Injuries almost put an end to long jumper Bernard Bush’s track career.

As a sophomore in high school, Bush tore his hip flexor after he landed awkwardly on a triple jump attempt. He quit the team shortly after, but was persuaded to rejoin the next year by his head coach.

At Syracuse, Bush struggled through an injury-riddled freshmen year, only to sit out his entire sophomore year after having surgery. As a walk-on, he contemplated his future on the track team. After being convinced by assistant coach Enoch Borozinski, Bush decided he would stay on the team.

‘I need to have a strong mental status.’ Bush said. ‘I was hurt so many times I felt like giving up on track. I mentioned to my coach a couple times that it was getting too hard at times. Coach Borozinski was always in my corner no matter what though.’

Now a senior, Bush has been able to stay healthy, and has been producing ever since. During the indoor season this year Bush had four first place finishes and was the sixth best long jumper at the Big East Indoor Championship. Bush looks to continue his success this Saturday when the team heads to Chapel Hill, N.C. for the UNC Invitational.

‘The main thing is being smart about it.’ Bush said. ‘If it’s not feeling right, not feeling 100 percent, then shut it down. It might hinder your strength and your progression but it’s better than falling back three steps from where you were before.’

As a sophomore, Bush tore his quad – an injury that held him out for the season. The MRI revealed a benign tumor protruding from his femur that doctors diagnosed as osteochondroma. The surgery forced Bush to go through rehab. After contemplating quitting, he is now back and helping the Orange.

If Bush is able to stay injury free for the rest of the year, he could be able to provide some much needed points for the Orange. Bush is one of the few field athletes on the team that has the ability to make a splash in his respective event, the long jump. He also competes in other events as well.

‘He is absolutely one of our better athletes.’ Borozinski said. ‘Last year in outdoor he was on the open 100, he was on the long jump, triple jump. If we wanted to, really, we could get him up there in the high jump, but it just becomes too many things on his plate.’

During the indoor season, Bush placed in the top 10 in the long jump, the triple jump and the 55-meter dash. He even dabbled in the javelin last year for fun, but decided to focus more on his jumping this season.

As far as goals go, Bush is aiming high. He knows he has the talent to qualify for NCAA Championships, but getting a good enough jump to qualify is challenging.

He also thinks that a top three finish at the Big East Outdoor Championships is a reasonable goal for the team. He is known for stepping up at the big meets and posting his best numbers.

‘He is just one of those guys that the bigger the meet the more excited I am as a coach because I know that it will probably relate to bigger performances for him,’ Borozinski said. ‘Now he has the confidence after being at regionals last year and seeing that he could come in fifth place makes him really hungry for this year.’

However all of this relies on Bush being healthy.

‘I just have to listen to the coaches and do whatever they are telling me to do.’ Bush said. ‘I have been with coach (Borozinski) now for four years; he hasn’t let me down yet, so I’m just going to do whatever he says.’

rwmarfur@syr.edu

Published on April 6, 2009 at 12:00 pm