By Rubin E. Grant
Hoover track coach Devon Hind calls senior sprinter J’Marri McCall the Bucs’ secret weapon.
That’s because during the outdoor track and field season last spring, McCall battled a left hamstring injury that curtailed his ability to compete.
But after the Bucs finished fourth in the preliminaries of the 4×100 relay race in the Alabama High School Athletic Association Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Hind unleashed McCall in the finals as the anchor runner.
“He’s very talented, but he was hurt quite a bit last year and was a bit under the radar,” Hind said. “In the 4×100, we had never put him in, not even in the prelims at state.
“A lot of other teams were talking smack. Our guys were upset they were talking so much smack. I said wait until (McCall) gets the baton, it’s over. We won the state and set a school record (with a time of 41.77).”
McCall got a kick out of shutting up the competition.
“Everybody was not expecting us to be a factor,” McCall said. “I said let’s do this.”
Well, the Bucs’ secret weapon isn’t a secret anymore, especially with the way McCall has performed during this winter’s indoor track season.
On Jan. 20 in the MLK Classic at the Birmingham CrossPlex, McCall ran a personal best 6.92 as he won the Class 6A-7A 60-meter dash, besting teammate Jonathan Martin (6.96). He also won the long jump with a leap of 22-05.5 to top teammate L.J. Hill (22-04.25).
“Going into the MLK, I wanted to be something better than I’ve been doing,” McCall said. “I’d been running consistent times but wanted more. I’ve been working hard in practice with my coaches, trying to get my mechanics right.”
The Competitive Spirit
McCall has been running track since the seventh grade.
“I got started to keep in shape for football,” he said. “I gave up on football a couple years ago because I decided to focus on track. I like the competitive spirit and it’s just you out there trying to do your best.”
McCall holds the school record in the outdoor long jump with a leap of 23-0.25. His best indoor jump is 22-10.75, which is just shy of the school record.
McCall will try to eclipse that mark when he and his teammates compete in the 50th AHSAA State Indoor Track & Field Championships Friday and Saturday at the CrossPlex. The Bucs are the defending Class 7A boys champions.
McCall will be competing in the 60-meter dash, long jump and the 4×200 relay. The Bucs’ 4×200 team is ranked second in the nation this indoor season with a time of 1:28.55. In the AHSAA meet last year, McCall was a part of the Bucs 4×200 team that won with a school record time of 1:28.02.
The Bucs will be favored to repeat as Class 7A indoor champions.
“I believe if we can stay healthy, we’ll win it again,” Hind said. “We’re loaded. We’ve got a good senior group of sprinters and jumpers.”
Among that group is Hill. At the MLK meet, he won the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.17 seconds, the top overall time in the event in the state this year.
Martin, a 400-meter specialist, and John Watkins, a jumper, are two other talented seniors. Watkins won the triple jump at the MLK with a leap of 48-03.00.
McCall is eager about the Bucs’ opportunity to claim another state title.
“It’s a pretty big deal,” he said. “Not a lot of teams get to be state champs. We’re preparing to get to that point again.”
