Track and field: Cornwall's Jiles Addison among top sprinters in state

There were times during the early stages of the COVID pandemic when Jiles Addison wondered if running track was the right thing for him.

Meets were getting canceled and the Cornwall standout had no avenue to race, no times to show college scouts.

“I just started to give up hope,’’ he said. “I was praying to God and asking Him, ‘Is this the right thing for me to do?’ He told me just stick with it. Just be patient. Trust the process.’’

The lockdowns eventually ended, students returned to in-school learning and mask mandates were eased, a blessing especially for athletes.

Last June, Addison finally cracked 11 seconds in the 100 meters in the New York State Showcase, a substitution event for the canceled state high school championships. He carried that momentum into his senior season, qualifying for indoor states at 55 meters and achieving the No. 2 state ranking in the 100 at 10.61 seconds three weeks ago; he is ranked No. 8 at 200 meters at 21.94.

“It's been a very long season, but I'm glad that it's slowly getting back to normal,’’ Addison said at last week’s OCIAA championships, where he won the 100 (10.83) and 200 (22.20). On Thursday, he competes in the Section 9 Class A/B meet at Goshen High School. “I've been working hard, putting in the work and it’s slowly starting to show.

“COVID kind of made me forget what a full season was like,’’ he added. “So slowly getting back to having meets, not wearing a mask and all that just feels good. … I'm just glad that things are getting back to normal and I get to live a somewhat normal life.’’

Addison is in the midst of a five-week closing stretch to his scholastic career. Still ahead are next week’s state qualifiers, followed by the state meet and outdoor nationals.

“This year I've gotten the opportunity to run against the best in the nation and it's really tested how far I could push my limits,’’ Addison said.

Improved starts out of the blocks have certainly helped, and he wants to continue to maintain his speed and keep his head up for optimum body posture.

“My goal is to run at least 10.4 (seconds), maybe 10.3 … we’ll see what happens. My goal is to become a state champion and go to Nationals again.’’

Basketball was actually Addison’s first passion but it was his father, Michael, who convinced his son that running track might be the better path

“I didn’t really take track that seriously,’’ Addison admits. “I would always just push it to the side and do what I wanted to do. But I was talking to my dad and he was like, 'You really have a chance to be something if you put your mind to it', and I trusted his words. I started to go into the gym, eat healthy and do all those things.’’

Another thing Jiles committed to doing was learning the Fante dialect (or Mfantse), the language common to regions in Ghana from where his parents emigrated.

“My parents felt like it was important for me to learn that language (while I was) young so that I could speak to them fluently,’’ Addison said. “I feel like I always want to include my culture because a lot of people tend to forget where they come from. I always want to keep that in my heart.’’

Addison recently committed to running for Iona College in New Rochelle.

“I'm glad that I made the right decision,’’ he said. “Personally, I felt like (Iona) had a really great support system. The coaching staff was really great. The teammates were very welcoming. I thought like it was home for me. I hope that I can continue to grow as an athlete and as a student.’’

kmcmillan@th-record.com

Twitter: @KenMcMillanTHR

This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Cornwall senior Jiles Addison among New York state top sprinters