By Rubin E. Grant
Cousins John Stephens and Matthew Rainer are so close it would take something like a photo-finish to separate them.
And that’s exactly what happened earlier this year during the Alabama High School Athletic Association state indoor track and field meet at the Birmingham CrossPlex.
The two just-graduated Vestavia Hills track athletes competed against each other in the 400-meter dash. Stephens clipped the tape first to claim the gold in 49.42 seconds, edging Rainer, who crossed just 1/100th of a second later at 49.52.
They went head-to-head again in the 400 in the state outdoor meet in May, but it wasn’t nearly as close. Stephens prevailed again, winning with a time of 48.55 seconds. Rainer was fifth, clocking 48.97.
Their bond isn’t limited to the track. Both will turn 19 in August with their birthdays only 18 days apart. Rainer is the “older” of the two.
“We’re very close, especially since we ran track for the same school,” Stephens said. “We do a lot of stuff with our grandparents so we see each other all the time.”
Their grandfather is Alvin Bresler, who coached Homewood to its first state football championship in 1974 and was head coach at Vestavia Hills during the 1977 season.
Bresler and his brother Milton, who both ran track for Auburn, had a similar photo-finish in the spring of 1971 in a meet against Georgia.
“I actually beat Milton by 1/100th of a second, but the officials scored the race a tie, which is what we wanted,” Bresler recalled.
Rainer’s and Stephens’ rich family track tradition extends beyond their granddad. Rainer’s mother is Kelly Bresler Rainer, who was a track star at Vestavia Hills when she was in high school and ran track at Auburn.
Stephens’ mother, Tracy, is Alvin Bresler’s oldest daughter, but she wasn’t into track. His introduction to track actually started because of his older sister Margaret James Stephens, who was a hurdler at Vestavia Hills.
Watching his sister persuaded Stephens to get involved in the family sport.
“Since she did hurdles and my grandfather and aunt ran, I figured I might as well run, too,” Stephens said. “I started out in hurdles, but I wasn’t good at it, so the spring of my sophomore year I started running the 400 and 200.”
Fully Committed
Rainer and Stephens didn’t fully commit to track until they reached high school.
“In middle school, I did basketball and track,” Rainer said. “Once we got to high school, we started to take track more seriously. We competed against each other in practice and pushed each other to get better.”
Kelly Rainer, who now coaches hurdles at Vestavia Hills, was thrilled to see both of them compete for the Rebels.
“They were such a joy to watch,” Kelly Rainer said. “I would pinch myself to remind me how truly special it was to be a mama out on the track when your son trained and raced. Truly one of my greatest joys.”
In addition to the 200 and 400, Matthew Rainer competed as a decathlete during his junior and senior seasons with strikingly difference results from one year to the next.
“I competed last year and I didn’t do too well,” Rainer said. “I grew a lot in the last year. I had more experience, and in my training I got stronger.”
Rainer finished third this year with 5,619 points. Hewitt-Trussville’s Ethan Womack was first with 6,490 points and McGill-Toolen’s Anthony Eager was second with 5,631 points.
“I did way better than I expected,” Rainer said. “If I had finished in the top 15, I would have been very pleased. After the first day, I was third, and I was like, ‘Wow!’ The second day there was a lot of technique stuff and I thought I’d probably slip. But I did well in the 1,500 and then my parents told me I got third (overall) and I was very happy.”
During the 2022 state indoor meet, Stephens and Rainer were part of the Rebels’ 4×200 and 4×400 relay teams that claimed gold. In the state outdoor meet, Stephens finished second in the 200 (21.21) and Rainer was fourth (22.10).
“They were both very consistent and strong runners,” retiring Vestavia Hills track coach Brett Huber said.
On to College
This summer, the cousins have been training together to get ready for college. Both are headed to Auburn with Stephens on a partial scholarship and Rainer likely a preferred walk-on.
“Samford offered me a scholarship,” Rainer said. “Auburn actually wasn’t originally among the schools I was considering. But my mom emailed coach (Ralph) Spry and me and John went down on an unofficial visit, although neither one of us had broken 50 seconds in the 400 at the time. They showed us around and made us feel at home. We fell in love with the team and the campus and it’s a dream come true that we’ll be going there.”
Spry recently retired after 25 years at the helm of the Auburn track and field program. He was replaced by Leroy Burrell, a former Olympic gold medalist who spent the previous 23 years as head coach at his alma mater, the University of Houston.
Despite the change in coaches, Stephens is eager to attend Auburn.
“Since my aunt and grandparents both went there, it’s the only place I wanted to be,” Stephens said.
