ROGERS -- Tony Roller Jr. is making smooth strides for the Rogers High track team.
Out of the blocks in the first meet of the year, Roller won the 110 hurdles and the high jump and scored 29 points after finishing second in 300 hurdles.
Player Profile
Tony Roller
School: Rogers High
Class: Junior
Height: 6-0
Weight: 160
Notable: Qualified for the state meet in the 110 hurdles and high jump last year. … Has already qualified for the Class 7A State Track Meet in the high jump and 300 hurdles and is close in the 110. … Is also competing in the long jump and triple jump.
Following the first meet, Rogers track coach Jim Yurwitz said the junior, who also plays football for the Mounties, was not quite yet in track shape.
"Offseason football has really helped me, waking up at 5:30 in the morning all summer to go lift weights," Roller said. "I've got a bigger and stronger, and that helps you in all aspects of other sports. I was a little awkward with my body at first after all the changes, but it quickly became normal. I feel a lot faster."
Roller is getting closer to being in top form. Early into the season, he has already pre-qualified for the Class 7A State Track Meet in the 300 hurdles and the high jump. He already has clocked a 40.75 seconds in the 300 and a 6-foot-2 leap in the high jump.
He is also close to qualifying in the 110 hurdles, an event he ran last year at state while having a season best 16:00. He ran a 15.68 in the first meet of the year and followed that up with a 15.48 at the Bentonville Tiger Relays before spring break. The state qualifying mark is 15.28.
And changes in Roller's times are not the only difference in the 6-foot, 160-pound junior. Roller has grown an inch and a half and gained over 15 pounds of muscle since last track season.
Roller credits his work with the Mounties football team as part of the reason for his success in track this year.
Yurwitz expects Roller, who also competed at state in the high jump last year, to be a strong contender at state in the two hurdles races.
"The hurdles are his races," Yurwitz said. "Tony's times and distances have got better because he is stronger and faster."
Roller is confident that he will pre-qualify in the 110 hurdles before the 7A-West Conference Track Meet and he said having state meet experience will be a plus this spring.
"That's a big step up in competition," Roller said. "But I don't think it will faze me as much, I won't have the nerves. I think I will just be able to focus on my events."
Roller has also added the the long jump and the triple jump to his track events this year. That could help Rogers score even more points in the coming weeks. It will also help Roller prepare for the decathlon later this spring.
"Those are basically new events for him" Yurwitz said.
Roller's focus in practice is on his three strongest events but he said that he enjoys having a full plate during track meets.
"It's fun doing all the events because there is no down time during meets," Roller said. "It's hard to balance it all in practice. But I also stay after practice to get all my work in and work on the other decathlon events."
Paul Nielsen can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWAPaul
Sports on 04/02/2015