Boys Track: Ezell doesn't even like running ... he's just very good at it

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Yeah, he's blazing fast in all three sprints plus his leg of the 400 relay. Yeah, he looks the part, too.

He's trim, with a chiseled physique. He's even got the blazing-fast times to put on his track resume this spring -- a 10.61 seconds best time in the 100-meter dash and a 21.7 in the 200, which were handheld but each fast enough to have won state titles last season. So what makes Ezell, a Calumet junior, the atypical track star?

Well, for starters, he's not really fond of track.

"Who thinks running is fun? I sure don't," said Ezell, who is easing his way back after a hamstring injury. "It's just something I'm good at. I basically do it to stay in shape for football."

In fact, Ezell nearly called it quits after pulling up because of the hamstring injury that happened during the 100 dash in a home triple-dual a few weeks ago. The main reason he decided to rehab and make another go at it this spring?

"I'm not a quitter," Ezell said. "I'm not going to start something and then just quit. That's not how I am."

He will, however, call it a season if he blows the hamstring out again this spring. Ezell, a three-sport athlete, is also a talented football player. Schools such as Iowa, Duke, Cincinnati, Louisville and Kentucky are keeping tabs on him as a prospective recruit, and he doesn't want to have a nagging injury slow him down this summer.

Ezell will make football camp appearances at Iowa and Cincinnati, and if he performs well, he could get an official scholarship offer or offers. For now, though, track is the main focus. And despite his torrid times in the short sprints, Calumet coaches feel like Ezell could excel best in the 400 -- a lung-burning one-lap sprint.

"I think that's just because they threw me into a 400 once last year, without training for it, and I ran in the 49 (seconds) range," Ezell said. "I'd never even trained for the 400 before."

Now, he is training for it. And if his hamstring holds up, he could make some noise statewide. Ezell needs only look down the road to find the guy he's shooting for, too -- Lew Wallace senior Robert Gardner, the defending state champion in the 400.

"I don't know him, but I know he's the guy I'm trying to catch," Ezell said. "His times are what I'm trying to catch."

Ezell will run his first 400 today at Highland, and looks forward to testing out his hamstring -- which he says feels better. However, at some point soon, he and his coaches will likely pare down his events. Ezell can post top times in the 100, 200, 400 and in his anchor leg of the 400 relay -- but that would probably be a bit much if he wants to qualify for and place at the state meet.

Calumet's sprint coach, Louie Guillen, and head coach Ivan Zimmer, have some tough choices ahead. But no matter what events Ezell runs, his competitive spirit should be enough to keep him driven -- despite that distaste for running.

"It's kind of a push and pull kind of a thing," Guillen said of working with Ezell. "But he doesn't want to embarrass himself, either. So, he knows what he needs to do and he knows we're getting down to the nitty gritty in the next couple of weeks. He needs to remain focused and working hard."

Whether he likes it or not.

Contact Brian Hedger at 648-3122 or bhedger@post-trib.com