June 1, 2006
Columbia, SC – South Carolina sprinter Shalonda Solomon has already set the school record in the 100m and 200m. She is preparing this week for the NCAA Track and Field Championship June 7-10 in Sacramento. USCsports.com sat down with her on Thursday to catch up on her progress this season, what soaps she watches and if she plans to turn pro early.
Q: The last time we visited with you, you were preparing for the SEC Championships. You have been pretty busy since then, tell us how the SEC meet was for you and then the NCAA East Region meet.
Solomon: The SEC meet was great. We really competed well. We won the 4x100m relay. I wasn’t expecting to win because I knew that LSU and Tennessee were great and had run really fast. Individually, my goal for the 100m was to go out and run fast. I didn’t know what to expect. I did what I could do and I ran a PR. In the 200m, my goal was to win because I knew I could. I had practiced well in that event. When I won I felt ‘wow, I am so blessed’ because my competition was so good.
Our performances at the regional meet were another blessing. I won the 100m, 200m and our team won the 4x100m relay. I PRed in the 100m and the 200m, wind-aided, but it was a PR. My teammates made a huge effort and PRed and did their best work and the women won. It was really exciting!
Q: Were you expecting to win the 100m and 200m?
Solomon: Looking at the times I brought in I was expecting to win, but it’s all about what you go out and put on the track each time. You can’t think I will win every time.
Q: You are running the 100m and 200m at the NCAA Championships. Which event do you prefer and why?
Solomon: I prefer the 200m because I feel like I have more time to get my speed up and get going. You have to get your speed going early in the 100m to finish well. (is that hard for someone small): It’s not hard because I am small, but because I have trouble getting out of the blocks quick. I don’t know why, I always have had trouble with my starts. They have not been the best. (how can you improve?): Practice every day and not focus on it. I try no to get too nervous.
Q: You Nervous?
Solomon: Oh, I get a little nervous sometimes. I want to do my best and that’s why I get nervous. I was nervous at Penn Relays and maybe at Nationals indoors.
Q: You compete in the SEC on a regular basis. Do you consider the SEC the best conference in the US in track and field?
Solomon: Of course it’s the best! USC is in it. I have heard it’s the best. I haven’t looked at other times in the other conferences, but I have heard it’s the toughest.
Q: Besides people you have run against in the SEC this year outdoors, who else do expect to see in the finals in the 200m?
Solomon: I think Kelly Rodriquez (Southern Cal) has the fastest time going into both the 100m and 200m. I ran against her in high school. She has been a great competitor. We went to rival high schools and we always ran against each other against the 200m. I won most of the time, but I know she is really talented and could get me on any given day. We really push each other. She’s great.
Q: Do you have any family coming to nationals?
Solomon: A lot of my family. My Dad (James Solomon), My Mom (Yolanda Solomon), my youngest Shana (freshman at San Diego State), my borhter and his wife (James and Lakeisha Solomon) and my sister and her husband (Shannon and Darnell Botts).
Q: You also expect to run a leg of the 4x100m relay and the 4x400m relay at the NCAA Championship. Which relay do you prefer?
Solomon: The 4×1. I love the 4×1. It gets you hyped, it gets you ready because it’s normally the first event of the day. When you go out and do your best if keeps you going from there. We normally say a prayer before we go out and run. Everybody has to do their part and together we can make one great team.
Q: What makes a great relay?
Solomon: Everybody running out there and really running great legs. A bad baton hand-off can really make the difference because everybody is really fast at NCAAs. (Any secret:) No, just practice and have confidence that she is going to be bring it around to you. I have to get out because she is going to come on me and I really have to go. (Can you see where the competition is on the track?): I have some clue because sometimes I might see them fly by me because I am looking at my mark. I want to make sure I get out correctly and watch for my teammate. I mostly go out and try to catch the people around me. I just gotta for it and go get’em.
Q: A 4×1 win that was really exciting?
Solomon: The 4×1 – regionals. We were behind and we got the team back in first. That was really exciting because I didn’t think I was going to catch her (Miami anchor). She was close, but not that close (smile).
Q: What’s your favorite part of being a member of the Gamecock track and field team
Solomon: The practices and the times we spend together away from the track. When we are taking a break and we get together we laugh, joke and kid around. There are times to be serious and it’s fun to spend time with them. I just laugh, I am not really a good joker. I laugh at the jokes instead.
Q: Anyone on the team give you advice?
Solomon: Jason does. He tells me ‘good job’, to do this or just makes jokes, in a good way, about how I ran. Everyone else just says good job and stuff like that.
Q: You and (Gamecock sprinter) Leroy Dixon are both competing in the 100m and 200m at the NCAA meet. Do you ever talk about your race plan with him? In what ways does training with the men help you?
Solomon: I don’t talk to Leroy about my races. I don’t talk to many people about the races. Mainly the coaches and my family. I like training with the boys because they are faster than girls and if you can stay with a guy, you know you can stay with any girl.
Q: You smile and laugh a lot off the track. But you get your game face on as you enter the field of competition. What are you thinking as you walk on to the track from the warm-up track as you prepare for the finals?
Solomon: I am thinking it’s time to do what you have practiced to do all year. It’s time to show them what you are made of. I am mostly in my zone and thinking about how I have to run this race. People say good luck ladies, but everybody is in their zone and ready to run.
Q: Any chance you will leave USC early to join the pro ranks?
Solomon: I am not leaving school this year, no way, but I would think about it after my junior year. After my junior year that’s when there are more meets in the summer and if my times keep improving then I would think about it and I would be able to handle the next level. That’s a huge area to move into so young.
I am not thinking about that right now and I am not going to think about that this year. We will have to see next season. I want to get my degree in Nursing.
Q: You were named the SEC Indoor Runner of the Year and recently named to the Academic All-American team in your district. Which honor means more to you?
Solomon: I would say the second one would mean more because it shows that I work hard on my academics and excel on the track as well. It is a blessing because there are so many people out there that could have won the award and there are other athletes that are good at what they do and I am really thankful.
Q: Off the track, what’s your favorite food to cook in your dorm?
S: Chicken strips sautéed. Broccoli. I don’t cook a lot. I eat at the Russell House a lot.
Q: What do you like to do for fun?
Solomon: I like to go to the movies. My favorite movie is Little Mermaid. My favorite book to read is the bible. Besides the bible, any romance book. Nothing in particular, something light. I like to go bowling even though I am not very good. I just like to hang out with friends and family.
Q: What’s your proudest moment?
S: When I won indoor nationals (in the 200m) because I have never won a championship before. In high school I always got second, third or fourth at the state meet. But this year I won the 200m at the NCAA Indoors and I was so blessed and happy I won. (called): My mom did all the calling.
Q: We hear you watch soap operas. What do you watch? Why? Hooked?
Solomon: I’ve been hooked for many years. I started watching it with my mom. I watch All My Children and One Life to Live. How often? I try to watch it everyday, but I am busy so whenever I can. I could sleep all day, but wake up to watch that.
Q: Any big problems on one of them?
Solomon: AMC: I am worried if Todd is going to make it because they executed him for a murder he didn’t commit. They had proof Todd didn’t do it and they are trying to revive him. Right now it’s kind of tough because the doctor set him up is working on him and he might help him, he might not. I don’t know. My mom and I talk about it sometimes, but she doesn’t see it much because she works.
Q: Do you learn anything when you watch soaps?
Solomon: I guess that a lie will come back to haunt you because Dr. Truman thought he would get away with it. He knew Todd didn’t kill anybody and he might find out that it was
Q: What would tell Gamecock fans about the track and field team next week?
Solomon: Be looking out for us because we are going to do something amazing. We are going to be that comeback team. Indoors we had a lot of injuries that didn’t make it and had a couple score. We were 10th and now we have a majority back and healthy. We are just going to out and run to the best of our ability. Predictions? Nope, just that we are going to run fast.