Name: Tyrone Jeremiah Talbert Jr.
My personal bests are 48.01 in the 400m, 34.01 in the 300m, 21.63 in the 200m, and 10.86 in the 100m.
Academic interest: I love English and Writing, so I'll study Communications and Broadcasting
Journalism as my major.
Hobbies: I love to collect exotic or rare coins in general.
Favorite quote: "If you ain't first, you last."
How did you get involved in the sport?
After a rough year of little league football, I got involved in the track and field sport. My father recognized that I had good endurance and speed for an 8-year-old.
Tell us about your 300 race earlier this month. What does it mean to perform how you did?
Watch the race | 300 rankings
In my 300m race I previously ran, I felt great the whole day. I was a bit tired of waiting and anxious to run it again for my second time ever. I wanted to beat my previous time of 35.01. My gameplan going into the race was to come out aggressive in the first 100 and hawk a lane or two, and then at the 125m or 150m mark kick and finish strong. When I finished my race, I told my opponents good race and walked to talk to my teammate Xavier Mathis and asked him how he felt because he won his heat too. We were completely clueless until we found out from coaches that I had ran the number one time in the nation. I am very thankful for such success and titled U.S. number one in the 300m outdoors. I give all the glory to God, my coaches, teammates, and parents.
From your success in 2017, what do you hope to do this season coming up?
For this year's times, I hope to run low 47's, low 21's, and at least a 10.59 in the 100m.
How has competing in indoor helped this winter?
I technically never competed indoor. The meets early in the season though helped me to get an understanding of my stamina and the condition I am in.
Do you have a specific motivation?
My specific motivation is my family. I want to make everyone in my family proud on both sides and give them something to brag about in the years to come.
What has been your biggest challenge in the sport?
My biggest challenge in track and field is my form. It is butt-ugly, but it will be tweaked and fixed due to the excellent coaching staff at Hillcrest.
One year after this season left at the high school level, what do you hope to achieve in the future?
I hope to achieve the opportunity of running on the D1 level and to receive a paid education. Also, I hope to achieve some medals, which I refer to as jewelry and hardware along with excellent times for the rest of the season and the big invitationals. It would also be nice for Hillcrest to win a State Championship!
Walk us through a race for you (from pre race until post race).
Before I run, I stretch, do some run outs to open up my lungs and wake up my legs, and then I dance and joke around with friends to keep my mind off the race and away from stress. After I finish my race depending on what it is, I stretch and hydrate or lie there until I can feel my legs again.
Do you play other sports? How does track help you with other sports and vice versa?
I played football this past season. Track helped me to outrun the other defenders, and it made my feet quick in my routes and improved my juke moves. Football helped me to be mentally focused and stable in track meets.
How do you look at being top-ranked in the state?
I look at being top-ranked as a privilege; not everyone can say they're topped rank, so that makes me want to work harder and grind even more to be faster.
How and when did you start training for track and field this season?
As soon as football season ended, that following week in December, I started conditioning and training for track.
What do you enjoy the most about the Hillcrest team?
I love everyone on the Hillcrest team, the coaches, teammates and parents. I love how we are so familiar with one another; it brings out that family relationship.
What do you feel you have learned from your coaches, teammates and the sport?
I learned how to mature, to take responsibility, to prepare, and to be knowledgeable from my coaches, teammates, and this wonderful sport of track.
What would like to see happen in the future?
I would like to see all the top notch athletes in track and field from South Carolina make it out to the best colleges. And compete in the NCAA indoor or outdoor championships and congratulate each other and look back where we came from and how far we still have to go.
If there is one thing in the world you could do, what would it be and why?
I would love to broaden my horizon and travel around the world trying new and different foods and experiencing different cultures.