Track comes full circle for Nixon family
HOUSTON - Jerome Nixon leaned against a chain-linked fence on an unseasonably warm, gloriously sun-filled Thursday afternoon. Beside Nixon stood his son Karlon as both surveyed the scene in front of them.
A non-section, double-dual track meet between Bentworth, Chartiers-Houston and Monessen neared its completion and the two looked unusually casual, considering their significant roles.
Jerome Nixon coaches Bentworth. He's the only coach the Bearcats have known after taking over the program in 2003 before the school ever ran a meet.
Karlon Nixon coaches Chartiers-Houston. The former Wash High standout sprinter served as dad's assistant before becoming the Bucs' coach at age 24.
Thursday's meet - won by the Bentworth boys and Monessen girls - doesn't mean anything in terms of team playoff scenarios. For the Nixons, it offers another opportunity to do what they love - talk track.
Plus, it provided a WPIAL rarity - father coaching against son.
The Bearcats and Bucs met in last year's Black Hills Conference meet but Thursday marked the first time the two participated in a dual meet since Karlon Nixon became a head coach before the 2007 season.
"Karlon does an excellent job," Jerome Nixon said. "On more than one occasion, I've had another coach come up to me and say, 'Your son runs an excellent meet.' and how great a job he's doing. He's a nice person and he's a good kid. He loves the sport. He studies the sport."
And, when Karlon gets together with his father, he talks about the sport.
"There's at least a half-hour to an hour every night during the season where we're talking track," Karlon Nixon said. "There's sometimes, as soon as I walk in, he'll be at the computer and I'll be eating dinner and we're just talking track."
Karlon's sister Tam Nixon, a former PIAA gold medal sprinter at Wash High and volunteer assistant for Bentworth, believes her brother's estimate may be a bit off.
"They are talking all track all the time," she said. "It does get to me sometimes. That's when it's time to head to my bedroom."
Track talk at the Nixon household can vary in length and topic.
One often-discussed subject is strengths and weaknesses. The Bentworth boys, who won their first section championship and sport a 12-0 record, have strong distance runners in Joe Molek, Colton Loos and K.C. Lindley; good throwers in Scott Day and Cory Strennan; and solid athletes in most events. Chartiers-Houston, as usual, is strong in the sprints and hurdles.
"We recently said that if we had these two teams combined, it would be a really good team," Jerome Nixon said. "His downfalls are my assets and where we're weak at, he's strong."
"I ask him for advice all the time," Jerome said. "Karlon knows my personality as well as I know his."
Tam Nixon added, "He loves it. He knows a lot about track. He's always wanted to coach and he wants to coach college someday."
And Karlon knows Bentworth needs a helping hand.
The Bearcats have won multiple WPIAL and PIAA medals without a track. Bentworth athletic director George Linck said the possibility of a new football stadium exists and, if it becomes reality, a track will be installed.
Until then, Bentworth practices at Chartiers-Houston on weekends.
"If it wasn't for Chartiers-Houston, we probably wouldn't be in this position," Jerome Nixon said. "They have been great to us. The use of this track facility has been great for us."
And this meet was great for the coaches. The Bentworth boys won, 101-44. The Chartiers-Houston girls won, 75-60, despite Bentworth junior Amanda Kennedy throwing a WPIAL-best 131-0 in the javelin.
"This meet means a lot to me," Karlon said. "I helped him at Bentworth. He gave me my opportunity to coach. In seventh and eighth grade, he taught me how to run track. Now, you can say I'm a new-school coach and he's an old-school coach."
Someday, the meet may even take place at Bentworth.
"I always tell him he has it easy. He's never had to run a meet and all the things that go with it," said Karlon. "It takes two hours just to prepare. So, I'd love to see Bentworth get a track."
A non-section, double-dual track meet between Bentworth, Chartiers-Houston and Monessen neared its completion and the two looked unusually casual, considering their significant roles.
Jerome Nixon coaches Bentworth. He's the only coach the Bearcats have known after taking over the program in 2003 before the school ever ran a meet.
Karlon Nixon coaches Chartiers-Houston. The former Wash High standout sprinter served as dad's assistant before becoming the Bucs' coach at age 24.
Thursday's meet - won by the Bentworth boys and Monessen girls - doesn't mean anything in terms of team playoff scenarios. For the Nixons, it offers another opportunity to do what they love - talk track.
Plus, it provided a WPIAL rarity - father coaching against son.
The Bearcats and Bucs met in last year's Black Hills Conference meet but Thursday marked the first time the two participated in a dual meet since Karlon Nixon became a head coach before the 2007 season.
"Karlon does an excellent job," Jerome Nixon said. "On more than one occasion, I've had another coach come up to me and say, 'Your son runs an excellent meet.' and how great a job he's doing. He's a nice person and he's a good kid. He loves the sport. He studies the sport."
And, when Karlon gets together with his father, he talks about the sport.
"There's at least a half-hour to an hour every night during the season where we're talking track," Karlon Nixon said. "There's sometimes, as soon as I walk in, he'll be at the computer and I'll be eating dinner and we're just talking track."
Karlon's sister Tam Nixon, a former PIAA gold medal sprinter at Wash High and volunteer assistant for Bentworth, believes her brother's estimate may be a bit off.
"They are talking all track all the time," she said. "It does get to me sometimes. That's when it's time to head to my bedroom."
Track talk at the Nixon household can vary in length and topic.
One often-discussed subject is strengths and weaknesses. The Bentworth boys, who won their first section championship and sport a 12-0 record, have strong distance runners in Joe Molek, Colton Loos and K.C. Lindley; good throwers in Scott Day and Cory Strennan; and solid athletes in most events. Chartiers-Houston, as usual, is strong in the sprints and hurdles.
"We recently said that if we had these two teams combined, it would be a really good team," Jerome Nixon said. "His downfalls are my assets and where we're weak at, he's strong."
"I ask him for advice all the time," Jerome said. "Karlon knows my personality as well as I know his."
Tam Nixon added, "He loves it. He knows a lot about track. He's always wanted to coach and he wants to coach college someday."
And Karlon knows Bentworth needs a helping hand.
The Bearcats have won multiple WPIAL and PIAA medals without a track. Bentworth athletic director George Linck said the possibility of a new football stadium exists and, if it becomes reality, a track will be installed.
Until then, Bentworth practices at Chartiers-Houston on weekends.
"If it wasn't for Chartiers-Houston, we probably wouldn't be in this position," Jerome Nixon said. "They have been great to us. The use of this track facility has been great for us."
And this meet was great for the coaches. The Bentworth boys won, 101-44. The Chartiers-Houston girls won, 75-60, despite Bentworth junior Amanda Kennedy throwing a WPIAL-best 131-0 in the javelin.
"This meet means a lot to me," Karlon said. "I helped him at Bentworth. He gave me my opportunity to coach. In seventh and eighth grade, he taught me how to run track. Now, you can say I'm a new-school coach and he's an old-school coach."
Someday, the meet may even take place at Bentworth.
"I always tell him he has it easy. He's never had to run a meet and all the things that go with it," said Karlon. "It takes two hours just to prepare. So, I'd love to see Bentworth get a track."
