As a junior, measuring 5-foot-7 and 125 pounds, Dallas' Sean Ward was easy to overlook.
Now a senior, after a growth spurt, he is making people take notice.
Ward went from coming off the bench in JV football as a junior to being a two-way varsity standout last season, racking up nearly 1,200 rushing yards and five interceptions. And judging by his first track meet of the season last week, it appears he is making a similar leap this spring.
The 5-9 ½, 148-pound Ward set personal bests in the high jump (6-5 ½), 300-meter hurdles (40.57 seconds) and 110 hurdles (16.36) in a meet against Sprague on March 19.
The 300-hurdle time, which shattered his previous best of 42.25, ranks No. 1 in the state so far this season. The high-jump mark, nearly a half-foot better than his best last year (6-0), is No. 2 in the state behind Phoenix senior Brayden Decker (6-7).
“I just kept getting at it. I never stopped working,” Ward said. “I didn't get lazy. I really enjoy track. That makes me work at it more and helps me get better.”
Since being a 4-foot-11, 100-pound freshman, Ward has made a dramatic transformation. Dallas football coach Andy Jackson, a track assistant who coaches Ward in running events, said that Ward “has come out of nowhere” in the last year.
“Right now, he's on a ride,” Jackson said. “He's just crushing everything right now, and basically has been for the last year. He's the dude.”
Ward said that his drastic improvement in the high jump “shocked me, too.” He said the time he put in dunking on an adjustable mini basketball hoop at home is reaping dividends.
“I was out there jumping all day,” said Ward, who placed ninth in the high jump in the 5A meet last year. “That's really where I get my bounce. Last year, I couldn't dunk. That's when I started to touch the rim. I'd lower the rim to where I could dunk, and once I got comfortable, I'd raise it up.”
Ward dunked twice in basketball games this year, when he was an honorable mention pick in the 5A Mid-Willamette Conference.
“I went for like five, and I missed some,” he said.
Jackson said “it shocked me” to see Ward dunk in a game.
“What he's doing, it doesn't make a lot of sense,” Jackson said. “It's pretty impressive. To see him jump almost 6-6 at the height he is, it's wild.”
Ward has vaulted to No. 2 on Dallas' all-time list in the high jump. He is taking aim at the school record of 6-7, held by Bob Quiring (1977).
“I want to get 6-7 and above,” Ward said. “I don't want to peak now and just stop here.”
Jackson said he could see Ward's explosive athleticism developing last track season. That's when he visualized how Ward could be a weapon in Dallas' offense.
“I'm like, 'We've got to find a way to get this guy the ball, because he can scoot,'” Jackson said. “He's got great stride length for how short he is. He's got really long legs. He's got the juice in his legs, and he hits a second gear. In football, if you give him a crease, he's going to outrun everybody.”
Ward was a dynamo for a Dallas team that made the 5A quarterfinals last season. In a win over Prairie (Wash.), Ward rushed for 226 yards and three touchdowns on eight carries.
“He was always extremely undersized, not only height-wise, but weight-wise,” Jackson said. “If you watch him warm up, and you know he's doing well for us, it's almost puzzling in a way. He does not seem like a very imposing guy.”
Ward has some work to do to threaten Jeff Jones' 1986 school record of 38.40 in the 300 hurdles. For now, he is going after the PR of his father, former Dallas multi-sport standout Steven Ward, who ran 39.9 in the late 1980s.
“I want to beat my dad so I can talk to him and rub it in,” Ward said. “I think I can beat him early in the season. Then I'll try to run a 38.”
The Ward name has deep connections in Dallas. In 2022, the school named the track after his grandfather, Paul Ward, the Dragons' former track coach and longtime assistant whose career has spanned six decades.
“He's a Dallas legend,” Jackson said. “He's as Dallas Dragon as there is. He's just a great guy, very supportive.”
Sean's father played running back on Dallas' state runner-up football team in 1988. Sean's brother, Steven, was an all-conference defensive lineman at Dallas before graduating last year. His sophomore sister, Merced (known as Alexis), placed seventh in the 300 hurdles at the 5A meet last year and is No. 2 on the school's all-time list.
