Merrillville's Conwell shines at Homewood meet

Updated: April 25, 2011 6:22AM

A little more effort is going a long way for Rahim Conwell.

"This is my first full year of training for track, so I've been working really hard and looking for some good stuff," the Merrillville senior said.

That's what he got last Saturday when he overcame the elements and some strong competition to win a pair of titles at the Homewood-Flossmoor (Ill.) Invitational.

Battling strong winds, cold and intermittent rain and sleet, Conwell won the 100-meter dash n 11.24 seconds and the 200 in 23.54.

The wind came into play in particular toward the beginning of the 200.

"It was real tough, but I just stayed focused," Conwell said.

Though he ran against some unfamiliar opponents, Conwell had done enough homework to know what he was up against.

"There (were) a lot of fast (seed) times, so it let me know I had to be focused," he said. "I worked really hard and good things happened."

His hope, and that of Merrillville coach Brian Past, is that will continue. It won't be easy, because the Duneland is shaping up to be a great sprinters' conference this spring and the regional will be even better with the likes of Hobart's Jarvis McMillian and Bowman's Cornelius Strickland.

"It's a great thing to see," Past said of Conwell's emergence. "He worked so hard in the offseason; now it's paid off this early. He kind of came out of the woodwork for us. A couple years ago, he was running but wasn't our main cog.

"Last year he was a guy who really meant something to us and was part of our varsity squad. This year, he's stepped up as a captain and varsity leader."

Conwell is hoping better weather will mean better times. He's shooting to get into the low 21s for the 200 - "my best race" - and the mid 10s for the 100.

That would allow him to stand out in an impressive crowd of sprinters.

"In our conference alone, there's some top top speed," Past said. "In the sectional and regional, you're going to need some radar guns to catch some of those guys."

Home sweet home: One of the reasons Tim Loughmiller is fired up for his 34th season as coach at North Newton is the Spartans' new all-weather track.

For one thing, it's made it easier to persuade opponents to come to Morocco.

"We didn't run very often at home (before)," Loughmiller said. "With that cinder track, people didn't want to come here."

The new surface also has helped the Spartans get up to speed a little sooner than usual.

"We've been able to go outside a lot more," he said. "When you have the cinder (track), you have to wait till it dries out."

Home sweet home II: Another school happy about its new facility is East Chicago Central. The Cardinals haven't been able to run home meets in the past because they don't have a track at the school, but that's scheduled to change this year.

"We're hoping everything comes together," coach Maurice Phillips said during the preseason.

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