Friday Focus: Tajh Gilchrist

Jan 08, 2016

Hard to believe that just a year ago, Tajh Gilchrist was competing in his first track meets ever as a high school junior at Bowie. Now 12 months later, Gilchrist is emerging as one of Maryland's best sprinters as a top ranked performer in the 55 (MD #1 6.43), 300 (MD #1 34.98), and 500 (MD #5 1:06.97) meter dashes including a recent 34.98 PR clocking at Thursday evening's Prince George's County schools meet.

Undefeated so far in the 55 and 300, Gilchrist is hoping to keep that way but knows that Prince George's County is deep with talent and competition for him to face. Gilchrist trained with and learned a lot last year working with former teammate and World Youth team member Maxwell Willis. Willis pulled off the sprint triple at the state meet last spring. Could GIlchrist pull off the same indoors?

MileSplit Maryland interviewed Gilchrist below as part of our Friday Focus Q&A athlete series.

Interview with Tajh Gilchrist

MileSplitMD: How pleased have you been with how your first month or so of races so far this indoor season?

Tajh Gilchrist: In the beginning, I was just getting started and was tiring out a lot. But now due to the hard work I've been putting in, I feel more confident and I can see it in my times.

MilesplitMD: Don't find a lot of times on you prior to last spring. Did you not run track prior to then or come from another school?

Gilchrist: Last indoor season was my first year ever running track so I wasn't familiar with the sport so I only ran relays. Coming into the outdoor season I began to run individual events and I was not satisfied with my performance come states. I ran summer track for Glenarden Track club and wanted to get better for the next high school track season. My times began to drop (200m 21.8 to 21.4 400m 50 to 48). And once I hit those times, I knew what I was capable of and worked even harder in the offseason.

MilesplitMD: What made you decide to finally come out for track as a junior in high school?

Gilchrist: At first I wanted to get in shape for football at Bowie. It was going to be something I did just to get faster and become quicker on the football field. But after experiencing New Balance Nationals and Penn Relays, I fell in love with the sport. I then realized that I could actually go somewhere and get into college with track.

MilesplitMD: While now at Archbishop Carroll in DC, what impact did having a teammate like Maxwell Willis last spring have on you on aspiring to reach higher goals and greater success in the sport?

Gilchrist: Maxwell is a close friend and we talk almost every day. Maxwell pushed me to become better and Maxwell leaving Bowie put a big responsibility on my back to become a leader like he was to me.

MileSplitMD: PG County doesn't seem to be short on competition either though with likes of Nikolas Thomas, Brian Nelson, Jabari Micheal, and Cam Burgess. Talk about how these guys push you and what the competition is like right now in the county?

Gilchrist: Brian, Cam, Devin, and me all are close and we push each other to become better with every race we run. Brian dropped some fast times in the 55 and 300. Same with Devin. Cam is big completion in the 500 along with Nick. We all have a mind set that we are representing PG County and also the state of Maryland, so we make sure we push each other to stay on the top of both national and state rankings.

MilesplitMD: You have shown great range running 6.43 in the 55 and 1:06 in the 500 along with the sub 35 second tonight in the 300. What event would you say is your best of the 3 and why?

Gilchrist: 300 is definitely my best event. I ran the 500 to get better in the 300 And 55. I really enjoy the 300 because it is not a full out sprint and if I was to mess up, I could still recover from that mistake unlike the 55.

MilesplitMD: Breaking 35 seconds tonight on a flat track, does it get you excited about what you could do if given opportunity to run on a banked track?

Gilchrist: I am very excited to run on a banked track and I know I can drop great times at Virginia Tech and also New Balance Nationals for the 200.

MilesplitMD: How did the race unfold for you tonight to run so well and get that PR and sub 35 second time? 1h

Gilchrist: I over looked my last 300 from a couple weeks ago and I did not get out. Coming into this day I knew what I had to do. My coach (Dana Samual) and I broke down the race. 21 seconds for the first 200 and 13 seconds for the last 100 to get where I need to be able to run 34 seconds. I knew I could get to the 200 at 21 seconds because almost every 4x200 I split 21 seconds.

MilesplitMD: The Bowie guys right now have the 3rd fastest 4x200 in the state and just had a close race with Oxon Hill last weekend. Is this a group that can possibly compete for a state title in the relay?

Gilchrist: I am very confident about our 4x200 team. Even though we have a young relay team and its their first year running, with hard work, we can definitely compete for another state title and hopefully a national title in the 4x200.

MilesplitMD: Have you started looking at and visiting colleges yet? Being that you joined track so late are you hoping that this indoor season will be your opportunity to impress more higher level D1 programs by season's end?

Gilchrist: I have started looking into colleges with Tennessee being one. I am hoping that this indoor season will impress track programs on the D1 level and receive scholarships to better my craft and get into a good academic school.