Dan Stickradt
Sports Scene
AUBURN HILLS — When Joshuwa Holloman looks at his school’s record board, his name is absent.
Despite an incredible prep track and field career, Holloman, now a senior at Avondale, does not own any individual school records in either open events or relays. Still, he is one fast prep runner.
“I don’t really look at the records. It’s not why I race,” said Holloman, who is in his fourth season of varsity races. He races to win and help lead his track team to some impressive finishes.
Last season, the 5-foot-11-inch, 185-pound Holloman was a key cog in the Yellowjackets’ runner-up finish at the Division 2 state finals. He blazed a trail to win both the 100 meter-dash (10.75 seconds) and the 200-meter dash (22.21), and he anchored the 800-meter relay to a third-place finish (1:29.67).
As a freshman, Holloman was part of Avondale’s state championship team. He qualified for the state finals in the 200-meter dash but finished last in his heat and did not contribute to Avondale’s team scoring.
His sophomore year, Avondale was bumped up to Division 1. The speedy Holloman turned some heads by winning the 100-meter dash (11.11) at the state finals and helping his team finish 18th overall in the team standings with 13 points.
Avondale was moved back down to Division 2 in 2014, and Holloman continued to shine. He backed up his stellar sophomore campaign last year at the finals by finishing as the state’s fastest with the two individual titles. His efforts aided the Yellowjackets’ team state runner-up finish.
“He’s a very talented, fast young man,” said Avondale coach Shelby Johnson, who is in his second season with the Yellowjackets. “It’s not too often you get to coach a kid of his caliber. He’s a competitor. He does not like to lose.”
Holloman has recorded a time of 10.5 seconds in the 100 and 21.8 seconds in the 200 during his career. But it’s Holloman’s performance, not necessarily his time, that drives him at every meet.
“I don’t care if I ever set a record. What I want to do is train hard and try to repeat in the 100 and 200,” said Holloman, who has gone 4.26 in the 40-yard dash at football combines. “If I don’t win a race, it says that I haven’t worked hard enough, haven’t trained right. My team expects me to win and get us those points. I don’t like to lose.”
Holloman will attend the University of Cincinnati, heading to campus at the end of June. He will compete in both football and track and field for the Bearcats.
“You can’t teach speed,” noted Avondale football coach Steve Deutsch, also a former track and field coach. “He’s the fastest kid in the state.”
Holloman hopes to lead Avondale to its fifth top-five finish in six years at the state meet and hopes to defend his 100- and 200-meter dash titles this season.
“The goal is to go out there and win the 100 and 200 and try to get our relays [to qualify and place] at the state meet,” said Holloman, whose older brother and father also starred at Avondale. “It’s all about hard work, training hard, getting out of the blocks fast.”