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Varsity 541 NEWS NOW Oregon looks at renewing wildfire insurance from Lloyd's of London ... High temperature records could be broken today, Thursday in Medford ... Investigators release name of witness to fatal Phoenix shooting ... Oregon looks at renewing wildfire insurance from Lloyd's of London ... High temperature records could be broken today, Thursday in Medford ... Investigators release name of witness to fatal Phoenix shooting ... PREP NOTEBOOK North’s Schireman thrives in track return Comment By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Follow @@Kris_Henry MailTribune.com By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Follow @@Kris_Henry Posted Apr. 5, 2016 at 2:00 AM Updated Apr 5, 2016 at 9:03 AM By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Follow @@Kris_Henry Posted Apr. 5, 2016 at 2:00 AM Updated Apr 5, 2016 at 9:03 AM » Social News Like so many other senior athletes, North Medford basketball standout Brian Schireman could’ve easily sat back and soaked up the sun for his final term in high school. Instead, the reigning Southwest Conference boys basketball player of the year is taking a turn as a member of the Black Tornado track and field team — and loving every second of it. The 6-foot-2 Schireman is just the latest sensation in what has become a recent trend at North Medford of having first-year seniors turn out for the track and field team, and head coach Piet Voskes certainly hopes it continues. “It feels sometimes like getting a free agent for a year,” Voskes said with a laugh Monday. “It’s almost like you get to the trade deadline and you’ve picked up a kid for the stretch run.” In each case, it has seemed to work out for the athlete and the track team. Last year, it was football and basketball standout Tristen Holmes joining the track team and helping lead the 4x100-meter relay team to a district title to go with steady showings in the triple jump and long jump. One year before that, golfer Daniel Schuler helped break the school record in the short relay and advanced to the state meet in two events. That came on the heels of Jeremy Scottow coming out to rank fifth in school history in the long jump, as well as Thomas Workman working his way up to sixth-fastest in school history at the time in the 200. Voskes said track and field offers more opportunity to leave the door open for athletes to come out at any point, as well as a unique support system and wealth of areas to contribute. Voskes uses the relationships he builds with students as a teacher at Hedrick Middle School to keep the door open. “I think it’s a huge mistake to ever write a kid off,” said Voskes. “Our line is we’re a Walmart and you can come in whenever you want.” “I think athletically we can write kids off too soon and we also forget we’re dealing with 14- and 15-year-old kids who are still trying to figure out who they are. This is more than an extension of the classroom and people figure it out at different paces.” For Schireman, that pace began over the summer when he suggested to good friend Tyren Wolfe, the reigning 100 state champion and a basketball teammate, that he was considering running track as a senior. Schireman initially turned out for the sport as a freshman but suffered a stress fracture only two weeks into the season and that has stood as his only time on the track until now. “I just kind of wanted to be there and support Tyren and be as close as I can to what he’s doing out there,” said Schireman, who averaged 17 points, four assists and two rebounds this past basketball season. “I just wanted to be out there and push him and support him and make him better any way I could.” Wolfe never let Schireman forget what he said, and the rest may wind up being history. In his first meet against South Medford, Schireman won the 110 hurdles in 16.94 seconds and the 300 hurdles in 43.15. On Saturday, Schireman joined Cody Matthews, Javel Stewart and Wolfe in setting a record in the Medford Rotary Relays with a 43.21 showing in the 4x100 relay. That time is the third-fastest in Oregon this season. “I’ve got a really good group of kids around me with Javel, Cody, Tyren, Savannah (Greenwade) and everyone,” said Schireman. “They all kind of pushed me at the start and told me they expected big things out of me and I just kinda wanted to come out and achieve big things.” “I’m competitive,” he added. “I’m not just gonna come out and run, you might as well try to win.” It’s not like he doesn’t have a great foundation in the sport. Schireman’s mother, Juanita (Nelson), was a star sprinter at Klamath Union High and the 1980 graduate held the old Southern Oregon Conference records in the 100 and 200. She went on to lead the Lane Community College women to the Oregon Community College Athletic Association championship in 1983 by winning the 200 (25.67) and 400 (57.8) and leading two relay teams to victory before joining the University of Oregon program the next season. “Brian was a young man playing on my seventh grade basketball team and I knew how talented he was then so, in his case, I’ve been waiting six years to get him into the program,” said Voskes. “But it always has to be on their own terms, and Brian approached us and he’s just been an absolute treat. He helps lead our workouts, supports the other kids and is the last one to leave the track. You can see why he was player of the year in the SWC because his work ethic is second to none. And he’s such a good athlete, you only have to tell him one time and he gets it, he has his mom’s track savvy.” Schireman said he went into the process with an open mind and, on Voskes’ advice, turned to the hurdles and has attacked the event ever since. “I just keep working harder and doing whatever I can to get better in the little amount of time I have,” he said. The fact that the short relay team set a meet record Saturday wasn’t all that surprising to Schireman and crew, who have big plans for this season. “You can’t really complain about it when it’s a record,” he said, “but we always know there are some little things we can fix to do things faster. Third in the state is pretty exciting when we know we have a lot of room to improve.” Even more exciting for Voskes is that Schireman is not alone in his senior venture out to the track. State champion wrestler Wyatt Westfall recently turned out and threw a team-best 138 feet, 3 inches in the javelin on Saturday, while fellow first-timer Cory Reece is second on the team in the long jump. “We can only get better having more quality senior kids out there and it just snowballs into the future,” said Voskes. Reach reporter Kris Henry at 541-776-4488, [email protected], www.facebook.com/krishenryMT or www.twitter.com/Kris_Henry By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Follow @@Kris_Henry MailTribune.com By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Follow @@Kris_Henry Posted Apr. 5, 2016 at 2:00 AM Updated Apr 5, 2016 at 9:03 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction Schedules & Events --> Recent Scores --> Prep Notebook Kris Henry North’s Schireman thrives in track return Like so many other senior athletes, North Medford basketball standout Brian Schireman could’ve easily sat back and soaked up the... 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