Coaches know when an athlete is working hard in practice; so do his or her teammates.

That's why it came as no surprise to the Canon-McMillan High School track coaching staff that Jervain Matthews was elected a team captain last year as a sophomore.

"I've had individuals over the years who were good athletes and talented," said Big Macs coach Mike Koot. "And I've had a lot of individuals who worked hard in practice. But Jervain is one of those who has outstanding talent and works hard in practice to make himself better."

So far, it has been a good year on the track for Matthews, now a junior. During the indoor season he placed fifth in the long jump at the Pennsylvania Track and Field Coaches Association championships at Penn State and was 11th in the 200-meter dash.

At the Tri-State Track Coaches Association indoor championships at Slippery Rock University, Matthews was first in the long jump with a distance of 22 feet,  1/4 inch and third in the 200 and 400.

At the Tri-State Track Coaches Association outdoor championships on March 31 at West Mifflin, Matthews was just as impressive. He won the 200-meter dash in 22.37 seconds and the long jump with a leap of 21-6 1/2. He also ran a leg on the 400-meter relay that was fifth.

Matthews is such a gifted track athlete that Koot doesn't hesitate to use him in a number of different events.

"I can use him in everything from the 100 to the 400, and last year we also had him in the triple jump a couple of times," Koot said.

"I know he isn't thrilled about running the 400, but he never gives me an argument or anything. He just goes out and does it."

OK, so what is Matthews' best event?

"That's hard to say," Koot said. "It might be the long jump because that takes some mental discipline and he's mentally tough. If he has a bad attempt or somebody passes him with a jump he doesn't let it get him down, he doesn't fold ... he just comes right back at them on his next jump.

"I've seen so many guys fold in that event when they get passed or something goes wrong. It doesn't seem to bother him."

Matthews, who is 5 feet 11 and 165 pounds, is also a talented football player for the Big Macs and brings that same work ethic to that sport.

Another Canon-McMillan runner who had a good afternoon at the Tri-State Track Coaches Association outdoor meet was Kyle Gibson. He placed second in the 3,200-meter run in a school-record time of 9:36.96 while trying to catch Avonworth-Northgate's Lucas Zarzeczny, who was first in 9:21.48.

Like Matthews, Gibson is a junior and is also a team captain.

"He broke the school record by like 10 seconds," Koot said. "He's another guy we're looking at to have a good year."

Canon-McMillan's excellence in track comes as no surprise. During the indoor season, the Big Macs were second to Butler in the boys' team standings at the Tri-State Coaches championships and second to Penn Hills, and ahead of powerful North Allegheny in the girls' standings.

Through Wednesday, Canon-McMillan was 2-0 in dual meets, defeating Chartiers Valley and McKeesport in boys and girls. The Big Macs will not have a Section 5-AAA meet until Thursday when they travel to Trinity.

"We're in the smallest section with just six teams," he said. "We have a [non-section] meet scheduled against North Hills and then the one with Trinity."

Canon-McMillan will compete in the Washington-Greene Coaches Association meet Saturday and then have the big section quadrangular meet against Mt. Lebanon, Upper St. Clair and Baldwin at Baldwin April 26.

"We're not going to go to a lot of invitationals," Koot said. "The county meet and the Baldwin Invitational, but we're going to use Saturdays for practices. We think that will work out better for us in the long run."

As for girls, the Big Macs' Natasha Williams was sixth in the 200 at the Tri-State Coaches championships at West Mifflin with Jamie Kretz eighth in the 800, Sarah Grossi seventh in the 1,600 and Brittany Taylor third in the high jump.

"We had a lot of girls hurt last year and that gave others opportunities," Koot said. "Because of that, we have a lot of individuals with experience this year and we're looking for a good season from the girls as well."