Senior sets national hurdles record on 18th birthday

	No photo finish finish was necessary last Saturday as Johnny Dutch ran the 55 meter hurdles in a national indoor-record 7.07 seconds. Ben Hovis/NCRunners.com

Each week SI.com will select the athlete who displays excellence on and off the field as the Primetime Performer.

Johnny Dutch, 6-foot-1, 160, Sr., Hurdles, Clayton, N.C.

Ready to run and itching to win, Johnny Dutch sprinted out of the blocks at the Eastern High School Challenge indoor track meet at the University of North Carolina last Saturday and stepped right into the record books.

Having turned 18-years-old earlier in the day, Dutch, who will run track at the University of South Carolina next year, blew away the competition as he ran a national indoor-record 7.07 seconds in the finals. The previous record was 7.08, set in 1995 by Deworski Odom of Philadelphia's Overbrook.

"I had a lot of adrenaline and anticipation," says Dutch. "I was just ready and excited and didn't care if I had competition. I'd been sitting around [at home] and hadn't had a meet in three weeks."

Dutch's coach, Bennett Jones, says he didn't run a clean race and Dutch admits to seeing a flaw on tape afterward. "My lead arm would wrap around my body instead of going up and down," he said.

Dutch's run at the record almost did not happen as he was nearly late for his qualifying heat in the 55-meter high hurdles. "[I had] to chase him off the warm up track," Jones says. "I came and grabbed him. He jumped in the blocks and ran." Despite lacking his usual preparation, he was clocked in a swift 7.23 seconds.

Dutch stands at the top of his specialty. The 6-foot-1, 160-pound senior has won seven state hurdles titles both indoor and outdoor track. He also holds state records in the 55-, 110- and 300-meter hurdles. In addition, he is the defending Nike Outdoor Nationals 110-meter high hurdles champion.

"He's the perfect combination of speed and technique," Jones says. "He is a great 400-meter runner. When he runs the 300 [hurdles], he takes that endurance and just glides. He'd probably be a great decathlete."

Dutch gives just as much to his teammates as he does in his solo sprints. Jones says he will never forget the day last spring when Dutch had to arrive late for an invitational because he had to take the SAT test. Only three relays were left, but Dutch insisted on running the 400-meter anchor on each one. The Comets took a pair of firsts and a second place finish.

"[His effort] just blew my mind," Jones says. "Everybody there was in awe that he could do it and that he would do it. He's such a good kid and team-oriented guy. His teammates love him."

Dutch paid a heavy price, though, because he vomited after the final race. "That was the most sick I felt in a long time," Dutch says. "I wanted to lie down and just pass out. I'm all about team and they depend on me a lot."

A student of the hurdles, the Clayton star can attribute at least some of his success to his sister, Ashley, who is six years older and won a couple of state hurdles championships. He used to tag along to her meets and practices and has just followed in her footsteps.

Now, Dutch trains about three hours a day. He doesn't feel his slender body is ready yet for much weight lifting, so he gets his strength from doing 1,000 crunches and 400 pushups every other day as well as studying a DVD of former hurdles great Renaldo Nehemiah.

What can he do for an encore? He believes that 7-flat in the 55 "is possible if I work more on my lead arm. I need more of an up-and-down motion rather than having it go around my hip."

As for the 110 hurdles, in which the national record is 13.2 seconds?

"My coach has this ridiculous [goal] of 12:99," says Dutch. "I'd have to be really dedicated."