North Bergen sprinter overcomes injury to earn state glory
A year ago, when he was just a mere freshman making a name for himself in local track and field circles, Kevin Thompson of North Bergen was competing in the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 1, Group IV meet, and he apparently didn’t give his all.
"My coach [Yael Martinez] thought that I gave up in the 200 [meter dash]," Thompson said. "He thought I could have pushed myself harder that day. He said that I slacked off."
Thompson took home a silver medal in the 200-meter final, but Martinez felt he could have gone home with gold.
"I felt he could have won the race," Martinez said. "He didn’t do his best that day. From that day on, there were goals we set for this year."
So Martinez put the outdoor state sectionals in Thompson’s mind and made it their mutual obsession.
"I felt like I had to win those races just to get rid of last year," Thompson said. "I just had to win. It was my goal for the whole year. I didn’t win either race last year, so it’s why I had to double up and win both this year."
However, the road to glory wasn’t exactly paved in gold medals. Thompson suffered some adversity along the way, in the form of crippling injuries.
Right before the outdoor season was about to begin, Thompson suffered a strained Achilles tendon that forced him to the sidelines for more than two weeks.
"I couldn’t run at all," Thompson said.
"He fell and hurt the Achilles right at the tail end of the indoor season," Martinez said. "He took a couple of weeks off and missed the first couple of races."
The Achilles injury also prevented Thompson from doing other events, like the long jump. If he was going to make it back to the track, he was not going to be fully healthy.
"I didn’t want him to overdo it, because he could get hurt more," Martinez said. "We had to be careful with him."
Thompson said that he began to feel healthier as the season progressed. He proclaimed that he was 100 percent ready for the state sectionals at Wayne Hills High School last Friday.
However, adversity struck once again. On a day that was cold and damp, making conditions almost brutal for sprinters, Thompson had to attempt to make good on his year-long quest.
"Distance runners do prefer the cooler temperatures," Martinez said. "Sprinters have to get properly warmed up to be ready to go. Kevin has always liked to run in the warmer weather."
It’s probably because Thompson was born in Jamaica and lived there until moving to North Bergen four years ago.
"I do like it warmer than it was," Thompson said. "The rain didn’t help. It was hard to get loose. But I had to run."
While competing in the first heat of the 100-meter dash, Thompson felt a twinge in his hamstring some 20 meters before the finish line.
"But I wanted to win," Thompson said. "I had to keep going."
"I was definitely concerned," Martinez said. "He complained that his leg hurt, so we massaged it and wrapped it. We pulled him out of the long jump to rest him, but he was able to prevail."
Thompson ran the finals in 10.9 seconds, which wasn’t his best time of the year, but it was enough to win the gold medal. Luckily, the 200-meter event was being held Saturday, so Thompson had a day to recuperate.
"I went home that night and rested," Thompson said. "I massaged it and put Mineral Ice on it, just so I could be ready to run Saturday."
However, Thompson was getting ready to run in the 200-meter trials Saturday when he felt the pain again.
"I thought it was fine, but I started to feel it again," Thompson said.
But Thompson managed to muddle his way through the pain and captured the gold medal in the 200-meter dash as well, becoming a two-time state sectional champion and earning redemption for what transpired a year ago.
For his efforts, Thompson has been selected as The Hudson Reporter Athlete of the Week for the past week.
Thompson now moves on to the overall Group IV state championships at Egg Harbor this weekend, where he finished fifth in the 200-meter dash a year ago. It was also the site where his former teammate, Javier Cuevas, won the overall Group IV state crown in the 3,200-meter run last year. Cuevas, who was a two-time state sectional champion [1,600 and 3,200] last year, now competes for the University of Rhode Island.
"I look up to him and keep in touch with him," Thompson said. "Yes, what Javier did last year did help motivate me this year. He won two, and now I’ve won two. Every year is different. I just wanted to get there and do my best. I just wanted to double, and thank God I was able to do it. I’m very happy. It’s what I wanted."
Martinez was also elated for his runner.
"Kevin works so hard all year," Martinez said. "He really hasn’t been 100 percent healthy all year, but yet, he managed to reach his goals. When he started to get the injuries, I was just hoping that he would be able to make it through and he still ended up winning. All things considered, I’m really happy for Kevin. It just goes to show what dedication and hard work can do. It’s a nice turnaround for him. He’s now a two-time state sectional champion."
Thompson doesn’t know what the future holds. He just hopes that he is healthy enough to perform at Egg Harbor and perhaps make a return trip to the Meet of Champions [he finished fifth in the MOC 200-meter dash last year].
"I can still feel the pain in my hamstring a little," Thompson said. "I just have to try to get ready. If I can qualify for the Meet of Champions, then I would be really happy. I’ve had a lot of injuries this year, but this could be a good way to finish the year."