotten me to this point,” Maulhardt said. “It’s been really fun, and I definitely love track. It’s by far my favorite sport I’ve ever done.”

Maulhardt told The Tribune he will attend the University of Connecticut to run track for his freshman year.

“I picked UCONN because of how inviting the coaches and team were on my visit and because of the great athletics and academic,” Maulhardt said over text message.

Maulhardt’s potential

From Division I coaches who recruit Maulhardt to his track and field coach at SLO High School, Bryan Krill, there’s one word people use to describe him: potential.

“I think in four years people are going to look back and wonder why he didn’t run faster in high school than he did,” Krill said.

He attributed Maulhardt’s success to a combination of raw physical tools and a motivation to improve.

“The biggest thing is that combination of skill, leadership but also humility,” Krill said.

In SLO County, Krill pointed out if a person has athletic talent, “you can be successful without working really hard.” Maulhardt has both the talent and drive, his coach said.

Despite Maulhardt being arguably the strongest sprinter in the area, Krill described him as an “incredibly humble kid.”

“He doesn’t think he’s the man,” Krill said. “He’s cheering on our slowest guy along with the fastest guy. I’m not sure that we would have the team we have without him and not because of what he does on the track, but because of what he does off the track.”

Maulhardt transferred from Mission Prep to SLO after his junior season due to the Tigers having full access to a track on campus. However, even with him being new to the program, he’s made an imprint on the team.

Maulhardt said track has been the favorite sport he’s played. He enjoys the internal competition element where he can compete with himself to improve his personal best. But he’s also enjoyed the team chemistry aspect.

“Everyone builds each other up,” Maulhardt said. “Everyone wants to see each other succeed, and I really love that about track.”

How he made the jump to track

After Maulhardt’s sophomore season at Mission Prep, Tonie Amaral received an email from his family asking to help train him. When they first met, Amaral said the 15-year-old Wyatt towered over her.

“I think you got some potential here to work with,” Amaral recalled after the first time she met him.

Amaral ran track at SLO High School under Bryan Krill and went on to run track at UC Davis in the 200-meter, 400-meter and 800-meter.

The biggest hurdle at the time for Maulhardt was endurance training, Amaral said. She pointed out basketball involves a lot of shorter sprints compared to running in track events like the 400-meter, so they worked on building his endurance for longer sprints.

In their training, Amaral found Maulhardt to be a highly coachable athlete who took advice well.

“He could get feedback and process it and then put it into motion,” she said.

Amaral said some kids have trouble implementing new techniques into their running, but Maulhardt was able to communicate seamlessly on what techniques worked for him.

Most importantly, Amaral could tell he really enjoyed the sport.

“A lot of people just run track, but to really love the sport is special,” Amaral said.