By Scott Emigh
Charles Page High School senior Joseph Mattison came into his senior season with the goal of earning a college scholarship, and hard work and dedication have made that goal a reality. The sprinter and long jumper recently signed a collegiate letter of intent and will run at Coffeyville Community College next year.
“JoJo is the definition of hard work and determination,” says Sandite head coach Tim Dial. “He has been unstoppable training on the track and in the weight room. We put together a plan for him this last June to get him to college. He has executed every part of the plan without ever second guessing the path we had him on. He is the type of kid that every coach wishes they had a team full of! JoJo has some big goals to finish out his senior season and will do some great things at Coffeyville with coach Morrie Turner.”
Mattison started running track in the seventh grade. “I decided to join the team because I saw it as an opportunity to compete,” he says. “Then I went to my first track meet, won a medal, and loved the sport ever since.”
He has really been developing in his senior year, setting new personal bests in all three of his events. He has a 100-meter dash time of 11.27 seconds, a 200 time of 22.18 seconds, and a long jump distance of 20’06.50”, all from this season. He has won one long jump event and has earned four third-place medals in various events this year.
Mattison has also earned his way into the school record books. His sophomore 4×400 and 1600-medley relay teams set all-time Sand Springs records, and his freshman 4×100 team ranks second in town history. His sophomore 4×400 relay team qualified for State after placing second at Regionals, which is one of his favorite memories.
The young Sandite star has yet to decide on a major or career-path. For now, he is enjoying developing his abilities as an athlete, and fishing and hunting in his spare time.
