Mercedes Mattix talks about track and field like she has been competing for years.
Mattix”s matter-of-fact approach to her success stems from the fact the New Hope High School loves competition. Her desire to reach her best explains why hard work has been the foundation of a successful season.
Today, Mattix hopes to put an exclamation point on her efforts when she and her New Hope High teammates compete in the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 5A State meet at Pearl High School. The Class 1A and Class 3A meets also are scheduled for today. The Class 2A, 4A, and 6A meets are scheduled for Saturday, also at Pearl High.
“My running form has improved and I have learned how to come out of the blocks, so my start is faster,” said Mattix, who has been competing in track and field since she was in the seventh grade. “I made my goal to make it to state (at the beginning of the season), and I made it.”
Mattix already ranks with the state”s best in her classification, and coach Justin Putnam said Mattix has the potential to make strides to become one of the state”s best.
Mattix is coming off second-place finishes in the 100 and 200 meters (11.98, 25.61 seconds) last week at the Class 5A North State meet at Oxford High. She also teamed with Lashya Davis, Shanice Nottage, and Chelsea Pslams to finish fourth in the 4×100 relay (51.54).
At the Class 5A, Region 1 meet at Oxford High, Mattix paced New Hope with a second-place finish in the 100 (12.63). She took third in the 200 (25.87) and combined with Davis, Nottage, and Psalms to win the 4×100 relay (51.50).
“She is one of the hardest working girls I have,” Putnam said. “I have several hard-working girls, but for her age you don”t find lot of freshmen who dedicate that much time and energy to (track and field). She sees the potential in what she can do with that sports, which is why she has dedicated a lot of her time to track and field.”
Mattix credits her mother, Vanita, who also competed in the sprints at New Hope High, for helping her do so well. She said she wants to run at least a 12 flat in the 100 and a 25 flat in the 200 today.
Those times appear to be reachable for an athlete who first got involved in track and field after receiving some encouragement from Adrienne Robinson, a former New Hope High student, who attended her church. Mattix said the discussion she had with Robinson made it easier for her to go out for track and field, but that she probably would have done it anyway.
The fit was perfect from the start. Mattix said her desire to win has fueled her success, which helped her compete on the varsity level as an eighth-grader.
A year later, Mattix is burning up the track and laying a foundation for faster and faster times.
“I work hard at it and I want to go far in track,” Mattix said. “I want to run in college. It is my favorite sport and I want to go far in it and try to improve my times.”
Mattix also credits her trainer for helping her improve her starts out of the block. She said she worked a month and a half before the season started in an attempt the perfect the all-important start that is designed to give her the push she needs to explode.
Putnam also credits Vanita Mattix for being a great supporter of the school”s track and field programs. He said she has helped push Mercedes in the right direction, and he feels she has a lot of room to mature as an elite competitor.
“Her mother supports her in any way she can and she takes that and runs with it, no pun intended,” Putnam said. “She has a tremendous amount of talent.”
Mattix is focused on today”s events, but she acknowledges she has thought about the future and even faster times. Those times are bound to come given Mattix”s willingness to work hard in practice and to train in the offseason.
Today, she will take another step toward those times.
“I want to get a lot faster,” Mattix said. “By the time I get out of high school I want to be running an 11.15. If I work hard every day I think I could actually do it.”
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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