<H1>Injury can hardly slow St. Edward's speedy Seth Cunningham: Tim Warsinskey's Take</H1>
<H4>By
Tim Warsinskey, The Plain Dealer </H4>
<H5>May 04, 2010, 2:02AM</H5>
Thomas Ondrey / The Plain DealerSt. Edward's Seth Cunningham, left, has run the 100-meter dash in 10.77 seconds this season, which is among the fastest times in the state this spring, according to the milesplit.us Web site. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- As he barrels across the finish line 15 meters ahead of the nearest runner, Seth Cunningham looks like "USA" should be scrawled across his chest, not the gold St. Edward "E."
Cunningham is built like a Team USA sprinter, not a typical, skinny-armed high school kid. Mellon-sized biceps hang from expansive shoulders. Powerful thighs severely challenge the elastic of his track singlet. When standing near the finish line, the first thought is, "That train needs a whistle."
"I didn't know that many muscles could move that fast," marveled Mentor junior Colton Wallace at the Mentor Relays last weekend.
Cunningham (6-1, 180 pounds) has that rare combination of speed and power, and it didn't just happen by sheer luck. He spends two hours in the weight room after every track practice, doing things like bench pressing 225 pounds 10 times.
But while all that sinew has served him well on the football field, where he'll play cornerback at the University of Akron this fall, it has not been his friend on the track. Running is ruled by the less visible but more surly hamstring. If it isn't stretched, soothed and well- maintained, the hammy bites like a junkyard dog.
Cunningham knows the feeling. He suffered hamstring injuries at the end of his freshman, sophomore and junior years. Last year, he won his 100-meter heat at the state meet, but pulled his hamstring and was done.
"It was disappointing," said Cunningham, who lives in Medina. "This year I'm concentrating on flexibility more and stretching more."
So far, the results have been superb. Cunningham has run the 100 in 10.77 seconds and the 200 in 21.48, which are among the fastest times in Ohio this spring, according to the milesplit.us Web site. He also was hand-timed 10.38 in the 100.
Cunningham will run the 100, 200 and 4x100 and 4x200 relays at the district and beyond. One of the runners he's chasing is former teammate Latwan Anderson, who transferred to Glenville before the 2009 track season.
"It's always a rivalry. Me and Latwan still are very, very close friends," Cunningham said.
Cunningham is serious about winning the 100 and 200, even if some observers have their doubts about either his hamstrings or beating Anderson.
"I think I have something to prove," he said. "My goal from day one was to win states in both the 100 and 200. A lot of people say I can't do it, but I love that because I want to prove them wrong."
