Oswego sophomore Dontrell Young is the Record Newspapers boys track Athlete of the Year

Dontrell Young’s sophomore season on the track got off to a delayed start.

It did not prevent a sensational finish.

The Oswego sprinter missed the entire indoor season with a tore meniscus in his knee, an injury suffered in the second week of football season.

Once Young returned, there was no stopping him. He medaled in the 100, 200 and 400-meter dashes at the Class 3A state track and field meet in May in Charleston.

He is the Record Newspapers boys track and field Athlete of the Year.

“It’s really not that hard to do,” Young said. “You have to put in the work, do a lot of training. I did a lot of training this year. I was well conditioned. The only thing I had to worry about was not overworking my knee. Once I got the knee OK it was fine.”

Young, fifth in the state 400 as a freshman, took eighth this time, in 50.55 seconds. He followed that up by finishing fourth in the 100 in 10.57.

He saved the best for last, running a 21.22 for second place in the 200. Young only finished behind New Trier’s William Landwer, who ran a 20.87 to break the state record.

“That was probably my highlight for the week, was my 200,” Young said. “I feel like I did the best, and had the highest place.”

“He was a little disappointed with a couple of the races, he was having a little hamstring tightening up,” Oswego coach Jeff Edwards said. “Stretched him out, did some things, came back and got second in the 200. For him to bounce back after the 400 was pretty exciting.”

It provided a fitting microcosm to Young’s season of overcoming adversity.

When Young first hurt himself in football he didn’t think it was that bad. The pain persisted and three weeks later he went to the doctor and the meniscus tear diagnosed.

He had surgery in October, then began the process of working his legs back. He started running on the track in February, but did not compete indoors.

“His dad and I had talked, and decided to hold him out all of indoors to rehab and get stronger, to make sure his legs were balanced,” Edwards said.

“He worked hard in the offseason trying to get himself back to going full speed. Did some acceleration, not too much running curves. It took him a while to bounce back but obviously when he came back he came back ready to roll.”

Young was indeed ready, debuting outdoors by running a 48.92 400 and 21.94 200 at the Minooka Invitational April 19.

“I was just happy that I was still where I left off,” Young said.

Young eventually swept conference titles in the 200 and 400 and sectional championships in all three sprints, setting school records in each of the three along the way.

“He’s probably one of the most decorated athletes we’ve ever had,” Edwards said.

Young was first introduced to running as a young kid, the fastest on his football team, and his parents decided to put him in track.

He joined the Aurora Flyers club run by his great-uncle, Tom Boatright. Young took third in the 800 at the AAU Junior Olympics in Houston as a sixth-grader.

“I like track because it’s basically an individual sport,” Young said. “If you mess up, it’s all on you. You have to go back to training and fix what you messed up.”

Edwards, who knew about the talented athlete coming up through junior high, never has to worry about whether Young will put in the work.

“Sometimes elite athletes are hard to work with, but I feel like we have a good relationship. He is a hard worker, he does all the right things,” Edwards said. “Some sprinters show up ready to go and just run, but he works out, he does all the little things and that is why he is so good. A great athlete to work with, humble, a good student as well. An all-around great kid.”

Oswego looks set up for future success at state. Edwards noted that all three of their state qualifiers this year – Young, hurdler Jezhian Sprinkle and 800 qualifier Bo Breed – were sophomores.

“We’re trying to get Dontrell into the position that he can win the triple crown, all three sprint titles, at state,” Edwards said. “Dabbled with it this year, it was cool that he was able to make the finals in all three but realistically he was probably not having it this year.

“We’re very excited about the future. Dontrell is maybe a once in a lifetime, one in a career type kid as a coach.”