Chrisman speeds toward end of stellar Clyde career

CLYDE — Clyde track coach Jake Jenne didn't hold back. Senior Damarius Chrisman is one of the best athletes in Fliers history, so Jenne threw up a theory. "If you had a Mount Rushmore of Clyde track and field, 'D' would probably be on it," Jenne said. "It's just the impact the little kids get to see and the middle school kids stepping into track. It's even some of our younger guys that get to be around him and watch him practice and how he goes about himself." Chrisman is nearing the end of a storied career. It continues Thursday in the Division II regional preliminary races at Lexington High School. Moving on through the prelims means a return trip to the finals Saturday. Finishing in the top four there earns a trip to the state tournament June 6-7 at Jesse Owens Stadium on the campus of Ohio State University. "I'm hoping to win the 400 and just place in all my events," Chrisman said. "I want to give the team the best chance to compete. I'm going to miss this team. It was a special team." The season started for Chrisman way back during the indoor season during the winter. Finishing fourth in the state in the 400 fueled Chrisman throughout the indoor season. "He's come a long way," Jenne said. "That didn't really sit well, even though it was fourth. We came in with an edge this year and he really hit the ground running starting in November. We hit three indoor meets throughout the year and he finished second in the 200 and third in the 400 at the indoor state meet." Those have been Chrisman's top events, but he expanded a little bit. Speed is speed, even more clearly in shorter races. "Really once we ran time trials at the beginning of this year and saw his times, we transitioned more into the short sprints," said Jenne of Chrisman running the 100 this season. "He's just been a different beast this year. We knew where he was at last year, but I think a big thing is he committed to the weight room heavily this offseason." Chrisman was a bit surprised by adding the 100 to his repertoire, but didn't mind it, either. "I wasn't even expected to run the 100, but in the time trials, Jake told me I ran pretty fast and I had a chance to break this record," he said. "I didn't ever think I'd do it, but my times slowly got down and I ran faster. I'm slowly trying to progress and get my blocks good." Chrisman was a beast at the Sandusky Bay Conference meet a few weeks ago. In the Lake Division, he took home wins in the 100 (11.06 seconds), 200 (22.22) and 400 (48.64). Then, he teamed with Hector Garza, Sam Greenslade and Cayden Perkins to win the 4x200 in 1:29.47. "He keeps me on my toes," Jenne said. "Damarius is a fun kid to be around. He always brings a smile to your face. Each day is a new day with him. You walk in and who knows what activity he's been into or what the new funny thing of the week is. "It's definitely nice as a coach to be teaching in the building and being around him. It keeps your passion and love for it high. It makes coming to work and practice fun each day." Clyde had its team banquet last week and the numbers for Chrisman were staggering. Throughout his high school career in dual meets or invitationals, Chrisman has scored more than 1,100 points for the Fliers. That doesn't include league or postseason meets. "Especially when you go into the conference meet or district meet, it's nice knowing you have Damarius with his three open events," Jenne said. "He's probably going to come out on top or compete in the top three. It's cool just to be able to see him compete in different relays." Chrisman said it was a slow start to his middle school and high school career before realizing his potential. He played basketball throughout middle school and into his freshman and sophomore seasons. He also played football the first three years of high school before focusing strictly on track this season. "My seventh-grade year was the COVID year, so I couldn't run that year," Chrisman said. "In my eighth-grade year, I was alright. Coming into my freshman year, I wasn't thinking I'd be as good as I was or have the opportunity I got. "In my sophomore year, I realized I was pretty fast and I had a chance to do something with this sport." This past weekend, Chrisman was second in the 100 while winning the 400 at the Oak Harbor district. He also teamed with Dekin Crockett, Garza and Perkins to win the 4x200 relay. "It's about just keeping him healthy," Jenne said. "Pretty much the load is done. Now it's just tweaking and fine-tuning some things. We'll work on a start here and there. There's not a whole lot of conditioning that's going to be done in the last few weeks. We'll make sure he's physically ready to go. Really, you have to take it one race at a time." Chrisman will compete next year at Tiffin University for the Dragons' track team. For now, he enjoys basketball still while hanging out with friends and playing video games. "It's been a great ride, but the job isn't done yet," Jenne said. "It's one week at a time. It's never about him. With an athlete as high quality as he is, it could easily be 'look at me, look at me.' "I think if you asked Damarius, he'd rather run on a relay with three of his buddies to get them the recognition rather than being in an open race. That's hard to do with kids these days."