Joel Smith, Mounds View Class of 2018
Personal Bests
110 High Hurdles - 14.98
300 Meter Hurdles - 37.81 (MN #9 All-Time)
400 Relay Split - 48.7
2017 MSHSL State Meet
300m Hurdles - 1st Place;
4x400m Relay - 4th Place
110m Hurdles - 12th Place
Can you tell me about your coaches?
Ross Fleming is the head coach and is inspirational to the entire team for many reasons in addition to the fact he has been at Mounds View for many years. Mike Goldman is the hurdles coach and used to be an assistant at the University of Iowa. Joel said that he had a lot of help from past athletes when he was a freshman.
Who else is in your family?
I have a twin brother Micah. I was born two minutes before him, but he looks older than me. He runs track and does the 4x400, 4x200, the open 400, and long jump. I also have three other brothers, including another set of twins who are 5 year old. My whole family is very supportive.
What have been some of the adversities you have faced, and how did you deal with them?
During my sophomore year in football, on the first play of the second game of the season, I broke my left wrist. Then in the fourth quarter, I broke my ankle. I had to put in a lot of extra work getting back into shape, but I had exercises from both my doctor and our school trainer
Who are your main competitors in the 300 Hurdles?
Tyler Sealock of Osseo and my teammate Josh Sampson.
Have you watched college or professional athletes?
Yes, I watch videos of them on Instagram.
What would you say to a younger you?
The biggest things are to stop procrastinating and read the Bible more.
How have you set goals in the past?
Last year I used a note book as a goal book. After every meet I would write down what my next hurdles or 400 split would be. For example, if I ran a 51-second 400, the next goal might be to run under 51.
How do you think the Mounds View Mustangs boys team will do this spring?
Last year, Mounds View finished 3rd in the State True Team Meet, won both section meets, and conference. We feel that we should be better because we compare so well to the 2007 team which was one of the best teams in our school's history. That was the year our 4x400 went 3:14, which is the state record.
Our hurdler group is a bunch of misfits. Coach Goldman has a lot of stories to tell about life and college.
What do you do besides play sports?
On Friday nights I'm a co-leader of HG, or House Group. It's a student led, and found Bible study that's more than just a Bible study. I also attend Substance Church of North Town in Spring Lake Park.
My GPA is a 3.466. When I'm not playing sports I do a multitude of things: I'm doing homework, preparing for HG, at Substance Church, lifting weights, spending time with family and friends, learning more about the Bible, on Snap chat or Instagram, or singing and/or playing guitar.
I'm in a number of other extracurricular activities in school. I am a part of Men's Chorus, a choir ensemble just for guys. I was also a part of Mustang Chorus my freshman year (which was the freshman choir) and Concert Choir my sophomore year. I'm also a co-leader of our school's FCA, or Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
Do you have any tips on how to run the 300 hurdles?
You want to start out similar to that of a 400 meter dash - aggressive but in control, not like an all out 100/200 meter sprint. I generally use between 15-17 steps between hurdles(the pros can go between 12 and 14). You must run through the hurdles and then convert to sprinting. It's a dance between those two. Rhythm is very important.
In the 300 you might try alternating lead legs because missteps are more common in that event. Also I use my left leg as the lead leg on the curve because it's just too cumbersome to attempt to swing the right leg all the way around at that time. On the straights I can use either leg. I mostly alternate legs in the 300 and try to go with the flow.
If a misstep happens I will have to jump earlier or later which cause me to lose time but that's when it's helpful to be able to use both legs.
What about the 110 hurdles?
In the 110s, I use 8 steps to the first hurdle. I have seen a long-legged high school runner use only 7 steps like the professionals, but that is rare. Running the high hurdles is similar to the 300s except you use only 3 steps between the hurdles. However, one should not attempt to "jump" over the hurdles. You must spend as little time as possible in the air.
I only use my right leg in the 110s. I will do that from the first meet as I have had that down for a long time. A freshman might alternate legs, but you won't want to do that forever. You want to keep your arms tight when going over the hurdles to help this out. Again you do not want to misstep or you will have to jump earlier or later and this causes one to lose time.
You always want to warm up by alternating both legs because you want to be ready to do it in an emergency. For both hurdles events: you want to have a nice straight lead leg, with your trail leg all parallel to the ground. Learn how to move comfortably and swiftly from going over the hurdle, and back into sprint form when back on the ground.
What are your college plans?
My favorite teammate Micah and I plan to attend Bethel University. Their coach Andrew Rock is great, and we have been there a lot and feel it's a good fit for us. We also train there during the off-season with former Mounds View coach Bob Stewart twice a week.
