Perkins regional hurdles champ Stewart fights through injuries

PERKINS TWP. — Owen Stewart is laser focused. The Perkins senior has battled a tough road of injuries, but it has led him to the state track and field championships that start Friday at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium on the campus of Ohio State University. Stewart has pushed through hamstring injuries in both legs. The semifinal in the 110-meter hurdles is at 2 p.m. Friday. There will be two heats in the Division II race. The top two finishers in each heat automatically advance to Saturday's final at 1:05 p.m. The next five fastest times will also move on to one final race. "It's definitely frustrating," said Stewart of the injury bug. "I didn't really know what to do there for a while. I just did everything I could when it came to looking stuff up. Eventually I started going to a doctor in Findlay and he did a lot of work on my hamstrings. Of course I paid for it, but I couldn't think of anything else I'd rather spend my money on. He went through and cleaned my hamstrings up. "Where they're at now, I can actually run. I'm pretty happy with that, but it was definitely frustrating." Perkins coach Shane Burrows said the doctor Stewart visited was the same one his son used when he competed at Tiffin University. Stewart has been getting worked on since February. It's been a long road for Stewart, but he has a chance to make it pay off this week. "Last year, he wasn't able to run hardly at all with two different pulled hamstrings," Burrows said. "His sophomore year, he was at the state track meet in four events including two individual and two relays and honestly, he could've been on any of the relays we had down there. For him to come back and fight through it, he's stayed focused. His hard work and dedication to our program is like very little that I've had. He's a track guy. He hasn't done any other sports the last couple years to focus on track. "This is very well-deserving for all the hard work, effort, time, blood, sweat and tears he has put into this. This is a guy that can score 300 points in a season with no problem." Stewart didn't do a whole lot at the beginning of the season. The cold air that hovers through March and most of April did not help his hamstrings. They would tighten up, but now that the weather has warmed up, he's ready to finish strong. "Before I go, I'm not really thinking about much of anything," Stewart said. "I've already seen this race hundreds of times in my head. I run through the race over and over again. I'm not even worried about it. No anxiety before a race, ever. I go through and I stay smooth through the whole race. I'm confident in what I can do." Stewart won the Sandusky Bay Conference 110 hurdles May 16. He crossed the finish line in 15.01 seconds. "I didn't really feel good that day," Stewart said. "I ran pretty horribly. I didn't feel good warming up. I had a bad block start. About a third of way through the race, I was losing. I had to push a little harder than I wanted to that early. I barely won. I didn't think it was going to be as much competition as there was." He then took third at the district meet despite running faster, finishing in 14.60. The Oak Harbor district was one of the toughest in the state and Stewart was happy to have felt a little better that day. "I never want to lose, so losing at district didn't sit well with me," Stewart said. "It wasn't much of a motivator because I already had the motivation. I don't need to lose to have that. I want to win no matter what. I didn't feel great that day, but it was better than I had been previously before. I was going to take my win there. I was happy I felt better than the week before." That all led to a regional championship run of 14.65 at Lexington, a super-tough regional. "I went out and thought about having a smooth race," Stewart said. "I had a good block start and after the first hurdle, I knew I was going to win. I was pretty happy on the top. It's not over. We have this week. I know what I need to do in the future." Burrows said Stewart is one of the fastest runners on the team and one of the faster runners he's had since pre-COVID. "He's got the sprinter's speed," Burrows said. "His hurdling form has gotten better and better. He's been doing hurdles for six years. I'm just really, really proud of him with his resilience and sticking with it. A lot of kids would have probably quit after not having a whole season. He didn't let it discourage him. I think all of that hard work and time he's put into it came to a head last week." Stewart has a few days of practice this week before the final meet. He won't go hard, but will be ready to go when the time comes Friday. "I know I don't need to fix any technique," Stewart said. "All I have to do is fuel my body correctly and stay smooth. I want to feel good going into that race." Burrows knows if Stewart runs his best he could make the podium Saturday. "I've always said he's very hard to beat when he's a full strength," he said. "We got to see that last week at the regional meet. That was a little poetic justice."