Bexley sprinter Louis finds confidence after injury
Monday, May 15, 2023
By Scott Hennen
shennen@cbussports.com
Bexley sprinter Mason Louis practices with a parachute at the school in advance of the District finals at Westerville South beginning May 16. Photo: Kevin Rouch
Senior Mason Louis has given Bexley boys track and field coach Shane Roberts numerous memorable performances but one sticks out above the rest.
Louis lost his freshman season because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but he excelled as a sophomore by winning the 400 meters (47.54 seconds) at the Division II state meet and placed third in the 100 (11.16) and fifth in 200 (22.46).
However, a lower-body injury ended his junior season in the district meet at Westerville South despite qualifying for the regional in the 100, 200, and 400. In his last chance at postseason success, Louis is heating up at the right time.
“The biggest story I will tell until my last breath is Mason running the 400 at district last year,” Roberts said. “He ran it but walked the last seven steps and still finished second after being hurt. He went on to jog the 200 and finished third. The kid has no quit in the hot and that’s what rubs off on his teammates.
“He felt it (tightness) in (winning) the 100 (10.78 at district) and did the 400 and started walking. He went to the trainer and everything seemed to be OK. We (the coaches) said ‘No more.’ but he wanted to run the 200. He jogged the 200 and qualified (finishing third in 22.57). You don’t get to coach kids like that very often.”
Bexley’s Mason Louis puts on his cleats for practice as he prepares for the Lions’ competition at Westerville South beginning May 16. Photo: Kevin Rouch
Louis signed to run at Ohio State and has a full-ride deal thanks to the academic scholarship from his 3.7 GPA. The lost accolades from the late-season injury was a lesson he couldn’t ignore.
“It was just fuel for the fire,” Louis said. “It allowed me to learn from my mistakes and do a lot better this year.
“I have to do a lot of little things to stay healthy. I watch my food, my sleep, my mental health. All of it is important. It all affects you. I didn’t think it could. I would just do whatever and just wake up and go to a meet. Now I know, and I’m ready for this year.”
The year started strong for Louis. He won the 400 the Division II-III boys state indoor track and field meet March 4 at SPIRE Institute in Geneva in a meet-record 47.80.
“I like my progress so far and I had a really good indoor season,” Louis said. “I won state and broke the D2 state meet record. I have a really good team around me to help me stay healthy and achieve my goals.”
Focusing on the 200 and 400 this spring, Louis set program records in both events. He won the 200 in a program-record 22.19 on May 5 in the Larkin & Croston Classic at Upper Arlington. Then he set the program record in the 400 (46.69) in the finals of the MSL-Ohio Division meet May 11 at Whitehall. He also won the 200 (21.49) at the league meet and was on the champion 1,600 relay in 3:30.74 with Athanasius Young, Ben Montgomery, and Solomon McDow.
“Mason is working smarter, and he has an idea of what to do,” Roberts said. “We have conversations about what the workouts are meant to do and why it’s OK to be tired after certain workouts. It’s going to help you later in competitions where you will run multiple events. We’re just more deliberate with what we’re doing in workouts.
“We’ll talk about why we’re doing this when in the past I would just say we’re doing this, this, and this. Now I plan and say we’re doing this because of this and we’re doing this for this. We have the week planned out so we know what we’re doing coming in.”
Bexley sprinter Mason Louis, an Ohio State recruit, takes a warm up lap at the school May 15 as he prepares for District competition at Westerville South. Photo: Kevin Rouch
Louis returns this week to Westerville South, the site of the district injury from last year. The Lions compete in the Division II, district 1 meet May 16, 17, and 20. The top four in each event advance to regional May 25 and 27 at Lexington.
“Mason is more deliberate in what he did this year and he knows there is a future for him,” Roberts said. “He’s a track-head. As a track and field coach, you don’t have kids who are track-first very often. He’s the only one who is a track-only kid.
“He’s on pace right now. The sky’s the limit. His sophomore year, we didn’t have a bad day (in terms of weather). This year we have had wind, temperature drops, and all sorts of things. But he always runs better when he’s hot.”
With the mercury rising, Louis’s times have continued to drop and give the sprinter one last chance to shine in his future home, Ohio State’s Jesse Owens Stadium. As a sophomore, the pandemic moved the Division II state competition to Pickerington North. Last year, he could only watch with envy from the stands as his peers competed for all-state honors. He hopes that wait is hopefully over.
“It was hard to watch that state meet, knowing I should have been out there,” Louis said. “This is my last year. Hope it’s my best year.
“Now I’m stronger, I’m wiser, I’m faster, and I’m more hungry. That state title should have been mine last year. I know it, and I’m going to get it.”