Decathlete doesn't quit, keeps going
Thursday, March 25 2010 - EIU InvitationalRed-shirt senior's ultimate goal: Olympic Trials
Kevin Murphy/Staff Reporte
 Red-shirt senior Sean Hopkins lifts weights before his workout on the track Wednesday afternoon in the Lantz athletic weight room. (Amir Prellberg / The Daily Eastern News) Sean Hopkins doesn't quit. He's competitive. And sometimes for his own good, he doesn't know when to stop. The red-shirt senior on the Eastern men's track and field team has an energy that never ends. The force behind Hopkins' drive started when he was young and still continues as he tries to reach his ultimate goal: the Olympic Trials. "I've always wanted to be at the trials," Hopkins said. "I've always had that goal to be at the trials." To get there, it has been a long journey for Hopkins. "I swear I was probably still in the crib, and dad was teaching me how to play catch," he said. "I was just a very active little kid. Even in school, I wanted to race everyone all the time." His work ethic was prevalent even in high school. "A lot of days I get out of bed and have a hard time walking to the shower because I'm so sore," Hopkins told the Freeport Journal-Standard in high school. His effort in high school track and football translated to playing football and track at Illinois College, a Division III school, in Jacksonville. Hopkins decided football would be not the best after he received a pass during his freshman year. The pass from the quarterback was a little too high. The end results - not the best landing. "I jumped out for it and got laid out by two linebackers," he said. "I woke up in the training room with a concussion. All right, that's my time to stop. I decided I was going to stick with track." Hopkins stayed with track and finished 17th nationally in 2008 in the decathlon, a series of 10 events which includes the following: the 100-meter dash, the long jump, the shot put, the high jump, the 400-meter dash, 110-meter high hurdles, the discus, the pole vault, the javelin and the 1,500-meter run. In 2008, Hopkins also began to look at Division I scores at the national championships. He knew the potential would be there to be competitive, but still wasn't sure what school he was going to compete. Hopkins started looking at A and B Olympic Trial standards. He said when looking at schools, former Eastern assistant coach JaRod Tobler, stood out. Tobler has been competing at different Olympic events and even competed at U.S. Olympic Trials in 2008. After looking at Western Illinois, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville and Illinois, Hopkins e-mailed Eastern head coach Tom Akers about joining the track team. "I was kind of nervous just to type the e-mail," Hopkins said. "I remember sitting there for hours saying, 'I want this to sound professional'. I really don't know what to say. I was just on cloud nine when he e-mailed back." Since transferring to Eastern from Illinois College, Hopkins red-shirted in 2009, but competed unattached and won the decathlon at both the Big Blue Classic at Eastern and North Central's Gregory Invite. Hopkins finished the Gregory Invite with 6,499 points and the Big Blue Classic with 6,173 points. The decathlon is his main event, but he contributes in other areas. He took third in pole vault at the Ohio Valley Conference indoor championships. He also competes in the high jump and other areas as needed. Hopkins doesn't care what event he competes in as long as he competing and helping out the team. "I'm not the best sprinter," he said. "I'm not a specialist, but I'm above average in all of them. I want to be the best overall athlete." Hopkins has loved the transition this season, especially with Eastern. Hopkins works with the pole vaulters, the hurdlers, the sprinters and about every different group within the track team. "I think I can compete with some of these guys right now," he said. "I think I can be that kind of athlete. I've never seen more work ethic out of a team. I really like that. It gets me going. Ever since then, I've loved (the track experience)." Hopkins said his best time at Eastern were the talks with Tobler, who helped him organize his thoughts and Olympic Trial goals. "I'm real close to it," he said. The qualifying standards are this: 7,900 points for the "A" standard and 7,600 points for the "B" standard back in 2008 for the U.S. Olympic Trials. For the U.S. Outdoor Championships in 2010, those standards change: 7,850 points for the "A" standard and 7,500 points for the "B" standard. "He's just a multi-talented athlete," Akers said. "The potential is there. He's a vocal kid." Hopkins plans to compete in the decathlon at least at four different meets this season, and then help the rest of the team in other events such as the high jump, the long jump and the pole vault, especially in the OVC championships. Kevin Murphy can be reached at 581-7944 or kjmurphy@eiu.edu |