On Dec. 1, during the first home meet of the 2021-2022 winter track season, junior Brendan Henby made history. He ran the 55 meter race in 6.3 seconds, breaking the national record for high school boys.  

“I’m very proud of myself for being ranked number one in the nation. I’m satisfied but not satisfied enough. I want to get even better than I already am, so I need to keep working harder,” Henby said. 

Henby pushes himself during both the on and off season. He trained with one of the other West Henderson High track sprinters, Ian Hicks. Henby felt that his “block work”, when a runner comes out of the ground blocks to start a race, has improved from the previous season. 

“I had a better start than I usually did. And the competition in this race wasn’t as good as it is during the spring season. Not as many people participate during the winter season because of the weather and basketball,” Henby said. 

Henby emphasized how much mental health is a factor when racing. 

“I prepared mentally throughout the day to get ready for the meet. I tried to talk myself up during the day and stay calm, making myself ready to race,” Henby said. 

Henby plans on setting aside more time outside of school to run. He wants to put more of his focus on the sport, since there could potentially be a future for him in track. 

“To continue my training and get better I want to start taking time to practice outside of school and take it more seriously with the type of training I do. I also want to do training that is more specific to my body and to improve with the assets I already have,” Henby said.

By: Katie Stanley, Feature Writer