MUSKEGON TOWNSHIP – Fathers like it when their sons follow in their footsteps, and sons often want to make their dads proud.
All of that is happening in the McHugh household.
Jim McHugh, originally from Pentwater, was a track star who ended up in the Hillsdale College Hall of Fame after winning the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics national title in the high jump in 1993 and 1994.
His son, Reeths-Puffer's Liam McHugh, showed that he’s a chip off the old block last Friday at the Greater Muskegon Athletic Association City Track Meet, when he cleared 6 feet, 6 inches in the high jump, very nearly cleared 6’8, and tied Whitehall’s Camden Thompson for first place.
Liam said he's learned a lot about the high jump from his dad, and about a lot of other things, too.
“I just know his accomplishments and that I can trust him,” Liam said about his dad. “I respect him. He knows what he’s talking about in the sport. Of course, he’s helped me a lot off the track, too. Life has bigger things than track, and he knows a lot about life.”
R-P's Liam McHugh
Jim McHugh, who serves as an assistant R-P track coach, was impressed and proud of Liam's performance at the city meet and says it's awesome to share a passion with his son.
“It can be tricky to play father and coach, but Liam's maturity this year has made it especially easy to navigate that,” he said. “His strengths are listening well, staying calm and executing the prepared plan. Those are rare traits.
"Even aside from the success he is finding, we love talking track. We sit around after meets and practices connecting on something we both love. I am proud of his work ethic, sportsmanship and the man he has become. I value our time together and our common love of sport. His latest success is really just a much-appreciated bonus.”
R-P boys track coach Don Ketner was surprised and pleased by Liam’s high jump performance, as well.
“I didn’t think he’d jump that high,” Ketner said. “His attempts at 6’8 he didn’t get, but he had two really good approaches and just clipped his heel on the way down. He’s fully over the bar and just needs to hold his technique a bit longer.”
McHugh, left, with his dad, R-P assistant track coach Jim McHugh.
While high jumping is apparently something that runs naturally in the McHugh bloodline, Liam is also making a name for himself in the hurdles.
He won the city championship in the 300-meter hurdles with a personal record time of 41.4, which beat the second-place time by nearly a second and a half.
“It was just super exciting,” Liam said about winning that event. “That was the fourth event and fifth race for me, because I had prelims in the 110 hurdles. I was feeling the fatigue settle in, but my philosophy is the faster you run, the faster it’s over and that usually works.
“I just kind of went out there and luckily I had enough gas in the tank to finish it out and hold the lead through the finish line.”
Liam rounded out his excellent city meet with a second-place finish in the 110-meter hurdles, finishing with a time of 15.46. He also finished runner-up as part of the Reeths-Puffer 4x100-meter relay team, which also includes Kameron Coleman, Caiden Bolduc and Brody Johnson.
McHugh competes in a hurdle event at last week's GMAA city meet. Photo/Jeremy Clark
McHugh is the only senior on that relay team and shows a lot of leadership in that event, as well as toward the R-P track team as a whole, according to Ketner.
“It would be hard to find someone who’s put as much work in,” the coach said. “Guys listen to him. When we need guys to warm up without coaches around, we have full faith that he’s going to get everybody going. He’s really just a model for what we’re asking. He’s like an extra coach on the field.”
McHugh was determined to have a great senior track season and spent extra time working out over the winter after giving up basketball.
“After my junior year, I decided to quit basketball and went back to focusing on track,” he said. “That was a big decision for me in my development for the sport. It allowed me to dedicate five months to the little things that go into track that people overlook.”
With his successful results so far this season, McHugh is hoping to qualify for the state finals, earn All-State honors and set a few school records along the way.
McHugh, left, tries to catch a Muskegon runner in a hurdle event. Photo/Jeremy Clark
“For high jump, the main goal was to make state and qualify at 6’2, but we’ve kind of gotten beyond that and I know it’s very doable,” he said. “My main goal is to get All-state and jump 6’3 or 6’5. I just cleared 6’6 on Friday, so we know that’s very much in the realm of possibility, if not better.
“In 110 hurdles, my goal is to break 15 seconds by the end of the year, and I’m about a half second off, but my times have been dropping consistently. In the 300 hurdles, my main goal is to beat the school record of 39.08. I got about two seconds to cut off, but I think if I can get a couple more good races in, I’m right there.”
