Reynolds a good fit

Brad Reynolds has always been a student first and an athlete second.

It’s the various other activities in the Post Falls High senior’s life – attaining Eagle rank in Boy Scouts, the highest possible ranking, and being one of his school’s top actors in drama, for example – that more truly define who he is than sports. And that’s fine with him.

To call Reynolds an athlete might even be a stretch. The image that is cast with the word is one who is versatile and can play more than one sport, and play them well.

Reynolds has been a one-sport participant. He tried T-Ball and soccer like most of his peers, but those didn’t stick.

“I wasn’t really into sports when I was little,” Reynolds said. “I was more into reading.”

As for football and basketball, the 6-foot, 155-pound Reynolds will tell you he wasn’t built for those sports. Additionally, he wasn’t gifted with the best hand-eye coordination.

In the eighth grade, Reynolds found the sport that would become his athletic identity in high school – track – or, more accurately, a friend asked him to try track with him.

Even the term “track” is a bit vague considering there are 18 events. He gravitated to the hurdles.

“I’ve always liked running,” Reynolds said. “My grandma said I always ran everywhere when I was little.”

For not having any athletic base, it’s impressive that the technique required for the hurdles came to him rather naturally.

Reynolds didn’t qualify for state as a freshman, but he earned a varsity letter.

He qualified for state as a sophomore, taking fifth in the 300-meter intermediates. Last year, he was second in the 300 and third in the 110 highs.

Reynolds would have been the highest-returning qualifier in the 300 and heavily favored to capture a state championship this year and would have challenged for a title in 110. But Post Falls moved up from 4A to 5A this year.

Still, Reynolds should contend for state titles in both events at state next month. Going into the week he had the best time in the state in the 300 (39.4, a career personal best) and fourth-best time in the 110 (15.0) – .62 behind the state leader. His career best, 14.9, came last year in the prelims at state.

Put Reynolds in a lineup of other athletes and one wouldn’t pick him out as a standout hurdler.

“If you just looked at him you would not say he’s one of the best in the state,” Post Falls coach Wade Quesnell said. “We don’t know what makes him go.”

Something struck Quesnell about Reynolds back when he was a freshman.

“Even then he was powerful over the hurdles,” Quesnell said. “He was able to three-step over the (110) hurdles as a freshman. For most that’s quite an accomplishment as a freshman.”

Of the two races, the 300 has proven to be his best.

“I get real nervous every time I race, but I know that if I mess up I’ve got more time to make up for a mistake in the 300s than I do in the 110s,” Reynolds said.

Reynolds has run consistently in the sub-40 range the past two weeks. He thinks he has the capability of running a sub-39 and threatening the school record.

Lowering his times and breaking school records were his primary goals coming into this season. But with his times among the best in the state, he now wants to claim a state title.

Reynolds can take another step toward the school records first, though, at the Inland Empire League meet Friday at Lake City. If he has just an average meet he could break the league records (15.12 in the 110 and 40.0 in the 300).

“I don’t know what makes him good,” Quesnell said when asked to identify Reynolds’ strengths. “He’s not the classic (tall, long-striding) hurdler that we’ve had in the last decade. But mentally he’s very tough and he’s been very durable physically. I can’t remember him missing a meet or practice because of an injury.

“He’s as humble a kid as I’ve coached. He’s well-grounded.”