By Cristian Reyna
After setting yet another track record this season, Hood College junior Jamel Mins reached another milestone in his career.
Clocking a time of 6.97 seconds in the 60-meter dash at this year’s MAC finals, Mins took gold in the event. He also earned two bronze medals in the 200-meter relay and 400-meter relay.
“I had a lot of momentum going into that meet,” Mins said.
Channeling his focus on the details that matter, Mins wanted to make sure his block starts were crisp going into the weekend.
“My preparation for MACs was really focusing on my block starts and light endurance work,” he said. “I was really focusing on my block start because my block start is the worst part of my race.”
Paying attention to the details made a difference. In the beginning of February, at the Plex shootout, Mins ran a 7.03 60-meter dash.
“Our goal was for me to get out the blocks before everyone else and when I did that, I knew I wasn’t losing,” Mins said.
By being first out the blocks, Mins was able to rely on his preparation and training to take him the rest of the way.
“Once I was able to see that, the race was really mine to keep,” Mins said.
He raced alongside runners from Misericordia, DeSales, Eastern, Alvernia, Stevenson and Lebanon Valley.
Before the final race at the MAC championships, Mins had to qualify for preliminaries.
In the prelims, Mins ran 6.99 seconds, which placed him second behind Desales’ Kyle Dunbar.
“I can’t lie, I was a little bit nervous, but as soon as I got on the line it all went away,” Mins said.
Throughout Mins’ career, he has marked his name in Hood history, but he said the experience at this year’s finals is something he will never forget.
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