Hamilton High West track duo earns accolades to back up its lofty nickname
You may see some expansion at Hamilton High West in the coming months, things like hangars, terminals and baggage counters. Afterall, if you’re going to start an airline, you better have the facilities.
For those who haven’t heard, Hamilton West Airlines is now open for business. Of course, for those wanting to take a flight, they’ll have to climb on the backs of Darryl Hardee or Tyree Adams, Hornets known for their vertical and horizontal jumping abilities.
The seniors have become the top 1-2 jumping combination in the Colonial Valley Conference despite having less than five full years of experience between them.
Hardee began as a sophomore, Adams came on board last year. The two got so good so fast, that they had a little conversation this spring.
“I came up with the idea, and he came up with the name,” Adams said. “I said ‘We need a nickname’ and he made it up.”
“I don’t know how I thought of it,” Hardee said. “I just thought of it.”
And it’s become tough to get a boarding pass, as several others are seeking entry. After Derycs Miranda and Vijesh Jadoo won the pole vault at the Mercer County Relays on April 12, Miranda was asked if they were part of the airlines. Miranda deferred to Adams, his best friend since eighth grade.
“Getting gold, they are officially part of Hamilton Airlines now,” Adams proclaimed. “They’ve got their own little plane.”
Also looking to hop on board is sophomore Carlee Smith, the top jumper on the Hamilton West girls’ team.
“It’s just a guy thing,” Smith said, after winning all three jumping events to help Hamilton beat Robbinsville for its first dual meet win this decade. “But I’m convincing them to let me join the flight crew.”
Again, it comes down to Adams, who appears to be the pilot.
“That’s Tyree’s decision,” Hardee said. “Tyree said she has some requirements she has to meet. He probably told her that to make her work harder.”
Adams laughed when asked why he is the law.
“I guess because I came up with the idea to have the nickname,” he said. “(Smith) wants to be on it so bad. She’ll get there. I just like to tease her. I want her to be the best in Mercer County because I know how hard she’s been working.”
Hardee and Adams have worked pretty hard themselves, and the results are proof.
A member of the Hornets basketball team, Hardee was talked into going out for track as a sophomore by a friend.
“I started out as a sprinter, and my friend told me there were other events like jumping,” Hardee said. “I tried that and I liked it. I kept doing both because our coach said he needed sprinters (he still does the 200) but I liked jumping.”
At the Mercer County Tournament that year, Hardee was eighth in the high jump at 5-10 and sixth in the triple jump at 41-0. He finished second in high jump at the Central Jersey Group III meet at 6-0, and 10th in the triple jump at 41-6. In the Group III meet, he was eighth in high jump at 6-0.
He was joined on the squad last year by Adams, also a basketball player.
“I didn’t even know about jumping until one day in basketball practice my (JV) coach (Matt Mayo) came to me and said, ‘You should do track,’” Adams said. “I wasn’t fast. He said, ‘You could jump.’ I talked to (boys coach Gerry Van Slooten) and he said yeah. It was actually a great idea.”
Adams is also sprinting this year, saying, “I never knew I was as fast as I am.”
But he is mainly a jumper. Last year, he and Hardee finished second in the high jump at the Mercer County Relays, while Hardee teamed with Darius Miller to take second in the long jump.
Their high jump success stalled at the Mercer meet as both fouled out and did not record a mark. Adams finished 17th overall in the long jump at 17-5 and Hardee fouled out again. Those mishaps came on a miserable, rainy Saturday, where nothing came easy.
When the meet resumed in sunny weather that Tuesday, both Hornets showed their stuff. Hardee won the triple jump in 44-0.75, while Adams was fourth at 42-3.
Good things continued at the CJ III meet as Hardee won the triple in 43-7.05 and the high jump at 5-10. Adams was third in the triple (41-10) and 10th in the high (5-4). In the long jump, Hardee was third with a personal best at 21-10 while Adams took seventh in 20-10.
At the Group III meet, Hardee qualified for the Meet of Champions with a triple jump of 44-2, while Adams was 11th at 42-9.50. Hardee advanced as a wild card in the high jump, tying his personal best of 6-2. He was unable to compete in the long jump due to taking SATs.
Hardee fouled out in the high jump at the Meet of Champions and finished 15th with a triple jump of 43-6.
It became clear by the end of the season, that the two would be forces to reckon with this spring.
“Last year was Tyree’s first year jumping and he really came into his own,” Hornet jumps coach Justin Kloc said. “Darryl had come into his own the year before and took another step last year. We were scrapping to get points on the boys’ side last year but we could always count on the jumps.
“This year, I think they’ll both be at the Meet of Champions. They definitely push each other, which helps them. I think we’ll have a really good sectional team with those two guys as the anchor. I personally think the (CJ III title) will be between us and Nottingham.”
Hardee has no problems admitting why he is pushed by Adams.
“Since Tyree came in he’s been pushing me,” Darryl said. “I was here first, so I didn’t want him to get better than me.”
They push each other but also root for each other, having been friends since their freshman year.
“Darryl really helped me out when I first started,” Adams said.
The two served notice of just how good they can be this year at the Mercer Relays. With Hardee going 44-9 and Adams at 42-6, they broke the eight-year-old triple jump meet record of 86-8. They were both the only high jumpers to hit 6-0 and won that event at 12-0, and they took a third gold medal with a combined long jump of 39-11.
“At first I was so stoked for basketball because we were actually good this year, and I was so hyped about basketball,” Hardee said. “After it ended, they gave us a week off and that week I started concentrating on track and I wanted to come in here do great things. Me and Tyree had talked about setting the (Relays triple jump) record last year.”
Hardee opened the season by breaking his own school record with a leap of 45-7 in a dual meet with Notre Dame and Robbinsville.
Adams personal record in the triple was 42-9 at last year’s groups and he set a PR of 20-11 in the long jump to open the season this year. He has hit 6-0 in the high jump several times.
Both hope to reach the Meet of Champions in all three events this season, although both also feel the triple jump is their strongest event.
“That’s been my best so far,” Adams said. “I like it the most and since Darryl is the best in the county it’s a lot of fun to compete against him. Even in warm-ups, during our two lap warm-up we always race against each other and try to beat each other.”
Adams feels when it comes to jumping, the triple and high are a bit different than the long.
“In the high jump and triple, the technique is what makes you the best,” he said. “You can be fast but if you don’t have technique, you’re not gonna get over the high jump and you won’t get past 42 in the triple without good technique. In the long jump you just need speed and one big, explosive jump.”
Adams and Hardee both hope to jump into a college program next year. Hardee has been looking into junior colleges, while Adams is taking a visit to Point Park University in Pittsburgh, which is beginning a track program next year.
And while Pittsburgh is only a five-hour drive from home, Adams may just want to save some driving time and book a flight on Hamilton Airlines.
Hamilton High West senior Darryl Hardee competes during an April 9, 2014 meet against Notre Dame and Robbinsville in Lawrence.,
