By snoadmin
The last word anyone would use to describe a school record-holding sprinter would probably be slow. Oddly enough, that is exactly the word that Long Beach State sprinter Brent Gray used to describe himself when he was younger.
“I was kind of slow, I wasn’t as fast,” Gray said. “I decided to just play football [in high school]. But after awhile I started getting faster, so I just kind of stuck with it.”
Sticking with it has proven to be beneficial for Gray. He has been a dominant force on the track team all season. Most recently, Gray won the 100 and 200 meters races at the Big West Challenge in Goleta, Calif.
Overall this season, Gray has been named Big West Athlete of the Week twice and in the 100 meters he is posting the No. 1 time in the West Region and the No. 5 time in the nation (10.29). In the 200-meter, Gray is ranked No.5 in the West Region and No. 11 in the nation (20.92).
All of Gray’s success is coming in his first year on the team after transferring from Long Beach City College. Gray said all of this success comes as a complete surprise to him.
“I’ve kind of surprised myself all season,” Gray said. “I actually didn’t expect [to be doing so well]. But I worked really hard at Long Beach City, and once I came here I knew it was going to be a good season after fall practices. I kind of figured I was going to run pretty fast and if I didn’t, I was going to be mad because I worked hard for nothing.”
All of his hard work has paid off, as Gray has already qualified himself for regionals and for the Big West Conference Championships.
For Gray, none of this would have been possible without the teaching and encouragement of his uncle, Jim Richardson. Richardson, the head track coach at Pasadena City College, is a Long Beach State Hall of Fame sprinter, and Gray’s former track coach at Long Beach City College.
Gray said his uncle has been a huge influence in his track career. As a student at Banning High School in Wilmington, Gray chose football as his main sport, and didn’t run track until his senior year in 2004. After he became the Marine League champion in the 2000, he realized he had talent in the sport.
He chose to attend Long Beach City College so he could train with his uncle. Richardson helped him see his true potential as a sprinter.
“When I was in high school I didn’t really take it seriously,” Gray said. “[It wasn’t] until I went to Long Beach City College where my uncle was my coach. He got me loving the sport of track and field.”
Gray chose to become a 49er because of his uncle as well. Because of the marks that Richardson set and the success he had at Long Beach State, Gray wanted to see if he could achieve the same level of success as his uncle.
“He influenced [my decision to come to Long Beach State] a lot. I wanted to go where he went,” Gray said. “I wanted to try to break some barriers of things that he did.”
Although he cites his mom as a huge motivation, his uncle has no doubt yielded the most influence on him. A recent family tragedy has shown Gray how much his uncle, as well as the rest of his family, means to him.
“My grandma recently passed, and he gave a speech at the funeral and it really inspired me to work harder,” Gray said. “Your grandparents are like the backbone of your family. I feel like this season I’m just doing this for her.”
Gray picked a good season to dedicate. So far this season every goal he has set for himself he has surpassed. With nationally ranking times, Gray has the potential to bring a conference championship to LBSU. And as a junior, he still has another year left to tear up the record books.
But even though Gray has set records, won meets and managed to firmly establish himself as a top sprinter, he is still just taking it all in.
“I never would have pictured me having a scholarship for track and field,” Gray said. “So I consider it a blessing to be here.”
