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2017 Times Leader Boys Track and Field All-Stars

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<p>They call him &#8220;Back flip.&#8221;</p><p>And when Je&#8217;Vondrea McClair decided to try his hand at track and field, the fortunes of his Meyers team went head over heels.</p><p>The naturally gifted athlete who&#8217;s most fascinated with the sport of football spent the past two years helping the Mohawks become champions.</p><p>In the process, he turned into one himself.</p><p>Thanks in large part to McClair&#8217;s jumping ability, Meyers went undefeated for the second straight season while winning back-to-back WVC Division 2 championships and McClair earned the highest finish of any of the league&#8217;s competitors at the PIAA Boys Track and Field Championships.</p><p>&#8220;That was something,&#8221; McClair said. &#8220;I felt great to be a part of that.&#8221;</p><p>But his state silver medal in the long jump and District 2 Class 2A championship in that event were only a couple of reasons why McClair was named the Times Leader Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year.</p><p>His consistency and durability in jumping events became a rock Meyers leaned on, propelling the Mohawks to victories in every meet McClair participated in during his high school career.</p><p>And it was something he never thought possible while growing up in the Heights section of Wilkes-Barre.</p><p>But while the son of Lanee Keatts was focusing his attention on football as a kid, a trio of track personnel at Meyers tried to pull McClair into the pits.</p><p>Former Meyers state medalist Mark Robinson was one of them. McClair&#8217;s cousin, four-time state sprint medalist Nalasjia Harris-Johnson, was another. And then there was Hayden &#8220;Billy&#8221; White, a long-time Meyers track coach who served as an assistant at Hanover Area for a few years before returning to take over the Meyers helm in 2016. Most recognized for developing star hurdlers, White also has a sharp eye for jumpers, and quickly noticed McClair&#8217;s acrobatics outside of track.</p><p>&#8220;Everybody knew he was a real good athlete,&#8221; White said. &#8220;He would do all those flips all the time. If you can do a front flip and a back flip, you can jump. So we finally talked him into going out for track.</p><p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t think he knew how much fun track can be.&#8221;</p><p>While Harris-Johnson said selling McClair on the sport wasn&#8217;t easy, McClair admits he was open to the idea.</p><p>&#8220;I actually went with it,&#8221; said McClair, whose cousin, Bryandt Shelly, was a three-time state performer for GAR. &#8220;It kind of runs in the family. Bryandt Shelly was a state champ, my sister threw, my aunt was in it. It was around me.&#8221;</p><p>But his amazing flipping ability? That was pretty unique.</p><p>&#8220;I started doing that when I was in elementary school,&#8221; McClair, 19, said. &#8220;At about 5, 10 (years old), I started flipping. All my friends call me &#8216;Back flip.&#8217; &#8220;</p><p>McClair wasn&#8217;t even expected to medal during his first state championship appearance, entering the PIAA long jump finals as a No. 14 seed.</p><p>But he found an extra burst of energy, leaping past most of the field with a personal best mark of 21-11.5, elevating himself to second place on the state medal stand.</p><p>&#8220;I knew coming in, that last year he had been injured most of the year. That really held him back a bit,&#8221; White said. &#8220;The big surprise was at states, when he took the silver medal. That was a matter of how consistent he was in his jumps. He was on the mark every time.&#8221;</p><p>McClair marks the 2016 regular season finale, when Meyers edged Hanover Area in a battle of unbeaten teams for the WVC title, as a turning point in the sport for him.</p><p>&#8220;Hanover was our last meet, and I was doing high jump,&#8221; McClair said. &#8220;Nobody told me until afterwards, but we needed my points to win the meet. I didn&#8217;t come in first, I came in second. But we needed those three points to win. After I finished, everybody jumped on me. They said, &#8216;You won it for us.&#8217;</p><p>&#8220;Felt good.&#8221;</p><p>McClair was feeling it during this year&#8217;s districts, too.</p><p>He left this year&#8217;s District 2 Class 2A boys championships with a gold medal in the long jump, a silver medal in the triple jump, a sixth-place medal as part of the 400 relay team &#8212; and with a big hug from his delighted cousin Harris-Johnson.</p><p>&#8220;Everyone knew he was always a good athlete,&#8221; Harris-Johnson said.</p><p>Now, there&#8217;s a good chance track and field will be in McClair&#8217;s foreseeable future.</p><p>He plans to join the track team while attending Luzerne County Community College.</p><p>&#8220;I had a few offers, but I&#8217;d rather head to LCC, keep it cheaper, then make a decision (on future college) later,&#8221; McClair said.</p><p>Besides, remaining in the area will allow McClair to keep his part-time job at Schiel&#8217;s Family Market, where he&#8217;s already a star.</p><p>&#8220;They put my picture up, they allowed me to work around my (track) schedule,&#8221; McClair said. &#8220;They really appreciate it over there.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Meyers senior Je&#8217;Vondrea McClair won a state silver medal in long jump while helping Meyers to a second straight WVC title during an unbeaten regular season. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/web1_Je-Vondrea-McClair.jpg</photo0><caption0>Meyers senior Je&#8217;Vondrea McClair won a state silver medal in long jump while helping Meyers to a second straight WVC title during an unbeaten regular season. </caption0><photoCredit0>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta></subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Paul Sokoloski</p><p>psokoloski@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Paul Sokoloski at 570-991-6392 or on Twitter @TLPaulSokoloski</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Times Leader Male Track & Field MVP: Meyers’ Je’Vondrea McClair