Enfield Track Standout Meets the Man Whose Record He Shattered

Enfield High School sophomore Tyrik Henry didn't know what to expect when he was told to report to the main office Wednesday.

When he arrived, he was greeted by three of his coaches, assistant principal Andrew Longey and a man unknown to him. The group immediately watched a video of Henry's record-breaking run last week in the 110 meter hurdles at the Class M state track meet.

That run of 14.97 seconds eclipsed Henry's own school record of 15.21, established two weeks earlier at the Randy Smith Invitational in Manchester. At that meet, Henry had broken the mark of 15.3 that had stood since 1984.

When the video finished playing, Henry was introduced to the man he didn't know: Wickley Brown, whose record finally fell after nearly three decades.

Brown presented Henry with a certificate recognizing his accomplishment, and offered some words of encouragement to the budding young star.

"You're going to just get better, your number will go down every time you run," Brown said. "It's a record that stood for so long, it's great to see somebody finally break it."

The shy, humble Henry said, "I feel honored for breaking a record that stood for so long. It's been a good experience, and I've made a lot of progress thanks to my coaches and hard work."

Head coach Todd Cunha said, "He has a lot of athletic ability and he picked up the hurdles fairly quickly. We've been looking at his form and getting his trail leg through quicker. It's exciting and fun; it's like coaching a college athlete at that level, and (assistant coach) Christine (Spelman) has done a good job talking to other coaches about what we can do with him."

Brown still holds the Enfield record in the 300 meter hurdles - "it's 40-point-something," he said - but expects Henry to shatter that mark as well, likely by the end of his junior season. His best time in that event this year was 41.48 seconds.

"He's going to continue to strive to do better, and his next move is to try to go for the 300," Brown said. "These young boys are bigger and stronger. Hurdles is a tough race, but when you're good at it, you can seriously make your mark. This kid is going to get real good; he's only 15 and he's going to get taller. It will be a great privilege for me to come back again and shake his hand and say congratulations for breaking the 300 record."

Spelman told Brown half-jokingly, "Do whatever you can do to encourage him to run, like a faster start in the 300 to break your record."

While the chance to set the 300 mark has to wait until 2014, Henry has one more shot to break his own record in the 110. He will be competing in the New England Championships Saturday at Willow Brook Park in New Britain, the same site as his (and Enfield's) first sub-15 second dash.