Devon Allen helps Broncos finish 1st in 4X100M relay

Brophy’s Devon Allen is still dealing with an ankle injury he suffered during this past football season.

Allen played on that injured ankle during the Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl and that made things worse for him and that ankle.

“I didn’t give it a chance to heal,” Allen said. “I did the All-Star Game and that set me back another month.”

“It turned a two-month injury into four months,” Allen said.

If you saw Allen run in Chandler, Ariz., on Saturday night, and you didn’t know what he was going through physically, you would never be able to tell something was wrong with him, because he ran like the wind.

That level of running was crucial in the Broncos first place finish in the 4X100 meter relay at the Chandler Rotary Invitational at Chandler High School.

Allen – along with fellow seniors Robert Relf, Clarence Clark and Dalton Radcliffe – finished with a time of 41.94.

Afterwards, Allen said he and his ankle felt good for the most part.

“I felt alright, just feeling a little out of shape,” Allen said. “Other than that, feeling good.”

You can understand Allen when he says he’s a little frustrated because of the injury and how it’s managed to stay with him for this long after the football season ended.

“I’m not able to do what I’m used to doing, the workouts are pretty hard for me, that’s kind of annoying,” Allen said. “Coming back [and] not being able to come out of the blocks yet with my push not being there, hopefully I’ll be able to get out of the box next week.”

Allen says he wanted to run as many races as he could on Saturday, but his track coach told him to “play it safe and stay healthy,” which is very good advice, considering his future at Oregon will start before he knows it. He doesn’t want to go to Eugene, Ore., any less than 100 percent.

The human body is a unique and puzzling thing at the same time. It will clue you into an injury and let you know when there’s things it doesn’t like.

Case in point: Allen said that he felt fine when he first got started in the race, and didn’t feel any ill effects at all. Only when he decelerated did his ankle give him trouble.

“It’s not so much sprinting wise, it’s just coming out of blocks [and] slowing down, that’s where its pain,” Allen said. “I just don’t want to irritate it if possible.”

Allen hopes this ankle situation doesn’t last too much longer, because he has big plans coming up in the near future. He says he’s training for the USA Junior Nationals.

“State’s the goal,” Allen said. “As a team we want to win state, so I want to be ready, running fast enough to help my team do that.”

“As of now, I’m going to play it by ear,” Allen said. “Until I feel good, I’m not gonna sprint or do any hurdles.”