Sidelines: Delta s Smith unbeaten in 4 events this year

Korbin Smith holds Delta records in the 100, 200 and 400 meters and placed fourth at state last year in the 400.

The Blade/Lori King
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Korbin Smith won the Division II state long jump title last season. The senior, who will compete at Ohio State, holds the Delta record with a leap of 23 feet, 7 inches.

DELTA There s no resting for Korbin Smith at a track meet and that s the way he likes it.

The Delta senior aims to do at the Northwest Ohio Athletic League championships tomorrow at Archbold what he did a year ago win four events.

Smith hopes to defend titles in the 100, 200 and 400 meters and in the long jump.

Obviously I d like to do the same thing and also get league records in all of the events, Smith said.

He s off to a good start. Smith won the long jump Tuesday with a league-meet record of 23 feet, 7 inches.

But there s plenty more Smith would like to do before this season comes to a close. Last year, he won the Division II state long jump championship with a winning effort of 22-2 . Besides defending that title, he d like to add to it by winning a running event.

I d like to return to Columbus as the defending state champion and win state again, Smith said. It s not going to be easy, but if I pop a 24-foot jump I ll have a chance.

He placed fourth at state in the 400 a year ago. With a month remaining this season, Smith has won every individual event he s competed in this spring. He sundefeated in the 100, 200, 400 and long jump.

Korbin Smith holds Delta records in the 100, 200 and 400 meters and placed fourth at state last year in the 400.

The long jump, obviously, is his best event, Delta coach Jon Mignin said. I think his second best event would be the 400because of his height and speed.

He s got a shot at the 400. I think if he peaks at the right time he has a shot at it at state. But I tell him all the time he has a shot at all of them.

Smith, a 6-foot-4, 185-pounder, has signed a national letter of intent to attend Ohio State where he s been projected to compete as a decathlete.

He owns Delta records of 11.0 in the 100, 21.8 in the 200, 48.7 in the 400 and 23-7 in the long jump.

And it wouldn t be surprising if he broke all four records before this season ends, according to Delta assistant coach Eric Lutton, who works closely with the team s runners.

I believe he still has more room to grow and hopefully we ll see that at least by regionals, Lutton said. He s about where I thought he would be, but he still has room to improve.

Mignin said Smith can better his times by continuing to work on his starts andfinishes.

I think he can shave off some time with improving his block work, Mignin said. He also has to work on his lean at the finish line, but we really haven t had to worry about that this season.

Even though Smith is a strong competitor in track and field, his kicking prowess in football drew some attention from college coaches. The left-footed kicker had a career-best 47-yard field goal and routinely drove kickoffs into the end zone.

I d been a pretty consistent kicker but kicking was not my main focus last season, said Smith, who also spent time playing running back, wide receiver and cornerback. This past season he had 592 yards rushing and 438 yards receiving and was named All-NWOAL first team specialist and second team on offense.

Smith began to favor track over football shortly after he topped the long jump competition at the D-II state meet. Although some college track coaches were aware of his skills, none had shown any serious interest before he stepped on the top step of the awards stand in Columbus.

Ohio State, Michigan and Cincinnati became the frontrunners with the Buckeyes ultimately gaining his commitment. Smith, has a 3.7-grade point average.

And Smith hasn t completely shut the door on playing football in college. He s only certain he is not planning to play next fall.

I actually have been in contact with the [OSU football] coaches, but because I m going into pre-med and competing in indoor and outdoor track I will have a lot going on my first year, Smith said. If it turns out I can handle that I can see myself trying to take on that [football], too.