At Woburn, Langes staying right on track

While his teammates stretched and warmed up, Langes waited patiently for his coach, Bill O’Connor, eager to discuss what had transpired the day before at the McIntyre Elite Indoor Relays at the Reggie Lewis Center.

“It was one of the most crazy meets I’d been in, and I hadn’t done as well as I wanted to,’’ said the tall and lanky junior. “So I needed to talk to coach about that and how to deal with that. Especially because of the big meets coming up in the next few weeks, I needed to get together with coach and figure things out.’’

Langes helped propel the Tanner boys’ 4 x 200-meter relay team to a fifth-place finish; he was also part of the 4 x 50 relay quartet that placed 13th. As an individual, Langes placed fourth in his specialty, the long jump.

But he was not satisfied.

“He’s a competitor,’’ said O’Connor. “He had to face a new challenge because of the timing of his events, which all started at practically the same time. He was getting his long jump mark and was called for the 4 x 200. So he ran that, came back, chest heaving, and jumped his three jumps. He barely recovered from jumping when he was called for the shuttle dash. He was bent over, hands on hips, while in line for that.’’

Running, literally, from event to event, Langes fouled on one of his jumps, something he’s determined to correct as he prepares for the Division 2 state meet a week from Saturday at the Reggie.

Woburn jumping coach Kristen Hoar is certain Langes will correct his mechanics.

“He’s very gifted, but he works very, very hard,’’ said Hoar. “He gives 100 percent every day. Some who are as good an athlete as he is don’t do that because they have it naturally, but Craig puts in the time to take his talent to the next level. He’s got his sights on getting down his steps in long jump, and he will, because he’s so focused.’’

He is focused on breaking the school record in the long jump - 22 feet, 8 inches, set in 1936 by Austin Garvey, who later coached track and taught phys-ed at Woburn (O’Connor was one of his students).

Langes, who initially joined the track team because he wanted to compete in one sport all three seaons, jumped 23 feet in practice as a freshman, but not in competition.

That first year, O’Connor remembers, there were ups and downs. “Craig gave it a couple weeks, then quit, but I’d seen something special there so I found him and talked to him about returning. He came back, and he surpassed even his own expectations.’’

Langes helped the Tanners capture the boys’ indoor all-state title. Last winter, he was named the team’s co-MVP, sharing the honor with senior captain Ryad Bencheikh, who was a nationally ranked sprinter.

At the annual Auerbach Freshman-Sophomore meet, he was named the meet’s Outstanding Athlete after a record-setting leap of 21 feet, 6 inches in long jump and a win in the 55-meter dash (6.78 seconds). He also holds the school record in the 45 meters (5.0 seconds), and shares the 55-meter record (6.4 seconds).

Langes is now gearing up for a strong run this postseason, starting with Saturday’s Division 2 meet, followed by the All-State meet on the 20th.

His development, and accolades, have not come without growing pains. Now more than a foot taller than he was as a freshman, the 5-foot-11, 155-pound Langes this season has been battling through Osgood-Schlatter disease, a condition in which the shin bone grows faster than the knee develops, causing knee pain.

“He never complains though. You know he’s in pain and his knee’s not 100 percent, but he never says anything,’’ said O’Connor, in his 38th season. “It’s his right knee, which is his jumping leg, and he’s so quiet about it. He’s a quiet, unassuming kid in general. A multiple time Middlesex League all-star, the guy the rest of the team looks up to. . .but you’d never know it from the way he carries himself.’’

Sapna Pathak can be reached at sportsgalsp@gmail.com.