You might say Ben ‘B.J.’ Lilly burns up the track at Shady Spring High School.
“We like to tease B.J. that he runs with his feet on fire,” coach Vince Culicerto said. “He’s the fastest guy we’ve got.”
Lilly, who helped the Tigers finish runner-up in the Class AA 4x100 relay, and third place in the 4x200 in May at the state track meet in Charleston, has been invited to represent the USA next summer in The Down Under Track & Field Meet in Australia.
The junior is one of 300 young athletes from America who will compete, and one of only six from West Virginia.
Lilly will leave June 30 and will spend seven days in Australia. In the offseason, he hopes to gain sponsorships from area businesses.
He played soccer in the fall, scoring three goals as a striker for Shady. Running track is his first love, however.
“I started in middle school. One of my teachers thought I’d be good,” Lilly said. “I’ve stuck with it.”
His strategy in running is simple. Get out in front and stay there.
“I start out fast and strong in the blocks. A faster start helps me keep ahead of people,” Lilly said. “I train myself every day to run to get a faster time. I like to be a second ahead, rather than a second behind.”
Of all the events, he prefers the 200-meters, where he finished ninth in the trials and just missed the finals at states last year.
Lilly said the energy really flows when you hit the final curve.
“You hear your school and your teammates calling your name,” he said. “It gets your adrenaline going and it makes you push faster.”
Having the best kick on the team helps as well, whether in the 200 or the relays. He runs the 1st leg of the 4x100 to try to give the Tigers the lead, and he does the 3rd leg in the 4x200 to maintain the lead.
“B.J. does a good job,” Culicerto said. “He’s just a little old fellow. Quiet. But he gets on the that track and he can hang with the best of them.
“He’s a hard-working kid, and a good-natured boy. He’s fun to be around.”
Lilly’s best time in the 200 was a 23:25 last spring in the Oak Hill Lions Club Invitational.
But it was a meet at Cabell Midland High School in Ona that was most memorable for him.
“It was our first time against AAA teams, and some at school doubted we’d do anything,” Lilly recalled. “But we did what we were supposed to do. My (relay) team got first, and I got second in the 200. I was proud we showed people we can compete with anybody.”
He hopes to create some more excitement this spring, as Shady moves up to the AAA ranks.
“I want to make a good name for my school, so people will come to Shady and run track for us,” Lilly said. “I also want to do good for my family and make them happy.”
Lilly is the son of Virginia Kincaid and Douglas Lilly.
Anyone who would like to sign up as a sponsor can contact him at 304-763-2082.
— E-mail: dstillwell@register-herald.com
Today's Sports Front
Related Photos
-
Shady Spring track standout B.J. Lilly, left, gets in some practice as Tigers coach Vince Culicerto looks on Tuesday in Shady Spring. Lilly will compete in The Down Under Track & Field Meet, a 3-day international competition held every July in Australia. Chris Tilley
Lilly headed Down Under
Shady junior to compete in international track meet in Australia
- Today's Sports Front
-
-
Houstin? No problem
Houstin Syvertson is a man of many names.
-
Justice hopeful of Mickelson’s return
While speaking at a banquet at TPC Sawgrass in Florida for a Birdies for the Brave event he hosted with his wife, Kathy, and Phil and Amy Mickelson this winter, Greenbrier owner Jim Justice joked with golf’s most famous left-hander about his struggles the last two years at The Greenbrier Classic.
-
Wallace a willing BMP visitor
-
Princeton win marred by controversy
Locked in a 1-1 tie with Greenbrier East in the Class Region 3, Section 2 baseball final Friday night at Spartan Ballpark, Princeton was looking for a spark to overcome the Spartans’ home field advantage.
-
After early scare, Woodrow advances
Give first year Red Devils coach Chad Quesenberry a lot of credit. After opening up the sectional series with a loss to Shady Spring over a week ago, his Oak Hill squad would have to win three straight in order to advance to next week’s regional semifinals.
-
Wickline fires one-hitter; Mavericks move on to states
Putting their nervousness behind them, the James Monroe Lady Mavericks earned their first state playoff berth in softball in 16 years with a 6-2 victory over Westside Thursday evening in the Class AA, Region 3 title game in Lindside.
-
State meet today at Laidley Field
Shady Spring’s Houstin Syvertson and Greenbrier East’s Tré Moore will have to be at the top of their game from the get-go this afternoon as track and field athletes begin their quest for state meet glory.
-
East relay team hopes to make history
On the wall just after going through the main entrance to Greenbrier East High School are pictures of the school’s state champions. There are teams, like the 2012 Spartan girls basketball squad, and individuals, like cross country champion Andy McClintic.
-
Who’s Summers County’s new coach?
At 8:45 a.m. on the morning of May 8, Summers County athletic director Wayne Ryan met with the three candidates for the head football coaching job left vacant in late April when Register-Herald Football Coach of the Year Josh Houchins unexpectedly resigned the post.
-
‘It’s been great for the state’
West Virginia and Marshall are going to continue to meet on the baseball diamond. After a nearly 15-year break in the series, all involved agreed that rekindling the rivalry between the state’s two biggest schools — a series that culminated with a 6-5 Marshall victory Tuesday at Linda K. Epling Stadium — was a solid idea.
- More Today's Sports Front Headlines
-
Probe Begins After Conn. Commuter Trains Crash
NTSB Begins Investigation Into Conn. Train Crash
Lotto Fever Sweeps the Country
Conn. Commuter Trains Collide; 60 Go to Hospital
Coffee Run Leads to Hatchet Hitchhiker Arrest
Fmr. IRS Head Insists No Politics in Targeting
CDC: Fecal Bacteria Common in Swimming Pools
$1 Million in Jewels Stolen at Cannes Film Fest
NM Mom Chases Down Child Abductor
Raw: Crash Sends Car Into Fla. Pool
Raw: Obama Sits Down With Elementary Kids
Raw: Bear Falls From Tampa Tree
Ousted IRS Chief: Errors Not Caused by Politics
Terror Suspect Due in Court in Idaho Friday
Raw: Driver Ejected From Truck, Over Bridge
Could Tobacco Be the Next Biofuel?
Wash. State Releases Draft Rules for Legal Pot
Dying Man's Blinks Lead to Murder Conviction
Officials: Texas Tornado Likely Had 200 Mph Wind
Brothers Arrested in NOLA Parade Shooting
