Everything about Tristan Smith-Moseby and Kemonie Briggs suggests youthfulness.
Briggs is tall and lanky, his arms struggling to fill out his Wilson High letterman jacket, considering he has not quite grown into his body. His panoramic smile is accented with two rows of braces.
Smith-Moseby has an air about him that screams, “I’m a walking piece of potential.” The back of his letterman jacket reads “Young Moseby,” a shoutout to his father, Terry Moseby, a Wilson football legend.
But that youthful exuberance is nowhere to be found once either teenager steps onto the track.
On the track, it’s about business.
Smith-Moseby, who runs the 100 and 200 meters, and Briggs, who runs the 200 and 400 meters and competes in the long jump, are standouts for the Wilson track team. And with Moore League prelims having taken place on Wednesday, with the finals set for Friday, a week before CIF prelims begin, both Bruins seniors are trying to make – and maintain – a name for themselves in what short time they have left.
“They both come every day with a great attitude; they want to work and they want to be state champions,” Wilson coach Neil Nelson said. “Kemonie, at one point, was top-ranked in the state in the 400. His 400 time (47.82) is still one of the top in the country and the state.”
In their April 30 regular season finale meet against Poly, Smith-Moseby set a school record with a 10.79 in the 100-meters.
“You look at the next few weeks and he’s going to improve on the record,” Nelson said. “Every time he runs, it’s going to drop; that’s how he’s thinking about it.”
Smith-Moseby and Briggs are among the favorites to win their respective events, an impressive fact considering neither picked up the sport until his junior year.
“It’s all new to them,” Nelson said. “They’re only going to get faster. We tell them, if they were doing this for four years, the sky would be the limit. If we had Kemonie or Tristan for one more year, we’re talking about state champions. We don’t know what this year possesses for us, but if we had them just one more year, it’d be nice.”
Briggs grew up playing soccer, after picking up the sport with his stepbrother in elementary school and playing through high school.
Wilson sprinting coach Shannon Fisher said that he took notice of Briggs at the end of his sophomore year.
“I saw him run again at the beginning of his junior year and I just told him he had to come out for track,” Fisher said.
As only his second year of track comes to an end, Briggs has scholarship offers from Baylor, Texas A&M and Texas Tech, according to Nelson, “sitting on his living room table.”
“Track still feels new to me,” Briggs said. “I’ve just been progressing a lot and I actually really like it, but I never thought this would happen. I’m still realizing that this is reality. It’s a really good feeling.
“I never thought I’d have these options with choosing a college.”
For Smith-Moseby, football was the primary sport that kept him out of track during his first two years at Wilson, with a little added pressure from his old man.
Terry Moseby is a member of the Wilson Football Hall of Fame, which pre-empted “Young Moseby” to follow in his footsteps.
But now, Smith-Moseby, who Nelson said has serious interest from Long Beach State and Arkansas, is focused solely on track, leaving football behind.
“I’ve always had a lot of confidence in myself. I knew I was fast, but I didn’t know I would be as successful as I am now. I’m happy with it, but I want to get better,’’ he said.
“Now, my dad feels great about me running track,” he added with a grin. “Now he’s saying I should have done track earlier. Like it’s my fault.”
Wilson gunning for League supremacy
The April 30 dual meet against Poly still isn’t sitting right with Wilson.
Poly boys prevailed over Wilson, 69-66, but Wilson swept the sprints and won the 400 and 1,600 meter races. The Bruins fell short in the field events, which helped Poly prevail.
On Wednesday, Smith-Moseby, who won the 100 during that April 30 meet, said he hopes to send a message to the Jackrabbits again this week.
“Everyone has been blowing up Poly all year, and I wanted to show that they ain’t all that,” he said. “They are just another school in my district. They ain’t nothing special. I wanted to make them look bad and that’s what I did.
“We have heart when it comes to sprinting,” he added. “We need to work on our field events, I’ll admit that. But if you want to run against us, we’re going to give you a challenge.”
Historically, Wilson and Poly have been top dogs when it comes to track in Long Beach, dating back to the ’80s, when Nelson ran for Wilson.
Nelson said Wednesday that despite the Bruins being able to compete with Poly, the two aren’t necessarily on an even playing field.
“Track at Wilson is different because it’s not football players. Most of the guys you see on the track team are guys from PE classes. We grab them and we train them. With girls, it’s the same thing. We don’t have any girls on the team that play other sports. So it’s a struggle.
“But we believe in our coaching ability, that we can get a kid and make something of them.”
Contact the writer: bwatson@lbregister.comTwitter: @brantley_watson
