Drake Relays seems to be the talk of all track athletes from high school to the 2016 Olympic Games hopefuls. The Drake Relays’ information crew stuffs the email accounts of sports writers with news releases.
The Drake Relays draw elite athletes from around the United States and world for its competitions in field events and on the Blue Oval track. There’s the high school competitions, the college and university competitions and the elite events.
The 2016 edition of the Drake Relays is even more important — it’s an Olympic year so the elite athletes are working on the Road to Rio. The 2016 Summer Olympics are Aug. 5-21 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
I try to open and read each news release. By the way before I go any further, I just want to say how small of a world we live in. Now, back to the Drake Relays’ news releases. I was reading one on April 7 about the men’s triple jump field.
Will Claye, the 2012 Olympic silver medalist in the triple jump, leads the field of nine in the Rio Olympic Game Preview triple jump event. I keep reading and bam — Josh Honeycutt pops up at me.
Honeycutt is a young man I know really well. I watched him jump as a middle schooler, high schooler and collegian. He is from Iola, Kan., where he holds the high school triple jump record and was a state Class 4A champion in the triple jump as a junior.
Following a tremendous high school senior season in 2007, Honeycutt signed to compete for Emporia State University in Emporia, Kan. He went on to set the ESU triple jump record at 53 feet, 9 1/4 inches in 2009, He was a four-time MIAA triple jump outdoor champion and won two conference long jump championships.
Now, he is in Phoenix, Ariz. training with ALTIS, an elite track team of athletes. He is currently ranked 32nd in the world in the triple jump and opened the outdoor season with a leap of 55-2 3/4. Honeycutt won the Sun Angel Classic at Arizona State University at 51-5 1/2.
He will be jumping at Drake Stadium at 2:45 p.m. on April 30 at the 107th Drake Relays.
All nine jumpers will also take part in the “Leap For The Loot” as part of the triple jump with an additional $1,500 being awarded to the top jumper in each of the event’s six rounds. Combined with the existing purse money, $15,000 in total money is now up for grabs in the men’s triple jump.
Honeycutt should have had two straight state high school championships in the triple jump. He had won the regional title in 2007 as a senior and had the best jump in the state. Unfortunately, Honeycutt and several other senior boys decided to pull a senior prank at Iola High School, which resulted in quite a bit of damage.
He was not in good standing according to Kansas State High School Activities Association rules. He was not allowed to participate in the state track meet.
After his first year of college, Honeycutt returned to Iola for the summer, and we talked.
Honeycutt admitted missing out on an opportunity to win a Kansas state high school championship in the triple jump was a motivator for him in college.
“It wasn’t supposed to go like that, but we went crazy once we got in the school,” Honeycutt said. “Because of my actions, I wasn’t able to go to state. I had a good chance of winning a state title.
“After the prank, I realized I had to focus on everything I do in my life.”
Honeycutt said during his senior year at Iola High, he wasn’t as focused as he should have been. His actions and the consequences of those actions were a wake-up call.
Honeycutt paid for his part in the vandalism of the high school with restitution to the district and other monetary fees and community service hours. He was put on diversion.
“So I was motivated to do better in every aspect at college. Plus in college athletics, you cannot get by on athletic talent alone. I worked hard in high school but also got by at times just because of the talent I had,” Honeycutt said.
Josh Honeycutt is a motivated elite athlete, but is also a man of faith, a husband, a father and a good friend. Good luck, Josh!
Contact Jocelyn Sheets at
jsheets@newtondailynews.com