Kane County Chronicle Athlete of the Week: Bryce Thomas, St. Charles North, track and field, senior

Name: Bryce Thomas

Sport: Track and Field

Why he was selected: Thomas, who has transformed himself into one of the area’s top hurdlers in just over a year’s span, continued his excellent season at the Class 3A Batavia Sectional with a victory in the 110-meter hurdles (14.93 seconds) for a personal record and the 300 hurdles (38.95 seconds), also a PR. Here is his Q&A with Jake Bartelson.

Bartelson: Obviously, you’re relatively new to hurdles and worked hard to get to where you are. Do you hope your story is an example to someone else to try something new? What’s your feelings on that?

Thomas: Yes, it would be cool to know that people got inspired by my unique path into hurdles. I would say never limit yourself because sometimes even you don’t know what you’re capable of. Track is a fun sport and should be treated like it, so try something new because you never know it could end up well.

Bartelson: You went from a “guy who just jumped” essentially to actually learning how to hurdle over the year. What ultimately clicked for you when learning?

Thomas: I would say it was more of a progression than a click in my case. I’ve been nonstop hurdling since last summer with different coaches, by myself and a variety of techniques. It was really our new coach from Maine South [Scott Sutschek] that moved here this year that led to my growth, I would say. He’s a funny guy who definitely knows his stuff, so while we’ve not always been on the same page, he’s played a huge part in my hurdle career this year.

Bartelson: What’s the best way to describe SCN track culture?

Thomas: I’ve been wanting to describe SCN track culture for some time now because it’s truly awesome. It’s really a family we have here. Our throwers even know the significance of breaking a five-minute mile. Our runners know when our throwers are having a good day. We all support each other and know what everyone is doing. We have standard times to hype up progression in our athletes with shirts. Even with this being the largest team at SCN, it feels the most tightknit than any other sport in the school.