Calix Lemp, a junior at Wadsworth High School, recently set the school record for the 60-meter dash, currently at 6.97 seconds. The previous record was set by Aaron Keating, which was at 7.15 seconds; this was set back in 2023.

At the beginning of Lemp’s sophomore indoor track season, he ran a 7.45-second 60-meter dash and improved to a 7.29-second dash through to the end of his season. In his 2024 indoor track season, Lemp kept improving on his 60-meter dash, which peaked at 7.21 seconds.

“He understands running— understanding the physics of running— and he’s a student of it,” said Chris Beery, the head coach of the boys’ track and field team. “He knows what proper form should look like, how to exert force, and how to create speed from start to finish.”

Beery also believes that his work ethic and how he trains influenced why he has become the athlete he is.

“He’s obviously really fast— that’s the first requirement— but he also works extremely hard. He trains very hard and prepares himself well. He invests himself completely and puts a lot of time and effort into getting faster, getting better, and becoming the best athlete he can be,” Beery said.

However, throughout his sophomore season, he faced many injuries with his ankle and foot, which ultimately required surgery around March. As a result, he missed the whole outdoor track season.

“Last year I had a multitude of injuries,” Lemp said. It started when I broke my led first offensive play of the football season. Had two more surgeries later that year and was out of sports for roughly 9 months.”

Beery also mentioned that he ran in pain during the indoor season before his injury sidelined him for the outdoor track season.

This season, Lemp drastically improved his 60-meter dash speed and competed in five track meets, including one at the OATCCC Division I State Indoor Championships.

At the beginning of this current season, he started his indoor season with a 7.01-second 60-meter dash, a 0.2-second improvement since his last indoor meet in 2024.

“I have been training for the 60 meters by doing indoor practices, going to pack performance [Lemp’s personal trainer], and doing lifting with the football team.,” Lemp said.

At the state indoor championship, hosted at the Spire Institute Indoor Track and Field Facility in Geneva, Ohio, Lemp placed third at the state tournament for the 60-meter dash and set the record for 6.97 seconds.

“When running the actual race my trainer had told me to think of one word,” Lemp said. “The word I thought of was drive It calmed my mind and reminded me what I was supposed to be doing straight out of the blocks.”

Beery also had many things to say about his potential in this race.

“I saw this coming [Lemp breaking seven seconds],” Beery said. “His goal all indoor season was to break seven seconds, and when he established that he could run [the 60-meter dash] in under seven seconds, I knew it was possible. And then, in one day, he broke the school record, finished third in the state, and broke seven seconds.”

After his race at the state tournament, he qualified to run at the New Balance Nationals. He was the only student from Wadsworth High School who qualified to race in the 60-meter dash during this meet. 

Others who qualified were the 4×200 relay team, including Adyn Coviak, Cooper Gray, Calix Lemp and Alex Valentine. Mason Hiltner, a middle schooler for Wadsworth, raced the 800m for the high school and placed 51st in the national competition.

Lemp wishes to improve on his athletics, whether it is football or track, and he wants to help people around him to improve themselves.