Be it track or football, the show is just beginning for Thomas Tyner

When Thomas Tyner exploded out of the blocks at the Aloha Relays on April 16, he wasn't expecting to run the fastest 100 meters in an Oregon high school track and field race. He had tightness in his hamstring earlier in the week and was just aiming for a good overall race.

But 10.43 seconds later, his name was in the record books. Tyner wasn't pushed, either, as the runnerup in the 100 was timed at 11.4 - some 10 meters behind.

Tyner's 10.43 erased the previous mark held by McKay of Salem's Ryan Bailey, who ran 10.48 in 2007.

"I was quite surprised and really wasn't expecting it," said Tyner, a sophomore at Aloha (Beaverton, Ore.), just west of Portland. "I had a little hamstring tightness, so I was just hoping to go under 11 seconds and win the race."



He was, however, expecting to break the state sprint record within the next six weeks. That was his preseason goal.

"My goal is to win the 100 for the next three years and for this year to get down to 10.3," said Tyner, also the first sophomore to be honored as Oregon's Large School Football Player of the Year after leading Aloha to the 6A state title.

Though Tyner was surprised by his 10.43, few others were. Tyner has already run 10.57 and 10.53 this spring and the Oregon prep season is less than four weeks old.

Before the start of his sophomore season, Tyner had run under 11 seconds 17 times. This year, he has run under 11 in all five races. Those feats are more impressive when considering the northwest's windy and wet weather.

The 6-0, 205-pound Tyner has big goals and many of them.

"I'd like to go under 21 for the 200 meters," said Tyner, who last lost at the state 6A meet to Barlow of Gresham's Arthur Delaney.



Delaney has wind-legal bests of 10.59 and 21.28. More importantly, he is back-to-back state champ in the 100 and has signed to run track at the University of Oregon.

"I want to beat Delaney," said Tyner, who ran 10.54 at the state meet as a freshman. "He's the only person to beat me. He also beat me in the 200, by a hair."

Tyner's best in the 200 is 21.63, also as a freshman.

Delaney's winning time at state was 10.42, but according to USTAF officials, measurable wind was more than the 2 meters per second (mps) for record purposes. Tyner's record-setting time was a legal 0.9 mps when he surpassed Bailey.

In addition to his goals of winning three state titles in the spring, Tyner wants to anchor Aloha's 4x100 relay team to a trio of titles as well. In 2011, they have the state's best time at 41.9.

"We've been working hard. We've been doing a lot of distance sprint work from 100 up to 600, then back down," said Tyner.



Continue reading{PAGEBREAK}He readily admits a lot of work is ahead of him if wants to get to his 10.3 (100) and under 21 (200) goals. He also wants to make the U.S. National Junior team and run in France in August.

"I've got to keep my form, and not get lazy with my upper body," said Tyner, who squats 475 pounds and regularly benches 295. "Coach (Bill Volk) is keeping us working hard. I need to build endurance and learn to finish races."

"Tyner's a very diligent and smart-working kid. He gives good verbal feedback as to how he's feeling and what's on his mind. Though he's shy and quiet, we communicate well," said Volk. "He's deep thinking, very reflective.

"He (Tyner) wants to work smarter, not harder. He wants to work more efficient. He has great turnover, great power, but needs more endurance. He'll work until he gets it. He comes from a solid family. He has good character skills and carries them over on and off the field. He's probably not considered the toughest kid on the team, but is certainly the most loyal."

Tyner said Volk is like a "second father" to him. "He's inspired me. He noticed me in eighth grade. He helps me do things right, makes me improve, pushes me."

Volk said caution is a major issue with Tyner.



"Because he's powerful and explosive. We need to be careful with young ligaments, tendons, joints. We need to bring him on gradually," said Volk. "He's exceeding some people's expectations, but has yet to peak."

Volk said that a teammate couldn't afford track shoes, so Tyner gave him a pair of his.

"Thomas has a heart of gold. Those shoes had been worn only in meets," said Volk. "The teammate might want to hang on to them ... he might want Thomas to sign them some day. Thomas is something special."

While he has lofty track goals, football might be his best sport. He is the only sophomore to be honored as Oregon's Large Schools Player of the Year. He lead Aloha to the state title last fall rushing for more than 1,800 yards, averaging 9.2 yards per carry and scoring 19 touchdowns.

His size and raw speed has D-1 coaches from coast to coast drooling. His 40-yard dash is 4.38 and he expects to improve on that. He also expects to grow to 6-2 and 225 pounds.

Did someone just say "bigger and faster?"



Tyner did.

"I have ability to run away from and run over people. Bigger and faster makes that happen more often.

"Other than knowing I will run track and play football in college, I haven't given college much of a thought," said Tyner, who carries a 3.0 GPA. "It's a long way away and I'm not satisfied. Got a lot of goals in the near future."

Among those are two more state titles in football.

"Though I'm very pleased, I still haven't gotten my goals so I'm not satisfied," Tyner said. "Key to my success is the quote I live by - ‘Never be satisfied.' Coach is always telling me to ‘Don't just finish it to finish it, finish it to get the best out of yourself.'"

Tyner's best football game came against state power Jesuit when he rushed for 291 yards and two touchdowns and caught an 80-yard scoring pass. He said he was surprised by the Player of Year honor. He thought Jesuit's Jordan Talley, who rushed for 2,856 yards and 36 scores, should have been honored. The 5-10, 185-pound Talley signed with Eastern Washington.



"I wasn't expecting the hype," said Tyner, who believes he will one day play in the NFL and hopes to run in the Olympics. "My goal is to do both."

Away from sports, Tyner says he enjoys playing the piano, mostly modern songs. Today, his favorite is "The Show Goes On" by Lupe Fiasco.

For Thomas Tyner, be it track or football, the show is just beginning.