Luke Erdman just wants to compete.
The Beechwood two-sport standout already made his mark in football for the Tigers this past season with a 1,000-yard receiving season and scoring 22 touchdowns for the Class 2A state semifinalists.
Now he’s ready to be at the top of the podium in track and field. Only .12 seconds separated him and Walton-Verona’s Jackson Smith from two state titles in the 100 and 200-meters, finishing runner-up in both events at the Class A state meet last year. But Smith suffered a knee injury during football season with the Bearcats in the fall, derailing his senior season in track. Enter Erdman, who’s hungry to be the fastest man in the state in Class A track and field.
“I kind of have mixed feelings about that,” Erdman said. “Jackson was at Beechwood his freshman year, so I knew him from that and the injury is just unfortunate. It was a couple weeks before we were supposed to play them in football and really wanted to play him. In track, I felt like I was really closing in on him and I was motivated to run against him this year and really wanted to prove myself. It’s definitely made things interesting now, but I don’t want to look too far ahead.”
Erdman is the school record holder in both events and has reached a personal best in the long jump of 21-feet, where he finished seventh at the state meet last year. Those are his three staple events. He’s excited for a shot at another school record, one that his older brother Gage holds at Beechwood, the 4×100 relay.
“I thought we had broke it the other day and I called him and joked about it,” Erdman said. “Turns out we were .03 seconds away from doing so. We’re really close.”
Erdman’s success in the sprints has Beechwood in the conversation for a boys Class A state track and field title. He currently owns the top times in the state in the 100 and 200, according to the ky.milesplit.com website.
Tigers coach Dave Meyer has coached the team for eight years and while seeing the amount of success for the girls team with two Class A state titles in his tenure, it’s lingering over to the boys team.
“This is the first year where both teams are in the conversation,” Meyer said. “It’s a pretty deep team. They score in distance, sprints, jumps and field program as well. One of the most well rounded teams for boys at Beechwood. The girls will be there in the end for sure.”
Meyer said Erdman’s work ethic is what separates him and doesn’t put a limit on himself.
The work ethic translates to the football field, even though it’s not all straight line speed. In his first season as head coach, Jay Volker used Erdman in a variety of ways, not only as a receiver, but times he’d be the quarterback in the Wildcat formation, gathering reverses and on special teams as a kick and punt returner.
“He’s a gamechanger every time he touches the ball,” Volker said. “Whether a kick return, punt return, running back, just trying to get him the ball any way we can.”
Erdman is part of a group of Beechwood student-athletes in the “Franks Academy”, run by Beechwood assistant football coach Jordan Franks, a former Super Bowl champion tight end with the Kansas City Chiefs. Erdman and a group work out with Franks before school three times a week, working on a variety of ways of strength training which includes agility and building on explosive speed. Erdman has said how much the workouts are paying off and translating to both the football field and the track.
“Jordan was a tight end at 240 pounds running a 4.4 (40-yard dash) at the (NFL) combine,” Erdman said. “He really understands the training aspect. It’s great from a physical standpoint and mental standpoint. Jordan is more of a mentor as well.”
While football is his favorite sport, Erdman is open to exploring track and field opportunities in college, or both. At the end of the day, he just wants to compete.