MARCH 11, 2020 - ATLANTA - With Atlanta Public School Track & Field season cancelled for the rest of the 2020 school year including APS City Championships, juniors like Jackson Sexton from Henry W. Grady High School are already on the lookout for their next practice on the track.
"There is only so far you can get with talent. The rest of that is telling yourself you want to finish that 400 or that 800m or any event like that," Sexton said.
Coach Del Ellerton has coached Sexton since his freshman year. Last year, Sexton came within half a second of breaking the school record in the 400m as a sophomore. Coach Ellerton hopes to see him break that record before he graduates.
"He has an ability to not be daunted by competition or by training. He is a fighter and you can always depend on him. He is going to give you everything he has and he is going to do that every time he goes out there."
Sexton runs a range of events including the 400m, 800m and the 400m hurdles. On the state level, Sexton ran a big PR of 48.70 to win the Region 6-AAAAA Championships 400m and placed second at the meet in the 400m hurdles with 39.79. Sexton came in first at the Georgia Games 400m in 49.70 and fourth at the USATF Georgia Association Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships 400m in 49.80.
Coach Ellerton said on top of being a rising Track & Field athlete Sexton is an exceptional student.
"He's just an epitome of what we look for in our athletes," said Coach Ellerton.
Sexton was nudged to try out for Track & Field after proving to be rather fast on the football team. Now, he's left the field behind and is all in on the track.
"We have fun at practice, which makes it fun even when the workouts get hard you can still laugh in the rest with the team," Jackson Sexton said.