April 24, 2003
Quotes from Penn Relays
Head coach Curtis Frye is wearing the “yellow hat” this weekend, a prestigious honor for serving as the honorary college women’s referee. He is one of only five honorary referees at the Penn Relays. “The yellow hat is representative of the meet referee, the person who overturns or upholds officials’ rulings,” said Frye. “For college coaches, it’s an honorary award. It goes to the coach who has the most wins who hasn’t been awarded the honor before. In 100 years, only 100 other people have been given such an honor and I am proud to have been selected.”
“I used to think that the honor was just who was the favorite coach, but I found out this week that it is an earned honor. I’ve always seen LSU, Texas, and Florida coaches wear the hat in years past, but this year I found out it was awarded another way.”
On Day One of the Penn Relays: “Today was a good day. We made the finals we were expected to make. Our women have a challenge ahead of them – we will see how much they can accomplish when they don’t have their top star Miki Barber. Last year we won four out of five and I expect us to be in the top three in the relays. We had a big day out of Keri Groover and Antoinette Wilks. They both performed well today.”
On Miki Barber: “Miki Barber has a strained hamstring. We don’t want to push her and we want her to be healthy. Our goal for her is to be ready for the Southeastern Conference meet on May 16-18. She’s just not physically able to compete this weekend.”
On the cold weather and chance for rain affecting the athletes this weekend: “If it is cold and wet, it is cold and wet on everybody. It is just a preparation for something to come. I remember a few years ago we competed at Buffalo, N.Y. where it was 37 degrees and the wind chill factor in the 20s, and that was the national championships. You just have to be prepared, you have to adjust, you have to be flexible. Those who adjust and are flexible are the ones that will be successful. We’ve got a bunch of tough athletes and they are the defending national champions for a reason. Adversity brings out winners.”
