Maybe Zachary's Vederek Matthews has come across Charles Dickens' 'A Tale of Two Cities' in his British Literature class. Or maybe he will come across the classic work later in his formal education. Either way, Matthews will be able to relate to book's first sentence--"It was the best of times. It was the worst of times."
The hurdler has experienced both during the transition from his junior year to the start of his senior year.
Saturday night, at the LSU HS Qualifier, it was the best of times for Matthews, who ran a 7.95 in the 60m hurdles on his way to a victory--and later--the meet's Track MVP title. Matthew's time ranks #12 in the US.
"It means a lot knowing that this has never happened before," Matthews said when asked what it meant to him to win the MVP award. "All these three years of my indoor seasons, it has never happened. "I come back from a bad year one year and come back in my senior opener and get this (trophy) it means a lot."
The "bad year" Matthews was referring to was last season when he did not make it out of Region 2-5A in the 110m hurdles. That, after finishing on the podium at the 2022 LHSAA State Outdoor Meet during his sophomore year with a time of 14.40. It was a tough pill to swallow, to say the least.
It truly was the 'worst of times' for Matthews as he watched the 110m hurdles among the spectators at Bernie Moore Stadium.
"It was real hard (not qualifying) just because I knew I was better than that. Just with the right work I could have been right there at state where I was the year before when I got third," Matthews said. "I just used it as motivation."
But that was then, and this is now. It appears Matthews has saved his best for last. And it will be fun to see how low he can go.
"I think I can hit that 7.7," Matthews said. "I know I can, actually."
After Saturday night in the Carl Maddox Fieldhouse, anything seems possible for Matthews.
