A Look at UM Track and Field Teams in 2009
A Look at Men’s and Women’s Track and Field of 2009
Special written by Alex Oppenheimer
Feb. 21, 2009
Coral Gables, Fla.-
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Murielle Ahoure |
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How has coming to Miami from George Mason improved your performance?
A: “It’s been a change for the better. I feel more at home here and I like the weather here being it’s definitely better for training purposes. We have great coaches, great teammates, and it’s just wonderful to be around.”
Do you feel any sort of pressure to consistently perform holding some of the fastest sprint times in the world this year?
A: “Yes, definitely. But I’ve talked to Coach [Amy] Deem a lot and she told me not really to let it get to me, just stay focused and run relaxed. I just keep doing the same exact thing I did in that first race.”
What kinds of things do you say and do to motivate your teammates?
A: “We’re all very supportive of each other and just talk everything out to try and help one another out when needed.”
Do you have any traditions or superstitions in your routine?
A: “No, not really. I pretty much do the exact same thing with my warm up, strides, and I just run. I never really had anything like that.”
You have the ACC and NCAA Indoor Championships coming up. What do you expect there and what do you expect for the rest of the season?
A: “Going into the ACC Championships and NCAA Indoor’s, I expect to perform very well and hopefully continue winning. I just going to try to run faster than my last race and just be a factor to compete well.”
What are your plans once you have completed your college career at Miami?
A: “I want to stay here in Miami and train with Coach Deem and Lauryn Williams’ training group. I would love to join that. I would like to go to the World Championships this summer and hopefully the Olympics in the future as well.”
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Kristy Whyte |
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Describe your experiences winning at the ACC Championships last year?
A: “It was unbelievable. I had worked really hard and tried the best I could. The 200 M was a surprise, but I went out there and tried to win. It was an experience I’ll never forget”
What tends to be your primary focus points when heading into each meet throughout the season?
A: “Just do my best because I compete out here with the best everyday, my teammates are the best girls. I try to execute what I do in practice everyday at a track meet. I can do everything perfectly in practice, but in a meet, things just have the chance to crumble.”
You’ve emerged as one of the leaders on UM Track. What kinds of things do you say to teammates to try and help to improve their performances?
A: “Just have confidence in yourselves and honestly, we work really hard everyday out here in the hot sun. Things that we do as a team, it brings us closer and makes us stronger. We’re tough girls, we work hard and we deserve to win.”
Which have you preferred throughout your career, sprinting or jumping events? How do you mentally prepare fore each?
A: “Sprinting. For me, jumping events were shorter, so you just want to give your full power to the long jump line and give everything you can. With sprinting, you just need to focus a lot more. My longest race is the 400 M, so you know that in under a minute, you’re going to be done, so give it all you can in that short amount of time.”
Describe the difficulties majoring in Pre-Medicine and balancing time for practice and competitions.
A: “If I didn’t do it right now, I wouldn’t believe that it’s possible. I study really hard and I work really hard in track. It is tough because it’s a time crunch. Not only do you try and make sure you have you’re credits for graduation, but make you have your credits for MCATS. You can’t let everything bundle up because you’ll have anxiety and you won’t be productive on the track or in the classroom.”
What do you hope to accomplish for the remainder of the season?
A: “I just want to defend my title against not only the rest of the ACC, but my own teammates, they want to win just as bad as I want to win. But at the same time, I want to help my team become ACC Champions and bring the title back to Miami.”
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Ti’erra Brown |
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Describe your experiences at the NCAA Championships as just a freshman last year?
A: “It was a new experience but not too stressful. You just have to consistently compete and go through the rounds. I would like to do much better this year.”
How do you take your success as a 3-time state champion in Virginia and translate it to college competition?
A: “When you’re in college, it’s a whole new world, so I really don’t focus on what I did back then. I look back for inspirations, and say to myself that I want to continue to be the champion, but it really doesn’t translate into college competition wise, because it’s a whole different realm of athletes, different technique and training.”
What kinds of things do you do to keep your composure and clear your head on race day?
A: “I’m very superstitious, my whole day has to go the same every time for a race, the same routine as far as the pre-meeting, taking a shower at the same time, listen to the same music. It’s all just a mind thing.”
What are your short-term and long-term goals m for your career here at UM?
A: “For the next couple of weeks, I’m trying to clean up my hurdle race. I just try to keep my head clear of everything I want to do and just focus. As far as long-term goals, for ACC’s I want to place in the top 3 individually and do well on the relay. For NCAA Championships, I want to go to nationals for the hurdles and a relay as well.”
What has Coach Deem taught you since coming to Miami in 2007?
A: “She helped me with my hurdling techniques, especially my start. That’s a huge thing we were trying to work on right now, getting me to open up my stride for the longer hurdles but a little quicker for the shorter ones.”
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Mikese Morse |
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How has transferring from USF to UM helped you develop as an athlete?
A: “With Coach [Calvin] Robinson, who has a little bit more experience than some of the other coaches I’ve dealt with in the past, I’m definitely improving with technique. He’s coached Olympic Medalists and national champions. The program is more organized and has a better direction. It really gives you a chance to prepare to compete at that elite level.”
What about UM and it’s Track and Field program made you want to come here?
A: “One of the biggest things was when I sat down with Coach Deem, she promised she would bring in a top notch coach being that there wasn’t one in place, and she delivered on her promise.”
What kinds of things do you say and do to emerge as a team leader in just your first season on this team?
A: “I try and lighten up the atmosphere but at the same time, but when it’s time make sure everyone is focused on what they need to be doing. Whatever you put in is what you get out.”
Describe your experiences competing in the Olympic Trials last year? Do you plan to go out for the 2012 Olympics as well?
A: “It was an amazing experience and it was one of the reasons I ended up here. Being at that elite level, making it to the finals and being one good jump away from making the Olympic team made me to decide to get a little more serious about my track career. I’m here because I felt this was the best for my track career and the kind of coaching I receive here can put me one step closer to being on the Olympic team and possibly medaling.”
What do you expect from yourself and your teammates for the remainder of this season?
A: “To continue to get better. You never know what going to happen at a meet, you may get injured or have some kind of fluke thing happen, but as long as your improving and giving your best in practice and at the meet, you can’t really be mad about that.”
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Travis Benjamin |
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Describe what it is like being a two-sport athlete here at UM?
A: “I like how we get to travel a lot. In football, you know who everyone is. But in track, you get to see all these different kinds of people. The competition is fast, and they’re able to do all types of things.”
What is your mentality like when going into a race compared to lining up on the football field?
A: “Football is a team effort, so I hope that that we can perform and bring something to the table to show people back at home what I can do. In track, even though I’m doing an individual thing, I just always try and compete the hardest I can no matter what.”
Which do you prefer: sprinting events or the long jump?
A: “I like doing sprinting more. I like to show my quickness and just burst out of the start.”
What do you expect to accomplish in the remaining competitions this spring?
A: “I hope we can just compete in all the competitions. We have a lot of fast people out here. I think were one of the fastest teams, so I think we can definitely have some success and make our mark down the road.”
