Father's Lure Catches Star -- Sealth's Kasim Runs To Top While Working For Football

There was a time when Marvin Kasim Jr. did not want to run track. His father talked him into it, telling his son it would be good for his basketball career.

This year, Dad told his son track would be good for football.

"He says he wants to be a football star," Kasim's father said of the wide receiver on the Chief Sealth football team. "I told him football players are usually track stars. I lured him with football and basketball."

If the fish justifies the bait, Dad has cleared himself of any deception. Kasim, only a sophomore at Sealth, finally understands the rewards of track. He said he planned to play baseball this spring, but is glad he ended up running track.

"I ran last year and didn't do so well, so I wanted to change sports," said Kasim, who won his preliminary heats yesterday, the first day of the All-Metro League track championships at West Seattle Stadium. "I'm surprised I'm doing this well. I'm running a lot more, pushing myself to go more laps around the track. I'm also on a special (no-fat) diet."

Going into the finals of tomorrow's Metro League meet, Kasim has the league lead in one event (400 meters), shares the league lead in another (200) and is tied for second in a another (100). He owns school records - 50.2 seconds in the 400, 10.9 in the 100 and 22.4 in the 200 - in all three events.

"He's one of the top sprinters we've had here in quite a few years," said track coach Rusty Bowen, who has coached at Sealth since 1965. "Potentially, he could be the very best."

Kasim's competition in the 100 will come mainly from O'Dea's Charles Young, Ballard's Robert Morris and Garfield's Chris Dendy. Proving his father's theory, football stars do run track. In addition to Young, Morris and Dendy, O'Dea's Jovan McCoy, Ballard's Andrew Bryant and Rainier Beach's Erwin Sessions, all running backs, are entered in the 100.

It's also true basketball stars run track. The 400-meter field includes Blanchet's Jacob Cheha, Blanchet's Djan Austin, Rainier Beach's Mack Junior - all basketball players.

Kasim set his school's freshman record in the 100 before being eliminated in the preliminaries of the Metro meet. He attributed most of his improvement to his father, who trains Kasim on the weekends at West Seattle Stadium. Kasim's father played football and ran track at Uniontown (Pa.) High School with Chuck Muncie, former NFL Pro Bowl running back.

In less than three months, Kasim took a half-second off his 100 time and a full second off his time in the 200.

"It's all in his head," Kasim's father said. "I've been trying to work on his maturity. All these other guys are seniors and juniors."

MADCHE SOARS 15-7 -- Blanchet pole vaulter Bryan Madche set a Metro League record yesterday by pole vaulting 15 feet, 7 inches at the All-Metro championships. That broke the previous Metro record of 15-6, set in 1990 by Eastside Catholic's J.J. Shepard.

Madche's 15-7 effort also ranks as a state best this season, topping the 15-4 held by Madche.

Garfield's Kim Burton won the girls triple jump (34-9 1/2) and high jump (5 feet) and Lakeside's Susanna Matsen captured the 1,600 (5:05.2). Other boys winners were Ingraham's Chris Butler (long jump, 22-1), O'Dea's Erasto Jackson (shot put, 47-6) and Roosevelt's Gbolahan Fatuga (4:17.0).

TOMORROW'S SCHEDULE -- Metro championships at West Seattle Stadium: 3:30 p.m. - girls long jump, boys triple jump. 4 p.m. - boys high jump, girls shot put, boys 110 hurdles. 4:05 - girls 100 hurdles. 4:10 - boys 100 meters. 4:15 - girls 100 meters. 4:25 - girls 3,200 meters. 4:35 - boys 400 relay. 4:45 - girls 400 relay. 4:55 - boys 400 meters. 5 p.m. - girls 400 meters. 5:10 - boys 300 hurdles. 5:15 - girls 300 hurdles. 5:20 - boys 800 meters. 5:25 - girls 800 meters. 5:35 - girls 200 meters. 5:40 - boys 200 meters. 5:50 - boys 3,200 meters. 6:05 - girls 800 relay. 6:15 - boys 1,600 relay. 6:25 - girls 1,600 relay.