Senior sprinters help Bishop Gorman contend in state

Bishop Gorman seniors Jalen Nailor, Cedric Tillman, JoJuan Claiborne and Jordan Lee are running track to prepare for their forthcoming college football careers.

They just so happen to be breaking records in the process.

The quartet — which hadn’t ran track since its freshmen year — helps comprises the fastest group of sprinters in Nevada, and has turned the school’s lackluster track and field program into a Class 4A state championship contender.

Nailor, a future Michigan State wide receiver, has established school records in the 100 and 200-meter dashes, and the group — along with junior Kyu Kelly — has posted school records in the 4x100 and 4x200 and the top times in the state.

“We just came out here to have fun,” Claiborne said. “When we had our first meet and we figured out we could dominate and stuff, then we really took it serious and knew we could go far with it.”

This Gaels foursome ran track together in 2015 before the rigors of spring football forced it to quit. The athletes starred on the varsity football field the subsequent three years, won state and national championships and collectively decided to give running one final go before graduation next month.

Gorman sprinters coach Sheva Branch said he forsaw the school records, but didn’t expect the group to approach state records times.

“They’re great athletes, but we work on cleaning up some of the technical stuff,” Branch said. “We knew it was in the works. They’re having a great time, not only among one another, but being able to come out and show their leadership in a different way.”

Nailor, Tillman, Claiborne and Lee display inherently obvious chemistry. Four years of football at Gorman will do that. They practically finished each other’s sentences during a group interview, and rely on the familiarity and clean handoffs to maximize speed during relays.

The 4x100 team of Lee, Nailor, Claiborne and Kelly has posted a time of 41.67 seconds, and is striving to run sub 41 before the season ends. They’ve done it in practice, they say, but need to cement their exchanges to beat Centennial’s record time of 41:23.

Lee, Tillman, Nailor and Kelly run the 4x200, and have completed the race in 1:27.19.

“They’ve put on a ton of power, a ton of muscle and strength, which all translates in to track and field,” Gaels coach Scott Cooley said. “They come out, and they all have this old school mentality, this bring your lunch pale to work type of work ethic. They show up every day, and they just grind.”

The Gaels have another week to prepare for the Sunset Region meet, which begins May 5.

They expect to win the region. And the state championship, too.

“It’s going to be a great way to end senior year,” Nailor said.

Contact reporter Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on Twitter.