New London — The Williams School has introduced sophomore Jadiel Thomas as their “one-man track team” for the spring season. It’s a major adjustment from the usual track experience, but Thomas has shown great progress and potential in his inaugural outdoor season.

Heather DeLaurentis, the athletic director at Williams, said: “The philosophy we have here is that whether it be academics, athletics or the arts, kids should be able to have their own unique experiences when we’re able to provide it.”

Growing up in a family of runners, Thomas, who resides in Norwich, found his talents at a young age, setting his elementary school record in the mile (6 minutes, 36 seconds) in fifth grade.

His mother Melanie DelValle and grandmother Lorraine Dortch, who were also runners, had a tremendous role in raising Thomas to reach a high level as an athlete.

“My mom and grandma have been helping me a ton since I started running,” said Thomas, whose grandmother ran collegiately at Delaware State, where she is a member of the athletic hall of fame. “My grandma told me that when I beat her in a race around 7 or 8, she knew that I’d be a good runner.”

“We don’t typically have in-person practices, we just see each other at the meets right now,” Williams coach Sarah Jennings said of Thomas. “That speaks to the tremendous job that his mother and himself have done on their own. I still check in frequently with them and prepare training programs, but running is a very hard sport to do alone, so it’s really a testament to the determination and character of Jadiel.”

With the constant encouragement and support from his family, along with his natural ability, Thomas has been preparing himself for a collegiate athletic career since he began high school. His personal desire for achievement mixed with the determination and structure that his mom provided influenced both Jennings, DeLaurentis and the rest of the Williams staff to create the team.

“They (Thomas family) came with a structured plan and a goal in mind, and The Williams School graciously accommodated to help Jadiel hopefully run in college somewhere,” Jennings said. “Heather (DeLaurentis) immediately grabbed those reins for them and worked with them to meet the minimal requirements — and they made it happen.”

In order to compete in conference championships, Thomas must participate in at least three meets and have a registered coach, among other logistics.

He has already competed in two of the three regular-season meets and plans on competing at the NEPSTA Division III track & field championships held at Marianapolis Prep on May 18. He’s run the 400 meters, 800, 1,500, and the mile events and even placed first a few times despite this being his first year.

“This year, especially being a one-man team, I wanted to try as many events as possible to see what I like,” Thomas said.

Also this year, Thomas competed as a part of the Williams boys’ basketball and cross country teams — he was the Connecticut Independent School Athletic Conference champion and a New England qualifier in cross country — and a club indoor track team. He has “pretty much no off-season,” but thankfully the school provides ample assistance for Thomas to manage his academics.

Thomas said: “We have a study hall, then we have ninth period — it’s a class that helps me organize everything so I’m not stressing out about schoolwork. So I have study hall to get as much work done as I can, then ninth period helps me a lot, too.

“It’s a great community here. There are plenty of teachers here to help me, the school has assemblies to talk about what you did, it’s just a lot of community love here.”

An innovative and ambitious school in terms of its programs, Williams prides itself on trying its best to ensure that students have the best all-around academic experience.

“We have a lot of programs here that we’ve piloted in the past,” DeLaurentis said. “We just want to meet our students where they are. Jadiel is a great kid but he’s electrified by athletics, so we’re going to meet his needs because we value his passion over just looking at him as an athlete. I think the beautiful thing about our school is we do that sort of thing for every kid.”

With a great support system both in and out of school paired with the determination and natural ability of Thomas, his aspirations of competing in collegiate athletics are much closer than he may think.

“I just want to go as far as I can in everything that I’m doing,” Thomas said.

“If you really think about it, he’s performing at a high level not only as a sophomore, which is impressive in itself, but it’s his first year running track,” Jennings said. “He’s got the natural talent and a great support system around him; I think he can go as far as he desires in this sport.”

z.cunningham@theday.com