Drake tumble continues to motivate Ham

SOLON - Connor Ham didn't choose the hurdles. The hurdles didn't choose him.

Instead, his middle-school coaches arranged the marriage.

'Honestly, I was kind of picked to do them,” said Ham, now a senior at Solon High School. 'The coaches said, ‘Hey, try it out.' I wasn't very good at it, but I kept working at it.”

It's been a glorious combination. Mostly.

Ham won the Class 3A state title in the 110-meter hugh hurdles as a sophomore, in 2013. After a nasty spill in the Drake Relays preliminaries last year, he came back and earned another state title, and added the 200-meter crown as the Spartans won the team championship.

The Drake tumble was Ham's first, in competition or in practice.

'No excuses,” he said. 'It was an accident, and it wasn't a good time for it.

'It builds character, and it humbles you. I wasn't upset at anyone. I just needed to be alone for a while after I got patched up.”

Solon boys' track coach Mark Sovers labeled Ham's Drake misfortune as a mixed blessing.

'I think it really set him up for a great state meet,” Sovers said. 'He used it as motivation for a successful ending to the season. He accepted it, then he decided he was going to do something about it.”

When Ham returned to Drake Stadium, a few weeks later, he did a lot.

In the matter of minutes, on state-meet Saturday, Ham won back-to-back events, conquering the hurdles in 14.16 seconds and winning the 200 in 22.14.

A second-place finish in the 400 relay cemented the 3A team title for the Spartans, who outscored Wamac Conference rival Center Point-Urbana, 50-42.25, for the crown.

So, what makes an effective hurdler? Lots of things.

Genetics don't hurt.

At 6-foot-2 and 180 pounds, Ham 'has a perfect build for it,” Sovers said. 'Coaches have told me his frame is perfect for hurdling.”

Ham is a technician, a student of his craft. He plays an active role in determining his workouts, detailing items that need improvement.

'He's honest with himself and with me,” Sovers said. 'When something doesn't feel quite right, he works on it and corrects it.”

Ham will sign with the University of Northern Iowa in April; he plans to double in track and football (he led the Spartans with 32 receptions last fall).

Also in April, he'll return to Drake, where he hopes to complete his hurdles redemption.

'I'd love to win the hurdles at the Drake Relays,” he said. 'Then, I could fully forget about last year.”

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