NSU Horizons Spring 2012

Track and eld is a sport of results. There are no blooper singles or lucky bounces. No team members to hide behind if things don’t go right. It’s a sport de ned by the preciseness of time, the merciless- ness of distance, and a simple truth: If you want team success, you better come up with some personal bests and top-three podium nishes. And, of course, they better happen at just the right moment. That’s what happened to Nova Southeastern University’s track team last season. Seven Sharks responded to the competition at the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II championships by turning in All-American perfor- mances. Carlyle Thompson, the only NSU man to reach the nals, took fourth place, and NSU women placed third, fth, and seventh to lead the Sharks to a number 17 national nish. Not bad, considering it was less than six years ago that NSU of cials announced the school would be adding men’s and women’s track and eld teams. “Last year was a huge step, because the program here is fairly new. It set the bar,” said sprinter Roberta Fisher, a senior legal studies major. “We started out at the bottom of the map,” said junior sprinter Tiffany Richardson, a sports and recreation manage- ment major. “Now, we’re moving up.” Last year, Fisher; Richardson; and hurdler Jessica Osteen, a business administration major, all were named All-Americans. So far this season, the Sharks track and eld contingent has met the expectations. On March 23 and 24, 2012, the NSU athletes posted 11 top-20 nishes in the Florida State University relays, which drew 2,000 competitors from 19 Division I and II schools. Sophomore Derrick Wood nished third in the triple jump with a leap of 13.15 meters for the men’s team. And the men’s 4 X 400 relay—made up of three freshmen (Kiel Knight, Talyn Washington, Cameron Hemenez) and a senior (Robert Moise)— nished eighth. On the women’s side, Peri Bowman nished second in the steeplechase with the tenth-best Division II time (11:03.82) in the country this year. And Osteen just kept on clearing hurdles, nishing fth in the 400-meter hurdles. She also led the 4 X 100 relay team of Thelmarcia Williams, newcomer Kyley Jorgensen, and junior Johniqua Stafford to eighth place. In the eld, Vanessa Munley, Janell Azaret, and Brittany Todaro captured top-20 nishes in the triple jump, claiming 18th with a jump of 10.02 meters, 19th with a 9.67-meter leap, and 20th at 9.40 meters, respectively. The week before, Osteen won the 400-meter hurdles at the Miami Invitational. At that same meet, freshman pole vaulter Ryan Jerothe also tied for the best vault, and junior Omar Hernandez won the men’s steeplechase. Miami and FSU were followed by the Florida Relays on April 7, 2012, in Gainesville, where Bowman bested her tenth best-in-nation time by running an 11:03 in the women’s steeple- chase. It was a personal best and school record for the sopho- more from Virginia Beach, Virginia. Bowman was also part of the Sharks’ 4,000-meter distance medley team (along with soph- omore Brittaney Smash, Richardson, and senior Courtney McAuliffe) who placed ninth with a 12:55.06. In addition, the women’s and men’s 4 X 100 and 4 X 400 relays posted personal bests at the meet. Bryan Hagopian, head coach, loves to hear his athletes talk about winning. He teaches it, and he looks for it in recruits. ATHLETICS 38 HORIZONS Track Team on the Run for Nationals BY RALPH DE LA CRUZ Sprinter Roberta Fisher was named All-American last year.