bornthrilla
Proud ***** of JSU
'Bout time we can get a credible journalist's perspective on what really went down.
TSU Track and Field at SWAC Indoor Championships
Date: February 27, 2002
Contact: Semaj Marsh
Website: www.tsu.edu
BATON ROUGE, La-- Texas Southern coach Clyde Duncan, Sr. resembled a proud father on February 24, as he watched his team stage a furious rally during the final day of competition the SWAC Indoor Track and Field Championships.
Despite beginning the day near the bottom of the men's and women's team standings, the Flying Tigers made a late charge up the leader boards Sunday, thanks to several dominating performances in the meet's final events. The Flying Tigers would eventually finish third in both standings, after capping off the meet with consecutive victories in the men's and women's 5000 meter run, the men's and women's 4X400 meter relay, and the women's triple jump.
For Duncan, the dual third place finishes were his team's best showing at the SWAC Indoor championships since his arrival at TSU five years ago. It also served notice that his efforts of rebuilding the once-legendary track and field program have finally begun to reap dividends.
"It's quite remarkable when you think of how far we've come since our first year here," said Duncan, who took over the head coaching position in 1998, just two years after the program was placed on NCAA probation. "Most people don't understand that there was nothing we could do as far as [recruiting] young men and women during our first five years here. Right now, I'm very pleased at how this program has continued to improve. I'm happy for our athletes and our coaching staff, and it just speaks for itself that the Texas Southern University Flying Tigers are back on the right path."
The two-day meet took place at LSU's Carl Maddox Field House on Saturday, February 23 and Sunday, February 24.
The TSU men finished the competition with 92 total points, trailing behind only Southern (177 points), who won their second consecutive SWAC indoor men's title, and Alcorn State (106 points).
The TSU women finished with 83 points, trailing behind Alabama State (169) and last year's indoor champion, Alcorn State (164).
Duncan believes both TSU teams could have finished even higher in their respective standings if not for their lack of depth in most of the six field events. Southern and Alabama State relied primarily on the field events to stockpile their first place points.
"The field events we clearly lack, "Duncan admitted. "We were blessed to do well in a few field events, but in our throwing events and the (pole) vault, right now we really don't have anyone competing."
TSU did manage to get another exceptional performance from Melanie Carter, who won the women's triple jump with a distance of 12.56 meters. Carter also took second place honors in the women's long jump with a distance of 5.76 meters
TSU sophomore Stephen Vaughn contributed in the field events on the men's side, finishing second in the men's long jump with a distance of 23.40 meters
?For our athletes to perform at this level against teams that have people in every event, it says a lot about our heart, ?Duncan said. ?I just hope that Texas Southern University will give this program the proper funding we need to allow us to put the Flying Tigers back on the map. I think it?s only matter of time before we can really have the depth in those events to not only finish third or second in our conference, but to finish first.?
As expected, TSU had it's strongest showing in the men's and women's distance events, led by stalwarts Noeleene Harris and John "Boss" Bullock.
Harris, a junior from Kinston, Jamaica, finished second in the women's 3000-meter run with a time of 10:48 .81. In the 1600 meter run she simply outclassed her competition, winning easily with a time of 5:21.74. In Sunday's 5000 meter run, the only question was how many opponents Harris would eventually lap, as she again took first place honors with a time of 19:04.73
On the men's side, Bullock became somewhat of a fan favorite on the meet's opening day, after giving a gutsy performance in the distance medley relay. Bullock found himself down by almost a full lap when he received the baton on the final leg of that event, but gradually fought his way back to challenge the leader. TSU eventually finished a close second behind Southern's medley relay team, but it was Bullock's heroic attempt to close the gap that brought the crowd to their feet.
Bullock continued his "cardiac kid" routine the following day, coming from last in the pack in both the 1600 meter and 5000 meter runs to eventually win both events with times of 4:29.63 and 16.23.14 respectively. Afterwards, he was named Outstanding Male Track Athlete for his efforts.
"I came into this meet with intentions of getting first place in whatever I ran," said Bullock, a true freshman from Memphis, Tennessee. " I had to settle for two second place finishes yesterday (in the distance medley relay and the men's 3000 meter run) so I wanted to make sure I came in first today."
The Flying Tigers also had solid performances in the middle distance events.
Chris Lloyd, who entered the meet as the SWAC's two-time defending 400 meter dash champ, continued his winning streak in the event with a time of 48.32.
Other top male performers for TSU were sophomore Shawn Jenkins, who came in a close second in the men's 55 meter hurdles with the time of 7.48, and Kalan Laws, who finished third in the same event with a time of 7.55.
Shawn Bender, a junior from Newark, New Jersey, finished fourth in the 800-meter finals with a time of 2:01.4. He also finished third in the 1,600 meter run with a time of 4:33.98.
On the women's side, Tremedia Brice finished fourth in the women's 400-meter dash with a time of 58.62, while Krutricia Simon came in sixth in the 400 with a time of 58.84. Brice would also take third place honors in the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.17.
In the 4X400 meter relays, The TSU men easily rolled past their competition with a winning time of 3:17.66, while the TSU women also took first place honors with a time of 3:49.08.
"I think this group is now taking the steps to become like the Flying Tigers of old, " Duncan said. "Hopefully, our fans and student body will be able to enjoy this type of success for many days to come."