DEEP RUN — Bryce Floyd’s only competition in Saturday’s state 2A indoor track meet may have been the clock but it didn’t matter. The fact Floyd was propelling his wheelchair down the 55-meter course was fulfilling enough.
It also turned into a pair of title-winning medals.
Floyd, a freshman at South Lenoir who’s spent most of his life in a wheelchair following injuries he sustained after being struck by a car as a child, won a state championship in the 55-meter wheelchair dash and in the shot put Saturday in Winston-Salem.
Floyd may have been the only participant in the two events, but that didn’t diminish what the teenager had accomplished.
“It was one of the greatest feelings that I have had because of Bryce and his personality and how he is,” Blue Devils track coach Fred Kennedy said.
“With the work that he has put in, it was a great feeling.”
Floyd, who was 3 years old when he was hit by a car in front of his family’s home in September 2001, has overcome severe brain and spinal cord injuries to become the first from Lenoir County to win an individual state indoor track championship, according to the NCHSAA.
The vibrant teenager wheeled his wheelchair down the 55-meter course in 20.35 seconds, and threw the shot put 10-feet, 10.5-inches to capture a medal in that event.
All said, Floyd’s work ethic and attitude have been second to none since he was able to leave the hospital following the accident.
“He’s always thinking about how he himself can improve and he tries to work on it every day in practice” Kennedy said.
Both of Floyd’s marks in the state championship meet were better than those he qualified with during a regular season meet last December.
In that meet, Floyd completed the 55-meter dash in 21 seconds flat and sent the shot put flying 9-feet, 2-inches.
Floyd’s determination to never give up gave him more than a half-second difference in the dash and more than a foot-and-a-half farther in the shot put.
He also plans to participate in spring track and field in the shot put, discus, 100-meter and 200-meter dashes, Kennedy said.
“He’s always upbeat and ready to go,” Kennedy said. “That’s just how Bryce is.”
Floyd, who has trouble speaking clearly following the accident and has endured more than 30 surgeries, was excited about qualifying for the state meeting when he met with The Free Press in December.
He even predicted who was going to win.
“Me,” he said. “I’m going to win it all.”
And he did.
Ryan Herman can be reached at 252-559-1073 or Ryan.Herman@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter: @KFPSports.