The Battaiion
Page 7
Thursday • April 10, 1997
Successful athletes in different fields
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Senior Anjanette Kirkland has re
turned from a hamstring injury
with blazing speed.
V
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By Matt Mitchell
The Battalion
njanette Kirkland has some unfinished business
to take care of. Known as AJ. to her teammates
n the Texas A&M Track and Field Team the se-
isiilnior hurdler is preparing to compete in the 100-meter
|om; nurdles for the NCAA Championships.
Kirkland’s performance last weekend at the Texas
loeiRelays, where she placed second in the 100-meter hur-
W® dies, signaled her return from a hamstring injury suf-
igtl :ered a.year ago. The six-time All-American seems up
iwt :o full speed after missing the 1996 outdoor season.
“I woke up,” Kirkland said of her performance. “I got
KlAack to where I was before I got hurt last year. Speed-
be ivise, I feel I’m back to where I was, but all the little
dungs it takes to run the hurdles I’m still working on.”
It is these little things the speedster from San Antonio
lacrojs concerned with most in her preparation for the NCAAs.
"I feel like A.J. understands she’s coming off a very
at®iigh performance, and that tells her she’s back fully and
ready to compete for an NCAA championship,” Hur-
<fe|dles Coach Abe Brown said.
“She can start well and she can finish well,” he said.
‘Those are things that you just have to continue to do
over and over again. We’re just going to continue to do
M the things that are conducive to high-level hurdling.”
While Kirkland continues to fine-tune her mechan
ics, she has left little doubt in the minds of coaches and
competitors that, come meet time, she is a force to be
reckoned with. She has run a wind-aided 12.89 in the
-meter hurdles, the fastest ever run under any con
ditions in Southwest Conference histoiy.
In addition, Kirkland has posted a blistering time of
7.61 seconds in the 55-meter hurdles and holds meet
records in both the 55- and 100-meter hurdles.
I Kirkland’s sprinting speed has always been her
* strongest asset, and nowhere was this more evident
than Saturday’s 100-meter final, when she fell behind
I, S -A- jif
S A&
I
Far.
Rogge Heflin, The Battalion
Senior hurdler Anjanette Kirkland is looking for
redemption in the 100-meter hurdles at NCAAs.
by nearly five meters to defending NCAA champion
Tiffany Lott after a poor start. Kirkland recovered to
pull even and force a photofinish, taking second by
just .01 seconds.
“The one thing I can say that I’m real confident
about (is] that I’ve got the spring speed between the
hurdles,” Kirkland said. “Most people think if you run
fast enough, you’ll win your races. But to me, it comes
down to all the little things.”
And once those little things fall into place, Brown
says, Kirkland’s times could reach world-class status.
“When you can put the whole race together and run
the so-called ‘perfect race’, that’s when you’re going to
run the very elite times,” Brown said. “But we’re still just
focusing on doing the proper things that are conducive
to good hurdling and that will all come out in the end.”
Kirkland says she has not thought seriously about
her track career beyond her impending graduation. Her
focus at present is solely on running her best when the
NCAAs roll around.
“I’m just concentrating on running and running
fast, and I think if I do that, the rest will take care of it
self,” Kirkland said. “I just need to keep healthy, keep
my eye on the goal, and keep praising God. I’m going
to get there.”
Heptathlete Hudson finds niche in
By Jamie Burch
The Battalion
T he majority of track and field athletes elect to focus on one spe
cific event while some compete in several related events. Oth
ers, however, are not satisfied with competing in just two or three.
Texas A&M junior Ceci Hudson is one of the few, the proud,
the heptathletes.
Hudson said she enjoys competing in the hep
tathlon because of the variety it offers.
“We practice for about three hours a
day,” Hudson said. “Sprinters and others
practice for less time but concentrate sole
ly on one event. In the heptathlon you get to
do many different things.”
Three hours in the grueling Texas sun alone would discourage most
athletes from the heptathlon. But that’s what makes Hudson special.
Head Coach Ted Nelson said Hudson’s hard work leads to
her success.
“She’s an inspiration to our team because of her work ethic,” Nel
son said. “Everyone sees her out in practice busting it and trying
hard. That’s Ceci’s big asset. She’s a talent but not overly talented.
“Her work ethic makes her better than ladies on other teams.”
That very approach has led to tangible results for Hudson. She
finished third in the heptathlon at the Southwest Conference meet
her freshman year. As a sophomore last season, the heptathlete fin
ished second to teammate Stacy Sykora posting her career-best to
tal of 5,142 points.
Hudson said although she exceeded her previous high point to
tal, she was dissatisfied with the second-place finish.
“(Training with Sykora) duringthe season was good forme,” Hud
son said. “But the finish was disappointing, having led until the SWC
meet. I cost myself because I threw terrible in the javelin. That was
hard to take.
"I knew if I would have thrown what I was capable of doing, I
probably would have won. It was my own fault.”
Hudson is using last year’s shortcomings as motivation for this
season. The heptathlete posted the second-best score in the Big 12
at the College Station Relays March 14 and provisionally qualified
for the NCAAs, which will be held May 28-31 in Bloomington, Ind.
She also won the javelin throw at the Red Raider Invitational Jan. 25,
scoring nearly 500 more points than the second-place finisher.
See Hudson, Page 10
i-eventi
l
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iPIllil
Tim Moog, The Battalion
Junior heptathlete Ceci Hudson practices
the javelin.
Is T
|epi';
Iff a;
Aggies look to relax by hosting Aggie Invitational this weekend
By Jeremy Furtick
The Battalion
said. “This week’s competition will
be good, but not good enough for
us to bust our
The Texas A&M Men’s and
I Wwien’s Track & Field Teams are ex
periencing the calm after the storm
oflastweekend’sTexas Relays. In the
Ian words of Head Coach Ted Nelson,
the only meet to top the Texas Re-
' competition level is the NCAA
Outdoor Championships.
So tliis weekend’s Texas A&M In-
[on'tf vitational, with a field of Prairie View
t® Ml, Lamar, Stephen F. Austin,
Sam Houston State, Rice, UT-Pan
American and Texas Southern will
ten laotbe as competitive a meet,
gely® “The Texas Relays is a very
mb e: stressful and tough meet,” Nelson
lace if
May
I vote 1
IctuaJ
Hress
J e jntlf
|rtot ( :
lesloi'i
selves. This is
the kind of
meet we need
right now.”
Rice will
bring the only
highly com
petitive team
to the meet,
but A&M will
be welcoming
back some of its best former
track & field performers to com
pete in the open division.
Stacey Ware, the Aggie record
holder in the 500- and 10,000-
Price
meter run, Greg Williams, the
NCAA’s 1991 110-meter hurdle
champion, and All-Americans
Curt Young and Tim Bryant will
attend the Invitational.
This meet is the third outdoor
competition held at the Aggies’
Frank G. Anderson Complex this
season, following the A&M-
Texas Dual Meet and the College
Station Relays.
Sophomore sprinter Michael
Price, whose 400-meter relay
team took the national lead with
their time in Austin, said the
meet should give the teams a
chance to relax. However, being
at home does add a little pres
sure, Price said.
“The home crowd will be here
and nobody likes to lose in front of
their home crowd,” Price said.
Sophomore Kelli Schrader,
who broke the Texas A&M
women’s discus record last week,
said the Aggies have the advan
tage of competing at their prac
tice facility.
“We’re lucky because we get to
compete on the track that we work
out on every day,” Schrader said.
Nelson said his teams are
putting in a hard week of practice
after a good showing in Austin.
“You get a good workout at the
relays, but going into the meet, you .
don’t work very hard so you can
run your best,” Nelson said. “Now
we’re looking down the road.”
Senior Danny McCray will be
one of the big stories this week.
The A&M record holder in the
400-meter dash, McCray will re
turn to compete in this event for
the first time since last year’s out
door season.
This is the first season which
McCray will concentrate solely on
track. He previously divided his
time with football.
Price and Schrader said they do
not expect a drop-off in perfor
mance this week, even with the
easier competition and having a
tough week of practice.
“You’re always competing
against your best times,” Price said.
Men climb up poll
The Texas A&M Men’s Track Team
climbed to a 19th national ranking in the
United States Track Coaches Association
Top 25 rankings four days after posting the
nation’s fastest time in the 400-meter relay.
A&M’s improvement in the top 25 can
be attributed to the men’s sprint relay
moving from third to first position in its
power ranking. The Aggie foursome of
Toya Jones, Mike Price and Danny McCray
posted a time of 39.04 in the 400-meter
relay en route to a first place finish last
weekend at the Texas Relays in Austin.
The time was the fastest run by an A&M
foursome since 1990, and an NCAA au
tomatic qualifying mark.
.a* 1
Attention
Graduating in August or December
English 210 & 301 (Tech Writing)
Force Dates
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Thursday, May 1
Friday, May 30
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Wednesday, April 30
Thursday, May 1
Monday, July 7
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Monday, August 25
Forcing Hours for All Dates
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2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
1. Make sure you have the correct prerequisite
(English 104 or equivalent).
2. Come to Blocker 224 during the force dates and times listed above.
3. Bring a letter from your academic advisor stating that you are
graduating in the semester for which you are registering.
No forces will be done during pre-registration.
You must come in during these dates to get a seat.
If you can't make these dates, send a representative
with your letter and a list of preferred times.
Forcing Information line: 862-7724
Web site:
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