McCallie's Iman Isang leans across the finish line to win the Varsity Boys 110 Meter Hurdle event with a time of 15:17 during the Chattanooga OPTIMIST Southeastern Track & Field Invitational at Walker Valley High School.Although he isn't a distance runner, few athletes cover more ground during any track competition than Iman Isang.
Because the McCallie senior also is one of the area's most versatile athletes, he is continually hurrying from one event to the next, often competing in one before he has finished another.
During one 15-minute span at last week's Optimist Meet at Walker Valley, Isang left the jumping pit, where he was competing in the triple jump, to run the 110-meter hurdles, then the first leg of the 4x100 relay, before returning for his final turn in the triple jump. After a short rest, he finished his night's work in the 300-meter hurdles, and he scored well enough in each event to help the Blue Tornado pull away for the Optimist team title.
"The thing that really separates him from a lot of athletes is just how versatile he is," McCallie coach Mike Wood said. "He could run any of the individual sprint events (100, 200, 400) or either of the sprint relays as well as any jumping event and both hurdle events and score really well in all of those.
"The problem for us at the state level is that any one athlete can only compete in four events in a day, so we'll just have to figure out which four we think he can help us the most by then."
Whichever four events Isang settles on for the Spring Fling, he likely also will compete in the decathlon on the Monday before Friday's state meet. This weekend he is scheduled to compete in four events -- both hurdles events and the two sprint relays -- at the Vol Classic at the University of Tennessee, where more than 80 teams are expected.
Isang's parents, who came to Atlanta from Nigeria several months before their second son was born, gave him the name Imeobong, which means "God's patience." However, because most of his classmates and other teachers struggled to pronounce his name, one elementary school teacher nicknamed him Iman (pronounced E-mahn). Aside from his family, the name has stuck.
"I'm not sure my family liked me going by a nickname, but it's easier for everyone else," Iman said. "This is my last year here and I have set pretty clear goals for myself. I want to win the state and I want to set the school record in the 110 hurdles. I'd like to be able to leave knowing my name will be remembered here."
While the 5-foot-10, 165-pounder has the natural build and stride of a sprinter, his middle school coaches at Oak Ridge noticed he also had the flexibility for the hurdles. Courage is another necessary ingredient to run any hurdles event, since the slightest mistimed step can lead to a painful wipeout on the track.
Although he did fall a few times, Iman continued to improve, and when the family moved to Chattanooga two years ago, his talent was immediately noticed by Wood and the other Blue Tornado coaches.
Iman admitted that the adjustment after changing schools just before his junior year was tough, yet he finished second in the 110 hurdles at last year's state meet. He has improved his time in every event this year, closing in on the school record in the 110.
"He has a natural combination of speed, quickness and coordination, but he also has a great attitude and work ethic," Wood said. "When you're naturally fast and athletic, and you show up to work every day, you can become really good.
"Running the hurdles is pretty intimidating, but he has a complete lack of fear. His stride allows him to just step over the hurdle and continue to pick up speed. Iman can run at the [NCAA] Division I level."