Maplewood star Bo Hodges' second week of track is at state meet

MURFREESBORO — A few months ago, Maplewood senior Bo Hodges enjoyed what seemed to be storybook ending to his high school athletic career.

After claiming his second consecutive Class AA Mr. Basketball award, Hodges, also a standout wide receiver on Maplewood’s football team, helped snap the city’s 21-year boys basketball championship drought, leading the Panthers to their first state title.

Well, he's not done yet. 

Hodges, an ETSU basketball signee, will be swapping in his sneakers for spikes Friday at Dean A. Hayes Track and Soccer Stadium, where the Panthers’ multi-sport star will be competing in three events at the Boys Track and Field Championships.

“My friends, they’ve been asking me to come out all year, they’ve been telling me, ‘Come help us get some points,’” said Hodges, a finalist for The Tennessean’s Male Athlete of the Year award. “I finally saidOK, and when I came out I saw that I was pretty good.”

Hodges, who made his track and field debut at last week’s Class A-AA Middle Sectional, did better than pretty good.

Not only did he help the Panthers qualify for Friday’s state meet in the 800-meter and 1,600-meter relays, but the 6-foot-4, 190-pounder also cleared 6 feet, 6 inches in the high jump, marking the state’s best qualifying height in all classifications.

“That was just off athleticism,” said Hodges, who had received no formal training in the high jump. “When they moved the bar up, (the officials) told me the only thing that was touching the bar was my feet, so I’ve been working on my technique.”

“He came out and jumped 6-6,” added Panthers teammate Jeremy McDowell. “I was like, “Yeah, you can win state with that.”

Hodges, who will also run the first leg for Maplewood’s 800-meter and 1,600-meter relay teams, said he’s hoping to clear 6 feet, 10 inches on Friday. His main goal, however, will be helping the Panthers capture a Class A/AA team championship.

“Yeah, I want another (individual state title), but I think we can do it as a team,” Hodges said. “We have one of the fastest kids in the state (McDowell) and the fastest 4x100 team in the state, so I feel like we’ve got a shot at the whole thing.”

"I've been practicing this week to get some of the technique down on high jump, but it's only been a couple days. We'll see what happens tomorrow." 

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McDowell, a fellow multi-sport standout who rushed for more than 1,100 yards and eight touchdowns for Maplewood last fall, won last year’s Class A/AA 200-meter dash (21.77) and finished runner-up in the 100 (10.95).

“I already got what I wanted this year — getting my teammates here,” said McDowell, a finalist for the Tennessean’s Male Track Athlete of the Year award. “Last year I was here all by myself. It’s just going to be about keying in on my individual events and having fun with my teammates in the relay events.”

Reach Michael Murphy at mfmurphy@tennessean.com, 615-259-8262 and on Twitter @Murph_TNsports.