AOTW: Saginaw Valley State adds a shake of ‘Salter’

FAST TRACK: Recent Auburn Hills Avondale graduate TreVon Salter is headed for Saginaw Valley State. File Photo | Dan Stickradt

BY DAN STICKRADT

SENIOR EDITOR

dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com

AUBURN HILLS — There was a time that TreVon Salter did not like track and field. It took some convincing from a loved one to change his mind.

After a long talk with his grandfather, Salter made a return to track and field in 10^th grade.. It turned out to be a life-changing decision.

Salter, a recent graduate of Auburn Hills Avondale, recently signed with Division II Saginaw Valley State to further his career — one that almost didn’t happen.

“I stopped running after seventh grade,” recalled Salter. “My grandpa (Larry Burton) ran in high school and college and thought I should go back out (my sophomore year).”

Salter’s grandfather ran for Kent State in the 1970s and is a life-long fan of the sport.

“I’m glad he talked to me about it,” said Salter. “I owe a lot to him.

“I didn’t want to run (in middle school). I wasn’t having fun,” recalled Salter. “But I came back out and realized I was pretty good at it. It turned out to be a great decision. We had a great year last year and a great year this year, even though we had a couple of (injured athletes).”

Salter put together three solid campaigns since returning to the grand oval. A wide receiver in football, Salter’s best sport is definitely track, where he helped Avondale to back-to-back top-five state-meet finishes as a junior and senior.

And Salter was exceptional, placing high at numerous meets during his prep career.

As a sophomore, he qualified for state in the 800-meter relay, but his relay did not place.

As a junior, he ran on the state champion 1,600 relay (3:23.19) and fifth in the 800 relay (1:30.34) for a team that tied for fifth at the Lower Peninsula Division 2 state finals.

This season, Avondale was top five at every meet all season and Salter was again one of the key athletes in that run, which concluded with a third-place finish at the state finals (40 points).

He was fourth in the long jump (22-1 ½), but broke the tape in the 400 meters (48.7) 800 relay (1:28.11) and 400 relay (42.75) to place in four events and win three state championships.

“He had as a good of a state finals as I have seen in a long time,” said Avondale coach Chris Rennels. “To go out in that heat and win three events and place in four was incredible. It was a great way to cap a great season. He was one of the top track athletes I saw in all of Oakland County this year.”

Salter’s team also won back-to-back conference titles (OAA Gold Division) and had two straight top-10 finishes at the Oakland County championships his junior and senior year. As a junior, his team captured a regional championship.

Salter also ran at the Midwest Meet of Champions June 11. He placed third in the long jump at 23-5 ¾, his best outdoor mark in his career and second-best overall. He jumped 23-6 last winter indoors. Salter also ran on the runner-up 400 relay for Team Michigan and placed sixth in the 200 at the Midwest meet.

He graduates with six school records, including 200 meters, 400 meters, long jump, 400 relay, 800 relay and 1,600 relay.

Salter was named to the All-Area First Team in the 800 relay, 400 relay and 400 meters earlier this month (please see link: http://northoaklandsports.com/2011/07/06/all-area-boys-track-field-power-speed-highlight-postseason-squad/). He is one of five Yellowjackets from the track team that will be continuing their careers in college, including Xavier Burns (Michigan State), Zac Miklja (Michigan), Takemi Smith (Army), Ryan Brancheau (Ohio Northern) and Calvin Jackson (Drake).

“We had a great group of guys on this team,” recalled Salter, who trains in the off-season for the North Oakland Blue Dragons. “We lost two key guys but we stepped up and made the most of it.”

Salter chose Saginaw Valley State over Eastern Michigan, Grand Valley State Central Michigan, among others. He hopes to study graphic design while in college.

Ironically, everything wasn’t designed for Salter to be a track and field star. Now, he’s back on track as one of the state’s top sprinters.

“I’m looking forward to it,” said Slater of running in college. “They feel I have a good shot (of running varsity races) my freshmen year.”

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Tags: Athlete of the Week, Boys Track & Field, High School Boys & Field, Prep Boys Track & Field, Track & Field, TreVon Salter

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