By Becca Royer
Staff Writer
Get out of school early, head to Mount Tabor High School for a track meet, compete in multiple events, then finally get home at about 10 p.m. to start homework and eat dinner.
This is the life of Terry Hines.
Hines, a senior, plays football, competes in sprints, relays and jumps for Reynolds High School’s track and field team, and next year will be a part of the track program at the University of Chicago.
“I am excited to run at the University of Chicago. I feel really lucky to be offered the opportunity to attend a top-five school and still get to continue my track and field career,” Hines said. “I get the best of both worlds, as Hannah Montana would say, and I can’t ask for much more than that.”
Hines runs in the 100 meter, the 200, the 4×200 relay, the 4×100 and competes in both the long and triple jumps for the Demons. He is not sure what events he will be participating in on the collegiate level.
“The coach and I have discussed it some, but both agreed to just let it play itself out my freshman year,” Hines said.
Hines began his track career in seventh grade at Hanes Middle School; however, he discovered his speed years before.
“In elementary school, I’d usually win schoolyard races, and games like tag and cops and robbers were always fun for me,” Hines said “I wanted to apply that to a sport, and track was an easy decision for that.”
It is not only his skill that sets him apart on the track team, but his charisma as well.
“Terry Hines is the most based person I know and it is really rare to come across someone like him and create such a lasting friendship as he and I have done over the past two years,” sophomore teammate Arjun Patel said. “Apart from being a great leader on and off the track, Terry is also a master chef. His ability to season soup is phenomenal. But when things get serious, he knows how to get the team under control and help everyone succeed and have fun at the same time.”
Hines has earned respect from teammates and coaches alike.
“Terry is a second-year captain on the track team and I can always count on him to get down to the track and get right to work,” coach Ryan Solomon said. “He is someone who doesn’t like to walk away from a practice and feel like his time was wasted.”
Reynolds will be losing a huge part of the track team when Hines graduates. The Demons will miss him, but his future it shines bright.
“I could really see Terry becoming a decathlete at the college level if he decided to pursue it,” Solomon said. “I think he will excel at the collegiate level.”