WS Chronicle

The Lights Out Track Club has established themselves as one of the premier youth track clubs in the city. At the AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) Club National Championships in Orlando, Florida, Lights Out had 12 athletes medal and one athlete deliver a national championship.

Antwan Hughes, Lights Out head coach, was impressed with the crop of kids in the program this year. The dedication to training and attention to detail allowed his athletes to perform at a high level in Orlando, he said. 

“We have a pretty good group of kids this year,” said Hughes. “They put in a lot of hard work and have been grinding every day, so they seem to be very focused as they gear up for the Junior Olympics in Greensboro.

“This was my first time going to Club Nationals, so I didn’t know what the competition would be like. I was a little surprised by how well some of our kids performed and they went out and ran and performed like it was just an ordinary meet.”

Hughes said it seemed the bigger the meet, the better his kids performed. They had several new athletes running with the program for the first time, so the developmental meets earlier in the year really paid dividends, said Hughes.

“As the season got going and the meets got bigger, they seemed to be more focused and practiced a lot harder,” he continued. “They just came ready to run.”

Lights Out did leave Orlando with one national championship. Justin Myles, a rising junior, came away with the 100-meter dash title for his age group. Myles also finished fourth in the 200-meter dash as well. Hughes feels this win is the confidence booster Myles needed to close out his summer AAU season.

“That was a big win for him in the 100-meter dash,” Hughes said. “To be able to go to club nationals and win the 100-meter dash is a big win for him. He works really hard and he deserves it.”

Hughes is very confident in Myles’ talent. Hughes thinks by the time Myles’ career is over, he will be in the top five all-time in the state of North Carolina in the 100 and 200-meter dash.

Heading into the 100, Myles said he was nervous because of the level of talent that was there with him. He felt if he could stick to his plan of attack, he would finish well.

“I was behind in the beginning and I had to walk everybody down, which I knew I could do,” Myles said of his 100-meter dash race. “I was really nervous, because when I saw I was behind everybody, I didn’t know what was about to happen. I was just hoping not to finish last.”

When Myles was behind in the race, he said he just dug in and was able to pass every competitor in the race. He was elated at the victory. His goal moving forward is to break the 100- and 200-meter dash records at Parkland High School.

Based on their stellar performance in Orlando, Hughes expects more of the same this weekend in Greensboro for the AAU Junior Olympics on the campus of North Carolina A&T State University.

“We have several kids that have the opportunity to be All-American, so they just have to put their race together and run like it’s a regular track meet,” said Hughes. “They can’t get on the big stage and get tight; they just have to relax and do what they have been taught to do and everything should be good.”