|
2009 Flyin' Frog Preview: Sprints & Relays
Jan. 14, 2009 FORT WORTH, Texas - With the TCU Track and Field Program set to open its 2009 campaign Saturday at Texas Tech, GoFrogs.com gives readers an exclusive in-depth look at the Flyin' Frog sprinters heading into this indoor season. Mychal Dungey returns in 2009 after closing out the 2008 season earning All-America honors as a member of the 4x100 relay squad that placed seventh overall at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Dungey, who also posted All-America honors by finishing ninth overall in the 200 meters last spring, collected all-regional outdoor honors at the Midwest Regional by placing sixth with a time of 20.91 in the 200. Last winter, he won the conference indoor championship in the 200 meters by crossing the finish line with a time of 21.17 seconds. Dungey could explode onto the scene this winter after having an exceptional freshman campaign. "Mychal Dungey is a guy that is going to be a big factor for us in the 200 and we would like to see him get to the NCAA meet," said head coach Darryl Anderson. Andon Mitchell also returns this winter after winning the conference indoor championship in the 60 meters with a personal-best time of 6.70 seconds. Overall, he placed first in the 60 meters at the Arkansas Invitational, while competing in both the 100 and on the 4x100 at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Mitchell, who was an All-American in 2008, should once again be a force on the track in 2009. "Hopefully, Andon Mitchell will be able to get to the NCAA meet in the 60 and be a factor for us after having a solid fall," said Anderson. Freshman Mark Barnes could be a valuable addition to the Flyin' Frog lineup this season as he was one of the top track and field athletes in the state of Texas coming out of high school. The freshman finished third in the 100 and second in the 200, respectively, at the 2008 state meet, while also being a member of a 4x100 unit that led the nation with a time of 40.56 seconds in 2007. "Mark Barnes should also be a factor for us as he continues to develop throughout the indoor season," said Anderson. Look for Dell Guy and Matthew Love to also be big contributors this winter after closing out the 2008 indoor season as part of the men's 4x400 relay team that blazed to a runner-up performance at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. Both sprinters were part of a conference championship 4x400 unit that qualified for nationals by clocking a time of 3:07.03. Love and Guy, who were both regional qualifiers during the outdoor season, were also part of a 4x400 squad that crossed the finish line in 3:07.83 to capture the 4x400 title at the Penn Relays. "We're counting on Matthew Love and Dell Guy to grow up this indoor season and be NCAA participants for us, which would really help them during the outdoor season," said Anderson. Finally, Jordan Pitts, who participated at the 2008 Midwest Regional in the men's 400-meter hurdles, returns after earning all-conference honors by winning the 110 and 400-meter hurdles in 2008. In the 110-meter hurdles, Pitts crossed the finish line in 14.12 seconds to win the event with a regional qualifying time. He came back later in the day to claim the 400-meter hurdle title with a personal best and regional qualifying time of 51.94 seconds. "Jordan Pitts has a chance to really blossom in the hurdles this indoor season and could really become a big-time factor," said Anderson. On the women's side, redshirt junior Jessica Young should help ease the loss of six-time All-American Virgil Hodge after sitting out last season. Young is widely considered to be one of the fastest sprinters in the nation. During the 2008 indoor season, Young placed fifth overall in the 60-meter dash at the 2008 AT&T Track and Field Championships with a time of 7.25. Earlier in 2008, the Columbia, S.C., native, clocked a time of 7.19 seconds to finish first overall in the event at the Tyson Invitational. Her time at that point was tied for the eighth-fastest time clocked in the world. Jessica Clarke also returns for the Flyin' Frogs in 2009 after collecting all-conference honors in the women's 200 meters during the indoor season last winter. Overall, she placed sixth at the championships in the 60 meters, while also earning all-conference honors as part of the women's 4x400 that won the conference indoor crown in Colorado Springs. Clarke helped the women's 4x400 record a seasonal-best time of 3:39.01 at the Tyson Invitational. She made her first appearance at the 2008 NCAA Outdoor Championships in the women's 400 meters after heading into nationals with the 13th fastest time in the nation. Finally, Clarke collected conference championship honors in the 400 meters during the outdoor season by winning the event title with the fifth-fastest time in championship history. Her blazing regional qualifying time of 52.52 at that time was the seventh-fastest time in the nation and ranked in the top-50 in the world standings. "From an individual standpoint, Young and Clarke will play big-roles for us this indoor season in the 60 and 200, respectively," said Anderson, who was the 2008 South Central Indoor Coach of the Year. Finally, Kishelle Paul returns this indoor season and could closeout her career as one of the most prolific hurdlers to ever run at TCU. The two-time All-American is coming off a Midwest Regional Championship in 2008 after recording a seasonal-best time of 57.81 seconds in the 400-meter hurdles to win the Midwest Regional. Her time at that point was ranked No. 15 in the NCAA and was the top mark in the Mountain West Conference heading into nationals. Paul earned third-place honors in the 100-meter hurdles with a regional qualifying time of 13.84, while also breaking the previous complex record in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 58.84 seconds to place second overall at the Mountain West Conference Championships. "Kishelle Paul should have a big effect on how we do this indoor season from a hurdle standpoint after having a great 2008," said Anderson.
Darryl Anderson on Relay Units in 2009 "On the men's side, Mychal Dungey, Andon Mitchell, Jordan Pitts, Dell Guy and Matthew Love are the sprinters that we are really going to be keying in on this indoor season. The development of Mark Barnes is really going to be big for us as well because eventually he is going to be a big part of what we do as he becomes accustomed to the indoor season. They have to carry the load for us and hopefully by the end of the season we have something that we can put on the track relay-wise that will get us into the NCAA meet. We kind of have had to take that approach the last few years, which isn't the standard-approach that I would like, but it has worked out well for us. Last year, we weren't even on the board until the final meet before nationals and then a week later we end up getting second in the NCAA in the mile-relay, so we will see how that works out for us this indoor season." "On the women's side, we should have a very competitive 4x400 team, but obviously we are going to take our time and let those girls work their way through it. Kishelle Paul, Jessica Young and Jessica Clarke will be the focal point of that group, but from there we will have three girls in La'Quinta Ross, Tiara Miller and Hayley Shade that should jump into that relay and handle the fourth part of it for us. We are going to work those six girls and figure out the best four girls. Hopefully, by the time we go to Texas A&M we will have it figured out."
|
 
 |
