Jordan Wesley has been a running dude for the past several years and that speed and endurance have started paying dividends for the Beggs High School freshman who plays football, basketball and runs track for the Demons.
“I’ve been doing all of those since about third grade, but I think I probably like track the best right now because I just like running. My mom signed me up for an AAU track team when I was 11 and I’ve been doing that ever since. I’ve been to the Junior Olympics in California with my AAU team and placed 27th out of over 70 runners in the 200 and 400-meter sprints.”
This year at Beggs Jordan will run those two events as well as the 4X100, 4X200 and 4X400 relays and with just a handful of meets completed, Jordan has already placed fourth in the 200m at Stroud and fifth at Okemah with a goal of qualifying for state by the time his freshman year is done.
“(Track) Coach (Andre) Barnett has been my role model these last two years in particular because he’s taught me most of the stuff I know about running,” said Jordan.
Wesley acknowledges the big difference in competition between what he saw in middle school and what he’s experienced so far in his first year in high school but says that running AAU track has helped make that adjustment easier.
Jordan moved to Beggs from Okmulgee last summer and that was where Beggs football coach David Tenison first noticed Wesley.
“I became aware of Jordan last year when we played Okmulgee in the eighth grade. He and their quarterback were dynamic and explosive athletes and then it was our good fortune that Jordan moved here,” said Tenison. “Obviously anytime you change grade levels and/or schools like Jordan did, there’s a learning curve so he spent most of last fall adjusting but he did end up playing in three or four games towards the end of the season and did an outstanding job particularly at cornerback. His natural speed and his ability to shift gears from forwards to backwards make him a prime candidate for us in the fall to be in our secondary and maybe at tailback or wide receiver.”
