PEARCY -- A day after winning the 800-meter run at Nashville's Coca-Cola Relays, Lake Hamilton senior Cody Weldon inked his name to a national letter of intent Wednesday to run track and cross country for Arkansas State University.
Weldon, who finished 10th in the Class 6A state cross country meet last November, has made a name for himself in the 800-meter run during the spring track season.
"He helped his team to four state championships in cross country in a row," said Lake Hamilton head track and cross country coach during a small ceremony held in the Lake Hamilton Alumni Room in Wolf Arena. "He was an All-State cross country runner the last two years. He's the number 2 800-meter runner in Class 6A in the state right now. "
While he is one of the top runners in the state, his journey to this point has not always been easy. Weldon suffered a concussion his sophomore year that kept him off his feet competitively.
"I got a concussion, knocked me out for a long time, and I had a rebound concussion," he said, noting the second occurred last year. "I couldn't run for a long time, and every time I ran hard, I got headaches. It was really hard to run cross country; it's three miles."
Despite the adversity, he was able to overcome and join his teammates to win the school's fifth-straight cross country state championship.
"I had to really push through that to help them win," he said, noting he was named an All-State cross country runner at the end of the season.
A mid-range distance runner in the spring, Weldon also competes in the 4x800-meter and 4x400-meter relays. He also occasionally runs in the 1,600-meter event.
While several Lake Hamilton runners have joined the Red Wolves running program in the past, Weldon will be the lone Wolf on Arkansas State's roster for the fall.
"A lot of our Lake Hamilton guys have gone there and told me about it," Weldon said of the reason for his choice. "I've always really been interested in it. We used to go there for a track meet every year, and I really liked running on it. The coaches talked to me, and I went up there for a track meet, and afterwards, they talked to me and told me they were interested."
Weldon's win in Nashville Tuesday is not his only top track finish this season. Joined by Colby Swecker, Haze Farmer and Knowledge Hood, Weldon anchored the 4x400-meter team that set a meet record at the Nashville Scrapper Relays earlier this month.
Sports on 04/20/2018