Charleston – Princeton’s Dom Collins proved he was the fastest football player in West Virginia en route to a Kennedy Award this past season.
But was he really the fastest in the state?
Yes, and he proved as much Saturday afternoon.
Collins bested the Class AAA field, claiming the 100-meter dash state championship at Laidley Field in Charleston.
The time, 10.93 seconds, was the best amongst all 100-meter dash participants Saturday, solidifying Collins’ status. He did it in front of a packed infield that lined the sides of the field to witness the race.
“They call me the fastest man in West Virginia so the fastest man in West Virginia can’t lose,” Collins laughed. “It holds a little a lot of pressure but I stepped up to the occasion and finished out strong.”
Collins has held the best 100-meter time in the state for a good chunk of the season, recording a personal record of 10.71 earlier in the year. He made it look easy again in the final 100-meter race of his career and was the only runner the register a sub-11-second time across all classes.
“It feels really good especially being one of the first in Princeton to be a state winner,” Collins said. “But coming into track I knew I’d be fast but I didn’t know I’d be this fast. Actually my first race I knew track speed and football speed were two different things. And I’ve just been training since. I’ve had Conlan (Brooks) and Christian (Stewart) in my region. All of them pushed me all the way up until this point. Then having Keyshawn (Robinson), a fellow WVU teammate right beside me, I knew he was fast and I knew how to get on it a little more, but it just feels amazing.”
Collins finished above 11 seconds in Friday’s prelims but still registered the best time. It wasn’t lost on him that he failed to break into 10 seconds, something he rectified in the title heat.
“I think I was a little bit above everybody,” Collins said. “Just coming out of the blocks at a way better start and towards the finish. I kind of let up a little bit just because I got tired but I feel like it was better than yesterday.”
While track isn’t Collins’ first love, he’s happy to leave Princeton a state champion after helping the football program reach new heights this past season, finishing as the Class AAA state runner-up.
“It feels great, especially since I couldn’t pull it away in football,” Collins said. “But just being able to look back into this when I’m older and know that I was a state champion at one point, it feels great.”
