Jacob Drozd is a decathlon champion and an All-American javelin thrower. A Seymour captain in football and track, Drozd first proved he’s arguably the top male in athlete in the state by winning the 70-boy decathlon on June 16, which was graduation day, with 5,962 points, beating the second-place finisher by 283 points.
“It feels great to win and I just focused on them,” Drozd said. “I did what I had to do to get a lot of points.”
Being dominant in field events also helped him. Drozd won the high jump (6 – 4), shot put (49 – 5.5), discus (125 – 11) and javelin (199 – 8), which is almost half of the events.
“Throwing and jumping have always been my strong points and I do what I normally do,” Drozd said. “I don’t think too much and I just do it. Good coaching helps. [Head] Coach [Tom] Lennon helped me jump as far as I can and [throwing] coach [Brent] Schneider helped me throw the shot put.”
This was the second straight year he competed in the decathlon. He placed fifth junior year with 5,369 points, which encouraged him and gave him confidence for his return engagement.
“After last year, I knew I was capable of winning it and I told myself I was going to get it,” Drozd said.
Lennon said, “We thought he could do very well last year and when we saw his success, we worked on improving the events he wasn’t strong in.”
One day after winning the decathlon and receiving his diploma (Lennon rushed him back to Seymour to get on time for the graduation), he headed to North Carolina for the National Outdoor Track championships.
He threw the javelin 192 – 6 at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro to finish sixth and earn All-American honors in the javelin.
“I just stayed focused and threw it the best I could,” Drozd said. “It felt good stepping on the podium and getting my medal.”
Being dedicated and talented also played a role in his success, which played a major role in the Wildcats being an upper-echelon team in the NVL and in Class M, where they finished seventh with 36 points. He scored 25 points in the meet, which is 69 percent of Seymour’s points.
“A lot of it is his natural ability,” Lennon said. “We’re blessed to have him and his work ethic. He’s willing to put in the effort to get good at it.”
His first foray in track came freshman year during the outdoor season. At first, he only did the high jump, long jump and triple jump because he’s good at jumping.
“I wasn’t originally going to do track freshman year and I was only going to lift for football, but after I did well in the high jump, I saw I liked it and I decided to stay with it.”
Lennon saw that he was strong with a great arm as well as agile and introduced him to throwing events. The shot put was his first throwing event and after doing well in it, he began throwing the javelin and in preparation for this year’s decathlon, he began mastering the discus as a senior.
The javelin is his favorite event because it’s his best throwing event.
“It’s fun throwing a spear,” Drozd said. “It comes from a lot of practice and I got a lot of help from the coaches. Like all field events, the javelin requires technique and it helps being strong and big.”
Growing up, he played basketball and sophomore year, he made the varsity squad. He started a few games for the Wildcats and was a presence inside. However, he had a breakout year jumping and throwing sophomore year in outdoor track and decided to switch his winter sport from basketball to indoor track. Although he was a solid player on the court, giving up roundball for indoor track wasn’t a problem for him.
Drozd may have been a force on the court and has proven his mettle in track, but football is his first sport and he began playing it in second grade.
“Football is the greatest sport and I always wanted to play it,” Drozd said.
And he was Seymour’s best player on the gridiron, earning All-NVL and All-State honors as a linebacker and running back with 507 yards running on 97 carries and 96 tackles and three sacks on defense. He has a nose to get to the ball as he forced three fumbles and recovered three fumbles.
“It feels good and I worked hard at it,” Drozd said. “I just did what I’m told. Being quick, explosive and fast off the ball, helps [as well].”
Leadership is a strength as he was a three-sport captain this year. He mostly led by example through his work ethic.
“I like to lead people,” Drozd said.
Academically, he had a 90 percent average. Geography and history were his favorite subjects.
“I just did what I had to do, I went to school practice, did my homework and I repeated the process over and over again,” Drozd said.
Lennon, who is the head football coach as well as outdoor track, will be hard-pressed to replace Drozd.
“Having that type of athlete around, helps,” Lennon said. “He’s a great kid and works hard in the classroom. He gives the kids something to look up to and he’ll be missed tremendously because he’s a once in a lifetime athlete.”
Although his days as a Wildcat are over, his playing days are far from that. He’ll be playing football for Army and do jumping and throwing events for its track and field team.
Excelling for the Cadets on the gridiron and in track will require him to raise his performance to the next level. If he continues to improve in track, representing the U.S. in a future Olympiad is also a possibility.
“Hard work and perseverance are the keys,” Drozd said. “If it were to happen [Olympics], it would be awesome.”
