Norwood dominates Class Small decathlon
Already considered one of the top overall athletes in the Chattanooga area, Brainerd senior Joseph Norwood put an exclamation on that claim by winning the Class Small decathlon state championship Friday afternoon at Austin Peay University.
Norwood, a
Best of Preps all-star in both basketball and football, won four events and finished in the top three in three others to dominate the two-day competition with
6,066 total points. That was 199 points ahead of second-place Julian Lane of West Greene.
“This was by far the hardest thing in any sport that I’ve ever done,” said Norwood, who won the state title in the long jump last year and has signed to play football at Middle Tennessee State University. “It’s such a competitive field and everybody has their strengths and weaknesses, so you can’t get too high or low after an event. It’s all about the mindset and the heart, how bad you want it.”
Norwood won the 100- and 400-meter dashes and the triple jump Thursday to take command early, then followed that by winning the long jump early Friday. He was second in the high jump and third in both the pole vault and 1500 run.
“He dominated,” Brained coach Tyrus Ward said. “His mentality this week was as good as I’ve seen, in terms of being ready. I knew he had the ability to compete with the best, but what put him over the top was his mindset and determination.
“On the way up Thursday he said, ‘Coach, I’m not going to let anybody beat me.’ It’s a tough two days, but he proved what type special athlete and competitor he is.”
Walker Valley senior Zeke Westfield finished third in the Class Large decathlon with a school-record 6,313 points. Brentwood’s Jett Kinder won the title with 6,557 points, while Cleveland’s Eric Parker finished fifth overall.
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.
“This was by far the hardest thing in any sport that I’ve ever done. It’s such a competitive field and everybody has their strengths and weaknesses, so you can’t get too high or low after an event.” – JOSEPH NORWOOD