Long gone in 4.27 seconds

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August 1, 2009

By DICK GOSS Dgoss@scn1.com

JOLIET -- Somehow, you had a feeling it would come down to this.

Defending champion Dondre Adams of Plainfield South High School against a most worthy challenger, Romeoville's Antoine Curry.

The 40 to end all 40s did not disappoint Friday night in the championship race of the 13th annual Football's Fastest Man Contest, presented by Graf Speed Enhancement and EDGYTIM's Illinois Prep Spotlight at the JT West track.

Before Friday, former Providence Catholic running back Jordan Farrell, now at Yale, was the meet record holder with a time of 4.34 seconds. But could that mark stand up to what Adams and Curry had to offer?

Not hardly.

Adams, the champion of the quarterback/running back division, actually broke Farrell's record first in the semifinals when he ran a 4.30 against the 4.60 of Aaron Fowler, who graduated from Romeoville in the spring and was the champion of the defensive line/offensive line division.

Curry, who won the wide receiver/defensive back category, ran a 4.47 in his semifinal against the 4.68 of Joliet Catholic Academy's Austin Abel, the winner of the linebacker/fullback/tight end division.

Fowler's 4.53 edged Abel's 4.57 in the third-place race, and -- drum roll, please -- the time had arrived for the showdown.

Whew. It was a blur.

Adams got his typically strong start and led all the way, but Curry, who along with Fowler led Romeoville to the team title, was not about to allow his friendly adversary to breeze.

Curry turned on the jets and was within a lean of catching Adams at the finish line. But Adams held on, with a record 4.27 to Curry's 4.30, which matched Adams' semifinal time.

"It was a challenge, that's for sure," Adams said. "I knew it would be. There was good competition out here. He (Curry) got me right at the end and beat me by a hair in conference track."

"Yeah, I thought I had him at the end today, and I did beat him in conference," Curry said. "I don't know, it didn't seem like I was running my absolute best. I got off to a bad start and I tried to lean to the line, but I guess he just beat me."

Adams, a natural sprinter who is entering his junior year at Plainfield South, said he enjoyed his second visit to the Fastest Man.

"Last year, I just came out to see what it was like, to see what the competition was like," he said. "I had nothing to lose.

"This year, everybody was looking at me. I just told myself I couldn't get nervous, that I just had to run."

Adams said he anticipates playing running back, safety and returning kicks this football season. He was on the varsity as a sophomore but missed much of the season because of an injury suffered in two-a-days.

"I've been doing a lot of hill training this summer, and I can see a difference from that," he said. "Football is my first love, and I want to be ready for this season."

Adams won the quarterback/running back division with a time of 4.36. Ivan Tamba of Wheaton North was second, Korey Rodgers, a JT incoming freshman, was third and Bolingbrook's Jamel Martin fourth.

Curry prevailed in the wide receiver/defensive back division with a 4.38, beating Dylan McElveen of Crete-Monee. Providence's Pete Houlihan beat JT's Jonathan Smith in a thriller of a third-place race with respective times of 4.39 and 4.40.

"This (Fastest Man) is better than I thought it would be," Curry said. "There's a lot of competition."

A good chunk of that competition came from his Romeoville teammates. Yet he claims, "I'm the fastest on our football team," and he backed that up with his performance Friday.

Abel, a junior linebacker at JCA, ran a 4.39 to beat Mark Stenberg of Lockport for the linebacker/fullback/tight end title. JT's Mike Dziadyk was third.

"Last year I was fourth at my position, so this was an improvement," Abel said. "I enjoy this. It's not too big of a thing, but it is fun. I enjoy running. I've been working at Tim's (Graf's Speed Enhancement) every week."

Fowler ran his fastest 40 of the night, a 4.49, in his first race. In the finals of the defensive line/offensive line division, he ran 4.60 in holding off the challenge of runnerup Scott Hammond, an incoming Lincoln-Way East freshman.

Steve Laski of Providence, the most valuable lifter a week ago in the annual Rudy's Gym High School Football Powerlifting Championships, was third and Stathi Giafis of Lemont was fourth.

Fowler said he will attend Joliet Junior College for one semester, then transfer to University of St. Francis, where he will run track.

"I love running and competing," he said. "If I was sitting home, I would feel worthless. I've got to be out competing."

In that vein, he participated in football, track and wrestling in high school. "I did some speed skating on the side, too, with Team Illini in Danville," he said.