Q&A // Jeffrey Perkins, Woodlawn, track and field

In his younger days, Jeffrey Perkins spent countless hours practicing acrobatic flips with his neighborhood friends. These days, however, it's the track coaches at Woodlawn who are doing back flips over the emergence of the 17-year-old as one of the area's premier sprinters.

The senior recently won three Baltimore County titles, including individual gold in the 400, and followed that up with individual championships in the 100 and 400 at the Class 4A North regionals.

Now, two years after transferring from Reginald F. Lewis High in the city, Perkins will be one of Woodlawn's top hopes at this weekend's Class 4A state meet.


Question: Lately you've just been coming into your own as a sprinter, yet you've only been running competitively for a relatively short time. What made you give track a try?

Answer: When I was younger, I used to just run faster than most of the kids. I used to just chase dogs and things like that, so when I was in ninth grade, I started playing football. I was a good wide receiver, but then after a while, I didn't have anything to do. I talked to the track coach and he said, "Why don't you join track?" I just started practicing and I was kind of good.

Question: Have you seen a lot of improvement in the past year or two?

Answer: Definitely. Last year I was just getting back into good shape, but this year I'm doing really good. It's just me being in better shape and much stronger. I've mostly lifted weights. Last year, I really wasn't in the weight room, so I just decided that if I lift weights I can get bigger and stronger, and if I get stronger, it will be easier for me to run faster.

Question: You also ran cross country in the fall. Do you think that's helped, as well?

Answer: Well, when you're running 3.1 miles, it gets your lungs stronger and your endurance up. And once your endurance is up, you can easily run a 500 or a 400, so cross country has helped a lot.

Question: Is the 400 your best event?

Answer: This year, yes. I feel like I'm getting so much stronger that I can easily run a 400. When most people get tired, I still have enough energy to keep pushing.

Question: Obviously you're looking forward to showing just how much you've improved at the state meet later this week. What about beyond that? Have you settled on a college?

Answer: I've been looking at [Division II] Lincoln University [in Pennsylvania] real heavy. I was talking to the coach, and he seemed very interesting, as well as interested in me. I like the track program, and I want to be a part of the team. Right now, it's about a 75 percent chance I'm going there.

Question: Have you thought about what you'd like to study?

Answer: Oh yeah, I'm going to study business and minor in technology. Since I was in about ninth and 10th grade, I've loved computers, and I've always wanted to start my own business. ... I'd like to get into e-commerce of some type.

Question: Besides track, I understand that your other big hobby has always been gymnastics. Can you tell me a little about that?

Answer: Well, it wasn't really like organized gymnastics, but me and my friends when we were younger - like third or fourth grade - we used to go out and just do back flips. We got so good at it that we could beat most people who had formal training. People around the way ... we used to get a crowd around and do flips. We'd record them on a camera and put them on MySpace and Facebook.

Question: What kind of degree of difficulty would you say we're talking about?

Answer: Well, some of the twists are very difficult, because it's hard to see where you're landing. Then the combinations, you have to land them just right so that you can get the next flip right. When I was younger I just practiced and got so good that it came easy.

Question: Do you think having that kind of balance and agility has played a role in your success on the track?

Answer: Somewhat. When you run the 400, you need strength, and you also need strength to flip. It kind of goes hand in hand.

Question: Your school has such a long history of dominance in track and field. As a prominent member of the team, do you feel a responsibility to keep that going?

Answer: Yes. My coaches tell us all the time about how Woodlawn was the best and how they have all these records, and that we need to keep up. The past couple years, we haven't been doing that well, so when we won the county championship it just showed that we can bring back the old Woodlawn and actually do some damage.