Major colleges send letters most days.
Everyone raves about his athleticism.
His name shows up on football recruiting lists as a receiver and on track times lists as a hurdler.
It would be easy for Brian Hartline to get distracted, to find this attention annoying or maybe slack off now and then.
That never happens.
Hartline’s work ethic remains the same, and he is making the most of the recruiting process. That is why the GlenOak High School junior is ranked yet again among the state’s best this track and field season.
“I’ve realized there’s nothing wrong with soaking it all in,” Hartline said.
Hartline soaks it in while doing his usual thing — working hard, enjoying being part of a team and trying to improve.
“My coaches said, you only go through it once. Once gone, it’s gone,” Hartline said. “So you might as well enjoy it. The next day will still come whether you’ve had a good day or bad ... you prepare yourself for the next competition.”
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Hartline’s next competition is Friday in the Federal League meet at Austintown Fitch’s Falcon Stadium. GlenOak is the defending champion.
Hartline won all four events he competed in at Ellet’s Orange Bowl Relays on Friday. Nine days ago, he helped the Golden Eagles wrap up an unbeaten dual-meet season to make them the league meet favorite. And the last time he ran at Falcon Stadium, two weeks ago, he led GlenOak to the team title of the Optimist Invitational and shared meet MVP honors.
Throw in the fact he is the league’s reigning MVP, and owns the state’s fastest 300-meter hurdles time, and it’s easy to see why so many think Hartline is special.
Count GlenOak track coach Scott Ferrell among them.
“He just works ... real hard every day,” Ferrell said.
Ferrell says Hartline’s work ethic compares favorably to former GlenOak stars such as Dustin Fox and Derrick Williams. Those two led the Eagles to a Division I state runner-up finish in 2001.
“He would have fit in real well with that group,” Ferrell said. “I still attribute what we’re doing now back to that crew because they were the ones that showed success comes from working hard.”
Hartline has developed a friendship with Fox, a cornerback at Ohio State. Fox returns home often, and Hartline works out with him and talks with him as much as possible. When Fox runs a 40-yard sprint, Hartline makes sure he is in the lane next to him.
“We always kid around about who will beat who,” Hartline said. “Of course, he beats me. But I’m chasing him.”
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Just about every high school hurdler in the state is chasing the 6-foot-3, 175-pound Hartline. Already a two-time All-Ohioan in the 300 hurdles, he is tops in the state in the 300 with his time of 37.64 seconds. That also ranks 13th nationally. His 14.18 in the 110 hurdles is No. 2 in the state.
“I’m excited that I’m doing well and ahead of schedule from last year in the times I’m running,” Hartline said.
“I’m ready for the end of the year and to see how things turn out. But I know it’s still a process to get to the state meet.”
Ferrell said Hartline is refining his technique. He has been running the 100 and 200 to help his overall speed. When he runs the hurdles, Hartline’s focus is getting faster between each hurdle.
“He’s so good off the hurdles and over the hurdles, but in between is what he’s working at,” Ferrell said. “It’s his shoulder positioning, to get his shoulder up and be tall.”
Hartline is receptive to hurdles coach Chad Palmer and Ferrell.
“Every day is valuable,” Hartline said. “... coach Ferrell and coach Palmer know a lot about track. I have to try to take every bit of knowledge they give me.”
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Hartline loves the finesse it requires to excel in the hurdles.
“You can’t just be a guy that sits there and survives off God-given talent alone,” he said. “You’ve got to learn to hurdle, or you’re not going to last.”
Making things enjoyable are his teammates, which include younger brother, Mike. The sophomore is emerging as a big-time football recruit as a quarterback. In track, he is coming on in the hurdles and the high jump. The brothers run together on the 1,600 relay team, anchored by Brian.
“I’m excited about our 4x4. I love that I get to run with my brother, and he gets to hand off to me,” Brian said.
Brian Hartline also gets excited about moments such as this year’s Optimist Invitational when the Eagles won that event for the first time.
“This whole group understands that they are asked to compete individually, but what they do individually has a tremendous effect on the team,” Ferrell said. “He revels in the fact that he can help the team out as much as he can.”
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Another key to Hartline’s success is his approach.
“He keeps everything light all the time,” Ferrell said. “He’s got everything in perspective. He has the ability to know what the goal is and yet keep things light at the same time.”
Hartline uses his sense of humor to keep himself and those around him from getting tense. “He’s a ton of fun to be around, and he finds humor in a lot of stuff,” Ferrell said.
Hartline jokes about things unrelated to track to “ease the environment.”
“Once you get comfortable in a football game or at a track meet, that’s when you’ll do your best,” he said. “When you’re worried about what you have to do and how you’ll do, that’s when you screw things up. You have to realize you just have to be an athlete and ... everything else takes care of itself.”
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Hartline’s individual goal is to finish first or second at the state meet in both hurdles. He was fifth a year ago in each.
Cleveland Glenville’s Ted Ginn Jr., an Ohio State football-track recruit, is the defending state champion in both hurdles. He also is a national champion in the 110s and owns the state’s fastest time (14.14) in that event this season.
Like Ginn, Hartline hopes to play football and run track at a major college.
In football, Hartline is ranked among the state’s top receivers after switching from quarterback midway through last season. He also excels at returning kicks and plays defensive back.
Big Ten schools, including Ohio State, are recruiting him in both sports. Track powers such as Tennessee, Arkansas and South Carolina are recruiting him in that sport.
Ferrell said college track coaches love Hartline’s versatility. In addition to hurdles, he also has run a 10.9 100 meters, a 22.4 200, sub-50 second 400s in relays, and he’s high jumped 6-foot-5 this season and 6-7 last year. In the middle distances, he ran a 2:02 800 as a freshman and 4:50 mile in the eighth grade. And just fooling around in practice, he has cleared 10-0 in the pole vault.
“If I’m a college coach, I’m thinking there’s a decathlete for me,” Ferrell said. “He has world class decathlete ability. If you look at his marks, he already compares favorably in the high jump, the 100, the 400 and the 110 hurdles.”
Hartline said “a big factor” in picking a school will be his ability to play both sports.
“It would be a shame,” Ferrell said, “to let a national-class ability go to waste as far as his track and field career goes.”
Don’t plan on Hartline wasting anything when it comes to talent. That’s why he knows exactly what needs to be done to finish this season right.
“I’ve got to trust my coaches and listen to the advice they give me,” he said. “I need to keep my head on straight. I know now is not the end of the season. I don’t want to take days off. I’ve got to keep working hard and running hard, and see what happens.”
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03-04-2004, 01:30 AM
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