Heading into the 2021 spring track season, Hamilton West coach Danielle Grady had the simplest of propositions for sophomore sprinter Jaci Summers.
“He came over and said ‘I want to be faster, I want to be better, what can I do?’” Grady recalled. “I said ‘Well, you give me 100 percent, I’ll give you 100 percent, and we’ll make this dream work.’”
That combined 200 percent blossomed into big things this past winter, as Summers exploded onto the state scene.
The junior speedster won the NJSIAA Group III Central gold medal in the 55 meters with a personal record of 6.54. He took fifth in the Group III state meet, and finished 14th in his first Meet of Champions appearance. That was followed by a trip to the NIKE Nationals in North Carolina, where he finished 11th.
For good measure, he took third in the 200 at the Mercer County meet, and seventh in the 55.
This was all done in his first full season of indoor track.
“I was very excited to get to the Meet of Champions,” Summers said. “I was really happy with what I accomplished and I thank Grady, because she was actually the one who taught me how to do track.”
Growing up in Toms River, Summers played football and basketball. “Track wasn’t on my mind,” he said. “Running, that’s cool, but getting into it, nah. It was mainly football with PAL and Mitey Mite.”
He moved to Hamilton in seventh grade, and football continued to be his main sport through his years at Grice. But while playing freshman football for West, Summers was advised by his coach to go out for track to help him with football. At just 5-6, speed was the running back’s most important asset.
It was a limited 2020 indoor season for Summers in ninth grade, and there was no spring season due to Covid-19. But during that brief time, he embraced the sport. Although he had no high place finishes, he learned how to be a sprinter, rather than just a runner.
“Going into freshman year I’m thinking, ‘Oh I’m gonna go fast,’ and all that stuff,” Summers said. “Obviously there were people above me, I wasn’t that cocky enough to go ‘Oh I’m gonna beat them.’ But I thought I was gonna be pretty close.”
So what happened?
“And of course I’m not even close,” he continued. “I never realized there were so many techniques and the form you had to have in running track. I didn’t know you had to pick your knees up, I didn’t know you needed to gradually increase speed, I didn’t know you needed muscle; I just thought you needed to move your legs and just go to the finish line. Coach taught me all of that and I’m thankful for that.”
It was an adjustment. Summers thought so much about what he had to do, that it hindered his natural ability to run fast. By the end of the season, however, it came naturally. When Summers arrived at his first practice, Grady was intrigued by the freshman, who stood just 5-3 at the time.
“We had some already fast guys on the team,” the coach said. “He fit in with the guys pretty well, but he didn’t really know what was going on with track. He was like, ‘Let me follow these guys.’ and they took him under their wing.
“Then I saw he was very interested in the sport. I said ‘Let me see where this guy’s head is at.’ I tried a few different things on him. He complained a little bit, but it’s track. It’s a hard sport, you gotta put your heart in it 24-7. At first he wasn’t putting his heart in it but then he started to realize, saying ‘I see that I’m improving.’ I would tell him he had to run a certain way, and he started to pick it up.”
After playing football as a sophomore, Summers was anxious for spring track. He wasn’t seeing much time on the gridiron and began to worry that if he got hurt it could slow him down on the track. That’s when Grady made her “100 for 100” proposition, and Jaci took her up on it.
“Once he came out for spring season last year, his focus changed, to the point where he said, ‘I’m gonna be dedicated to this sport. We’ll put 100 percent in it,’” the coach recalled. “That’s what he did. He would say ‘Grady I’m tired but I’m still gonna do that extra. Is there anything I could do after practice to make myself better?’ And that right there showed dedication, showed that he wanted to be someone special.”
In just his first full season of any kind, Summers finished sixth in the 100 in the CVC championships, fifth in CJ III and 18th in Group III states. He was two spots from advancing to states in the 200, and took first in that event in two dual meets.
“That was a big step,” Grady said. “He went on and did his thing. Because this was his first year and to excel the way he did, he knew coming into this (winter) he had to give it the same percent of work, maybe more.”
Summers entered the indoor season with a fire in his eyes. The results spoke for themselves, especially with Summers making nationals due to his sectional time.
“It went amazingly well down there,” he said. “I’m glad I was allowed to be there. The energy surrounding me was amazing. I had my dad and brother there and I’m proud of what I accomplished. I placed 11th overall. I still have a lot to improve on, but I’m glad about where I placed for my first nationals.”
Summers is looking to take the momentum of his winter season into the spring; when he will run the 100, 200 and relay.
“I’m mainly worried about times and bringing them down,” he said. “I do care about college, but that’s not my main objective right now. I just want to PR every race and know I’m improving and getting better each practice. Everything else will fall in place if you do that.”
Grady feels it will be a tremendous spring if Summers continues to put in the work. She saw how much success means to him after he won the CJ 3 race.
“That put chills on my arms,” she said. “When he crossed that line and looked around, he was like ‘Wow, I’m first and I haven’t even been doing this for long.’ It was amazing. He was smiling so big all you could see was his teeth. You couldn’t even see his eyes. He knew all that work and that tiredness and that arguing paid off.”
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Hamilton has another sprinter who is also at the top of her game, as sprinter/long jumper Mikayla Hall recently received a full scholarship to run track at Holy Family University.
“That’s super exciting to get that scholarship and know it was given to her because she worked hard,” Grady said. “She would come to our summer track workout and then go to soccer workouts. It was like ‘This girl is destined to be the best, destined to be great. I know she’s not gonna let any of us down. When she goes to that next level, she’s gonna rise and shine above them all.”
Hamilton junior Jaci Summers won state gold in the 55 meters last season. (Photo by Rich Fisher.),
