Up to speed: Jefferson hitting his stride at right time
May 06, 2010 | Men's Track & Field
May 6, 2010
MADISON, Wis. -- As a track and field athlete, timing is everything. Not just in terms of the stopwatch, but also in terms of attaining peak performance at the correct point in the season.
Kyle Jefferson seems to have both parts figured out.
This past weekend at the Musco Twilight Invitational, the sophomore contributed to three victories for the Wisconsin men’s track and field team’s sprints group, which seems to be finding its stride as the Badgers barrel into championship season.
Jefferson served as the anchor leg on UW’s 4x100-meter relay, which clocked a time of 40.33 to move up to the No. 2 spot on the Big Ten Conference performance list. He also was a member of the 4x400-meter relay that clocked a season-best time of 3:10.05 and, individually, won the 400 meters by matching his career-best time of 46.93 seconds.
It’s no surprise that Jefferson is comfortable on the track. Before joining the Wisconsin football team as a wide receiver in 2007, he sprinted to four Ohio state titles for Glennville High School in Cleveland.
Now, in his second full year of competition at the college level, he has found his track legs again.
“I hadn’t run an open 400 in three years and for that to be my first 400 outside is great,” Jefferson said. “For me to go out there and run that time felt pretty good.”
Sandwiched around his commitments to the Badgers’ spring football schedule, Jefferson strung together a series of strong performances throughout April that cemented him as one of the team’s top sprinters.
At the Drake Relays, he was a member of the second-place 4x200-meter relay, which turned in a performance of 1:24.48 to rank No. 3 on Wisconsin’s all-time list.
Jefferson was also a member of the third-place sprint medley relay that clocked a 3:19.09 and was the sixth-fastest time in Wisconsin history for that event.
“Drake Relays was really fun. I knew I wasn’t in the physical shape to run a lot, but I knew I could give my team a good 200, and that’s what I did,” Jefferson said. “I was able to go out there and perform and compete at a high level to help my team.”
While his football teammates were enjoying some well-earned time off during spring break in early April, Jefferson got to work on the track as part of the Badgers’ training trip to Florida.
Along with teammates Gavin Robertson, James Groce and Chas DeMers, he helped notch a school-record time of 1:23.74 in the 4x200-meter relay at the Florida Relays.
“To break an old record that’s been sitting up there from guys from previous years was an honor,” Jefferson said. “I have to credit my team. It took me a week to get my body in shape to do that because I was doing spring football before that. It’s a great accomplishment.”
Jefferson has embraced his achievements so far as he prepares for bigger meets later on in the season.
“I’ve put in a lot of work to put myself in the position that I’m in,” he said. “I also have great teammates that help me, support me and work out with me.
“That’s one of the key reasons for why I’m able to be competitive.”
He also knows the importance of having good races early in the season as a way to build confidence for the upcoming conference and NCAA preliminary round meets.
“Drake really gave me the confidence that I needed and showed me that, if I continued to work hard and continued to push and fight, I could be a top competitor,” Jefferson said. “I could help my team and contribute at the Big Ten meet and get to regionals.”
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Jefferson’s performances this season is that they have come despite the extra effort he is required to put in for the football team.
“You’ve got to have a lot of commitment. It’s going to get hard at times, but the hard times are the times you need to be successful,” Jefferson said. “I sat down with coaches (Mark) Guthrie and (Ed) Nuttycombe and we talked about it and set up a plan that would work for us.
“I still lift and work out when I need to every single day, so I’m happy with it.”
While he has already enjoyed a breakout season on the track, Jefferson says there is plenty left to accomplish before the season winds down.
“I just want to see time drop and continue to help my team. I want to give my team the support they give me and just keep getting stronger,” he said. “I feel really confident about this team. This year I see new faces that are stepping up and doing big things.
“I’m here for the team.”
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Brittany Farrell
UW Athletic Communications
