Editor’s note: This is a regular feature profiling senior athletes at Bryant High School.
NAME: Jake Clark
DATE OF BIRTH: Oct. 28, 1991
PARENTS: Noel and Jackie Clark
SIBLINGS: A brother and a sister, Josh and Lissy. My brother’s 31 and my sister’s 30.
FAVORITE SUBJECT IN SCHOOL: Science
FAVORITE SPARE TIME ACTIVITY: Hang out with friends and play other sports.
FAVORITE FOOD: Mexican.
FAVORITE MUSIC ARTIST OR GROUP: Casting Crowns[more]
FAVORITE MOVIE: Never Back Down or 300
FAVORITE TV SHOW: ESPN
WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE TOY AS A KID? Hot Wheels cars.
WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS AFTER HIGH SCHOOL? Go to Henderson State to run cross country and track. I’ll probably double major in physical education and religious studies.
OTHER THAN YOUR PARENTS, WHO’S HAD THE BIGGEST INFLUENCE ON YOUR LIFE? HOW? Probably my brother and Coach (Steve) Oury. My brother, because he’s probably the biggest Christian influence on my life and Coach Oury, because he’s helped me build on my running skills.
EVENTS: The mile and the 4×800, mostly, and the two-mile sometimes.
WHAT APPROACH DO YOU TAKE TO YOUR EVENTS? In the 800, just try to get on the first lap pretty hard and try to maintain on the second lap. In the mile, just try to keep a solid pace every lap then kick it in on the last lap. The two mile is pretty much the same thing, just keep a consistent pace and kick it in on the last lap.
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE SEASON SO FAR? So far, it’s been good. We’ve had our ups and downs but, so far, it’s been pretty good.
WHAT’S BEEN THE HIGHLIGHT TO THE SEASON SO FAR? Probably winning the Bryant Invitational for the first time in a while.
WHAT’S IT GOING TO TAKE FOR THE TEAM TO BE SUCCESSFUL THE REST OF THE SEASON? Just come together as a team and get as many points as we can in each event.
TALK ABOUT YOUR EVENT NOW; WHAT DO THINK IS YOUR BIGGEST ASSET? WHAT ARE YOU MOST CONFIDENT IN YOUR ABILITY TO DO? Just trying to remain healthy and maintain my physical stature, staying strong during my events.
WHAT DO YOU WORK HARDEST TO IMPROVE ON IN PRACTICE? Speed, mostly. Try to build my speed up a lot more.
WHEN YOU’RE THROUGH RUNNING TRACK AT BRYANT HIGH SCHOOL, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’LL LOOK BACK AND REMEMBER MOST FONDLY ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE? Just the highlights of winning races, just the team chemistry that we’ve had, just the team coming together as a family pretty much.
