Luke Dang admits he never enjoyed weight training.

“I wasn’t really big in the weight room,” Dang said. “I just didn’t like it.”

The Cony junior changed his tune this winter and his dedication to weight training paid dividends.
Dang won the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class B title in the 55-meter dash and was second in the 200. At the Class A state championships, he was fourth in the 200 and fifth in the 55.
He also finished 15th in the 300 at the New England championships.

For his outstanding season, Dang has been named the Kennebec Journal Boys Indoor Track and Field Athlete of the Year. Gardiner’s Cody Whitcomb, who won the KVAC B title in the 800 and the mile, was also considered.

Dang’s dedication in the weight room showed most in the 200, according to Cony coach Taylor Harmon.

“It shows how much stronger he is getting,” Harmon said. “He has gone from being a freshman and now is a guy who has worked hard in the weight room. He works hard in the weight room.”

Dang finished second at the KVAC A meet in the 200 with a time of 23.37, then finished fourth at the state championship meet with a time of 23.45.

He stretched himself out at the New England championships competing in the 300. That distance is not run in high school and Dang’s inexperience probably hurt him. He finished 15th with a time of 37.83.

“I think he tried to run it like a 400 instead of a 200,” Harmon said. “The 300 is really a race to the last corner. If you can’t get to that last corner you get pushed to the outside if you are not out front.”

Dang ran the 300 once before, at the Dartmouth Relays, but said the race is tough because it takes more of a toll on your body.

Dang says the 200 is his best event because, “I was told once ‘He who slows down the least can win the race,’ and I think I can hold my speed a little bit longer than most.”

During his junior season, Dang may have been better in the 55. He won the KVAC A title with a time of 6.75, upsetting Mt. Ararat’s Mackenzie Gary, who was seeded first in the event and ran the fastest time in the prelims.

“I peaked at the right time,” Dang said.

Dang finished fifth at the Class A state championship meet in the 55 with a time of 6.81.

He finished fourth in the 200 at 23.45.

In outdoor track this spring, Dang hopes to run in the mid-11 second range in the 100 and to break 23 seconds in the 200.

Scott Martin — 621-5618
smartin@centralmaine.com