Laray Smith the football player is one of the best running backs in New York City, a surefire Division I talent. Laray Smith the track sprinter was never as highly regarded – until now.
“I feel like people just look at me as a football player,” the Xaverian junior said.
He started running as a freshman in the outdoor season, but injuries and just needing a break from football kept him from running indoors his first two years. Smith felt like he had something to prove this time around and enjoyed a record-breaking indoor campaign.
He already earned the Xaverian school record in the 100 meters (10.28) outdoors as a sophomore and broke three more marks this winter. Smith owns the 55 record of 6.49 after running the race for the first time, the 200 with a time of 21.61 and the 300 (34.62). Smith is just a second off the 400 mark as well.
“He has an extra gear that he hits,” Clippers coach Brian McCartney said. “He is one of the fastest things I’ve ever seen run.”
Smith also put his name among the city and state’s best. He won both the 55 dash and the 300 at the CHSAA intersectional championship, was third at the state meet in the 300 and eighth in the 200 at the New Balance National Championships in a time of 34.48, good enough for second in the state this season. Smith hopes to run 21.2 in the 200 outdoors and 47.9 or lower in the 400. McCartney sees Smith as more of a long sprinter and expects him to run plenty of 400s this spring.
“I’m getting faster,” Smith said. “I’m getting my coordination better and everything.”
He is one of the premier running backs in the CHSFL and a first team All-City selection by The Post. Smith ran for 993 yards and 10 touchdowns while averaging over seven yards a carry this season. He led the Clippers to their second ‘AAA’ semifinal appearance in the last four years. The 6-foot-1, 175-pound Smith already has offers to play football at UConn and Syracuse and interest from West Virginia, Arizona State and Buffalo. He may have other options however.
“Track with his times he could go to any school that he wants right now,” McCartney said.
The Staten Island native is hoping to be more than just a football player at the next level and expects the interest from track programs to begin to increase because of his stellar indoor season. Smith’s hope is to be able to compete in both in college, but knows he might need to make a choice.
“Even though I have been playing football for like 10 years and I just started running track, track is a really fun sport,” he said. “That’s going to be a really hard choice for me.”
It isn’t one he is going to have to make for a while. For now he can enjoy both and the benefits of each.
“When I come back to football,” Smith said, “I’m going to have an advantage over everyone else with speed.”
Susan Wagner star battles injury during big season: Benjamin Ezike didn’t have high expectations heading into the New Balance Indoor Nationals on March 11 at the Armory. The Susan Wagner senior was the city’s best long jumper and triple jumper all season, claiming PSAL city titles in both. A nagging ankle injury however was still bothering him.
“Going in, I thought I was going to do horrible, but I did alright,” he said.
Ezike, who was third at the state meet in the long jump, finished fifth at nationals with a leap of 23-0.75, well off his season’s best of 23-07 at the PSAL Staten Island championships. The injury kept him from reaching his goal of 24 feet in the long jump and in the triple jump 48 feet. His season best was 47-1.
“I feel like outdoors it can really happen,” said Ezike, the primary rusher on the Falcons football team.
His achievements on the track have gotten the attention of colleges. Ezike has already taken a visit to UConn last month and plans on checking out LSU on March 23. Syracuse has also shown interest.
“I want to go to a place where I can get a good education and feel like I have the chance to one day make the Olympics,” Ezike said.
Bailey rebounds, shows promise with stat title: Taft coach Marella Richardson could sense the disappointment in Kimberly Bailey after being edged by Campus Magnet’s Monique Green by two hundredths of a second for the PSAL city championship in late February.
“I sat her down and talked to her about how she was feeling and I encouraged her to look at herself as a champion,” Marella said.
The talented junior became one at the New York State championships on March 3. This time it was her returning the favor. She edged Green (7.17) with a time of 7.15 to win the Federation crown. The mark was good enough for fifth in the state this season. Marella believed she can run 23.8 outdoors this spring.
“When she finished I was like, ‘You see all you need to do is go there and what?’ and she said, ‘Execute and have confidence,'” Richardon said.
Bailey wasn’t the only one bringing home a state crown. Cardozo’s Alexis Panisse won the 3000 in a time of 9.58.29 and Bishop Loughlin’s Adrienne Alexander was the shot put champ with a toss of 42-feet 8 inches. On the boys side Strymar Livington of Columbus was the 600 champ in 1:20.02.
Boys & Girls relays win national titles: The Kangaroos took home gold in the 4 x 800 and 4 x 400 relays at the New Balance Indoor Nationals at The Armory on March 11. The team of Richard Rose, Javaun Grant, Lashley Winter and Robert Rhodes reset the state record and won the 4 x 800 in time of 7:41.10, the best in the country this season. Rose ran a stellar 1:55 leadoff led. The squad of Grant, Rose, Rhodes and Joel Johnson placed first in the 4 x 400 with a mark of 3:16.78.