Metro junior Darius Reed breaks the school 110 hurdles record April 28 at the Mines Quad Meet in Golden. Photo by Rachel Fuenzalida

Metro hurdler Darius Reed is determined to make the most of his second chance at a college education and a career on the track.
The 6’5’’ junior is ranked second in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference in the 110 hurdle event, and 14th nationally, proving that with hard work and determination he can overcome adversity.
Those close to Reed knew the truth about why he lost his track scholarship from UCLA in 2008, and there were those who fueled rumors about his dismissal — including drugs and prison.
“The truth is that I was ready athletically for the caliber of school UCLA was, but not academically,” Reed said.
While at George Washington High School in Denver, Reed was a four-year letter winner. He was a state champion in the 110 and 300 hurdles, an All-Colorado and Denver Prep League most valuable player and ran the 110 hurdles in 13:46, the second-fastest time in Colorado high school history. During his senior year, Reed finished the 60-meter hurdles with a 7.77 and took second-place at the Nike Indoor National High School track and field championships.
Reed was candid about losing his scholarship, saying it was a combination of poor decisions and struggling with attention deficit disorder. Reed did well in high school and had a 3.75 grade point average when he was recruited by the PAC-12 school.
“I did struggle in high school, but was able to manage my A.D.D with medication and I got good grades,” Reed said. “But when I got to UCLA, I wasn’t as focused so I struggled.”
Reed said he lost focus in the classroom because he stopped taking his medicine, due to its appearance on the banned substance list, and didn’t want to jeopardize competing.
“I found out too late that I could get a waiver for my medicine and once you are behind it is too hard to catch up,” Reed said.
The expectation for college athlete’s to achieve in the classroom as well as in their sport is high, and sometimes young athletes don’t make the right decisions in managing their time. Reed admits that when he missed two weeks of class a month for track meets, he didn’t make up the work.
“I’m not going to say that I couldn’t have worked harder and I am disappointed in myself that I didn’t,” Reed said.
Reed says it has been a tough road back, but he is happy for the opportunity, which he seems to be making the best of on the Roadrunner team.
This year, between Jan. 13 and May 1, Reed has nine top-3 finishes in hurdle events in different indoor and outdoor meets. In addition, Reed broke the school record in the 110 hurdles with a time of 14.09 (wind aided) April 28 at an outdoor meet in Golden.
Reed took first place in that hurdle event and also helped his team take first place in the 4×100 relay.
“His journey has been a pretty tough road and he is overcoming those obstacles, and we are happy to have him on the team,” head track coach John Supsic said.
Although Supsic is impressed with Reed’s achievements on the track, he is just as impressed with the example Reed sets for the team.
“When athletes are struggling in the classroom, Darius is there to say ‘hey, been there and done that, I’ve gone through these things, learn from me and my poor decisions and make the right decisions instead of going through the struggles that I had to,’” Supsic said.
Reed’s goals at Metro are to get a degree in human performance and sport and to be a national hurdles champion.
“Darius told me he wants to coach and I told him to coach collegiality he needs a degree, so that is the number one goal,” Supsic said.
“Beyond that I want to see him win nationals, and he is capable of doing that. If he puts together everything that he did this year for a consistent year next year, then we are going to see him on top of that podium in May.”

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