Track & Field | 1/15/2021 7:05:00 AM
EAST GREENSBORO – Duane Ross is ready.
Ten months have disappeared from the calendar since North Carolina A&T's director of track and field programs has occupied an infield at an outdoor meet. Ten months have faded since he leaned on the railing at an indoor meet as he watched one of his terrific student-athletes whisk by. It's been 10 months since he gave a pep talk before a big race.
The long wait is over. Ross can finally get to coaching at meets, and his teams can get back to meeting their expectations – winning individual, relay and team national championships. N.C. A&T men's and women's indoor track and field teams begin the season Friday at the University of Kentucky's McCravy Green Invitational at Nutter Field House in Lexington, Ky.
The meet begins at 3 p.m. When sophomore
Bradley Fleurinord makes his first leap in the men's long jump at 3 p.m., it will mark the first time an Aggies track and field athlete has competed in 10 months.
"That mental health day is real," said Ross. "When something takes away your passion, what you do, your routine, at first you don't think much of it, but when it starts to drag on, it takes a lot out of you. Our coaches are ready to back on the road, see a different facility and see these young people compete. Our athletes are ready to go too. These guys are going to pop out this weekend and have some great performances."
The sports world all but came to an end last March when the pandemic called COVID-19 became known in our world. COVID-19 did not exempt track and field. Officials canceled the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Albuquerque, NM, as Ross' men and women were warming up to compete.
Both Aggie teams had just come off winning their fourth straight Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) championship, respectively.
N.C. A&T then sent nine athletes to New Mexico. After the NCAA granted student-athletes an additional year, all of those athletes are back in 2021 except for reigning 800-meter MEAC indoor champion
Abbas Abbkar who is only eligible for the outdoor season.
Among the seniors who are back is men's sprinter
Jaylan Mitchell who won the 60m at the MEAC indoor championships and finished ranked seventh nationally in the 60m with a time of 6.59.
Trevor Stewart is also back. Stewart's resume includes finishing second in the nation in the outdoor 400m in 2019.
A year ago, Stewart had the 12th-best 400m indoor time in the country (46.07).
Akeem Sirleaf, an Olympic qualifier for Liberia, is also back. On the women's side, graduate hurdler Madeleine Akobundu also decided to return. Her return means the Aggies could have the three of the best hurdlers in the country, along with junior
Paula Salmon and graduate
TeJyrica Robinson.
Robinson won the 60mh at MEAC indoors last season, followed by Salmon and Akobundu.
"It was encouraging seeing those young people having to make a real tough adult decision if they were going to come back or this was it for them," said Ross. "We had everyone return because no one wants to end their career with COVID having the upper hand. They are a special group. They want to finish out on top, which means we've done a little more than get them to run fast. They see this as a family. They're smart, they're hungry and they're successful."
In addition to all the talented seniors returning, the Aggies returning underclassmen are not too bad either.
Randolph Ross had a breakout freshman season. He had the fastest 400m time in the world at 45.44 ran at Texas Tech. Junior
Cambrea Sturgis had a breakout freshman year during the 2019 outdoor season. She finished third in the country in the 200m during the 2019 NCAA outdoor championships. Last season, she won the 200m at the MEAC indoor championships.
But the Aggies are not just about the sprinters. Junior distance runner
Regan Kimtai was the most outstanding performer at the MEAC indoors last season after winning the mile, the 5000m and the distance medley relay.
Senior
Loren James won the award on the women's side after winning the weight throw and shot put.
"We are focused on being a complete program at NCAAs," said Ross. "We have a good enough and complete program to win conference. Now we need to have that completeness to compete at the national level."
Ross recruited one of the best men's track and field classes in the country to help with that completeness. He said his women's program is a year behind before they have what they need to win a national title. A top women's recruiting class is on the way; however, according to Ross, who said he is "already excited about next season for the women."
The kids expect national championships," said Ross. "My job is a whole lot easier now because my upperclassmen have had a little taste of success. Then they had an opportunity snatched away from them last indoors. They are on board with bringing the new folks along."
Ross has a very structured program. Ross and his coaches spend hours on mechanics and what he calls the "little things."
"I believe in building one block at a time," Ross said. "We started the season slowly. We slow-walked the ball. We put a lot of time into developing the freshmen to get them caught up. It took some strategy. We sat down with our coaching staff and decided to groom these kids. We don't have to rush into competition; let's groom them, get them right, so by outdoors, these freshmen can step up and help us win."
The Aggies may have time to groom the freshmen, but they do not have much time to qualify for NCAA indoor nationals. There will be no MEAC indoor championship this season due to COVID; therefore, the Aggies only have four meets before the NCAA indoor championships, March 12-13.
Starting this weekend, the Aggies are going at it full speed because, in the world of COVID, you never know when what you love to do will be taken away.
"With conference being canceled, that takes away a great opportunity to qualify for nationals," said Ross. "We're down to four competitions, so we have to treat every competition like it's a championship meet. We have to maximize our opportunities.
Everything is on the line because you don't know with COVID. We might be able to run this week, and then we can't run the next two weeks. Your next competition might be nationals. No one knows. So we have to compete."
