Honors for Jahvid Best

Jahvid Best, one of the headliners for the Bears’ 2007 recruiting class, is getting some big recognition as he graduates from high school.

He’s been honored with NorCal Athlete of the Year from CalHiSports:

Best’s numbers and awards could take up an entire book, and when the new Cal-Hi Sports Record Book was updated recently for this web site, Best’s name was there in more than a few places, both in the football and track and field categories. …

However, when we talked with [Coach Chad] Nightingale, all he could do was rave about Jahvid as an athlete, and a person. What he is most specially proud of is Best’s top times in the 100 and 200 which at 10.36 and 20.65 are fourth and second fastest in the nation this year respectively, and qualify Jahvid for status as a 2007 Track and Field All-American. “You know,” said Nightingale. “Those 100 and 200 marks are a few ticks better than Reggie Bush,” he gushed. In fact, they are. Bush’s best marks were 10.42 and 21.06. “Plus, he’s a little bigger than Reggie.” Nightingale said grinning. And that is also true.

He also received the Boys Track Athlete of the Year honor from the Contra Costa Times:

His time of 20.65 seconds would have won every California state meet in history prior to this year. But he faced Long Beach Poly’s Bryshon Nellum, who set a state meet record (20.43). Best’s time was also under the previous state meet record.

To give you an idea about the quality of those times, they would have placed Nellum and Best second and third, respectively, in this year’s NCAA 200 final.

Congratulations to Jahvid. Needless to say, we’re excited about what he will do in his next few years at Cal.