Junior realizes potential on track
By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
On his birthday Saturday, Zaid Smart gave the Princeton High School another gift.
The Little Tigers junior ran down the Westfield anchor to win the 4×1600 relay at the Colts Neck Relays. The Little Tigers’ Aaron Thomas, Sean Pradhan, Bruce Robertson and Smart ran 18:55.23, less than a second better than Westfield, and was the lone area win at the competitive relays.
”It felt pretty good,” said Smart, who anchored in a personal-record 4:40. “Even starting out, I didn’t know if I was going to catch him. As I got closer to him, I thought it was worth going for it.”
Smart has proven to be quite a runner since deciding it was worth going for it in the fall.
”Zaid has become such a huge part of what we’re doing and such an important runner for us since the middle of cross country season,” said PHS head coach John Woodside. “He started off cross country season as a JV runner and became our No. 2 or No. 3. He’s been instrumental in a lot of things.
”He has learned so much. I’ve never seen anyone just come out and figure out things so quickly. In the winter time, he was very new to track running. We didn’t put any pressure on him. By the end of the season, his progression in the two-mile was like something I’ve never seen.”
Smart improved from 10:27 in the two-mile to 9:37 in a matter of four meets to qualify for the Meet of Champions. He has continued to improve rapidly through the winter and now comes into the spring with high expectations.
”In cross country, I didn’t expect to do well,” Smart recalled. “Every race was a surprise when I did well. Winter track, I was unsure of myself. It was track running for the first time. Now spring, I know what I can do. I know I can go faster. I came in with this mentality, I don’t want to lose, I want to do better. I want to push myself to the edge of what I’m capable of. I have a lot more determination this year.”
Smart has become more dedicated to the sport as he has experienced more success. He gave up swimming in the winter to run track, and is now a big part of a Little Tigers team that is poised to reach new heights.
Last Tuesday, PHS earned an historic sweep when it topped Trenton High and West Windsor-Plainsboro North. Woodside believes that the Little Tigers haven’t beaten Trenton in more than 20 years, and the Knights hadn’t lost a dual meet to anyone in three years.
”It was amazing to finally beat them,” Smart said. “To beat them is a great blessing. This year, it’s a collection of some of the best guys Princeton has had in years. We have the potential to do it and thank God we went out and did it. I’m hoping that success, overcoming such a great hurdle, will spur us on to try to beat other people.
”We’re trying not to be too proud. At the same time, we’re trying to use all these victories to tell ourselves we’re capable of going on to great things. We’re capable of winning Mercer Counties and sectionals and sending a lot of guys to states and maybe nationals.”
Smart wouldn’t have been considered a part of that equation last year, but his mentality has changed tremendously in the past five months.
”At the beginning of cross country, I started to break out of my role as an average guy,” Smart said. “I don’t know what spurred me. I wanted to go faster and faster. This year, I have a lot more drive, a lot more dedication. I just want to succeed more.
”I started in the JV. We had an intrasquad meet, and that’s where I got a top 7 placement. I felt I could be something on the team. Next time we ran, I tried to stay with guys faster than me.”
Now it is fast guys that are trying to stay with Smart as he continues to progress as a runner, and more so as a competitor.
”He’s expected to do things and score points for us,” Woodside said. “He has learned how to win races for us, how to run that last 10 percent of the race and finish someone off. That’s big.”
Smart showed that drive in the 6,400-meter relay. He also ran in the 3,200-meter relay that was won by Union with West Windsor-Plainsboro second and WW-P North third. PHS was also third in the 1,600 relay and fourth in the intermediate hurdles, while WW-P South tied for fourth in the high jump.
On the girls’ side, WW-P North was third in shuttle hurdles, WW-P South was fourth in the 800-meter relay, fifth in the distance medley and sixth in the sprint medley and discus. The day — fittingly on his birthday — belonged to Smart.
”That was a really great start,” he s aid. “We knew going into this meet that there were supposed to be a lot of good teams there. We wanted to get out there and show that Princeton is here and will be fighting hard.”
Zaid Smart is hoping there will be other days that feel as good as his birthday, and with continued hard work, he knows he can make them happen.
”It’s been pretty dramatic,” he said. “I think it was always within me. In previous years, I never realized my potential. I never went for it. Now I am.”