June 27, 2007
Hastings and Solomon. Solomon and Hastings. In a room full of reporters on the South Carolina campus two of South Carolina’s most decorated student-athletes, track and field sprinters Natasha Hastings and Shalonda Solomon announced today they will both sign professional contracts and forego their senior year of eligibility.
They will remain at USC to finish their degrees and train under South Carolina head coach Curtis Frye. Both finish their careers as 11-time All-Americans with both also winning three NCAA titles apiece – two individually and once each with the 4x400m relay. The duo has led USC to top 10 finishes every year either indoors or outdoors. Both also have been named to the Academic All-American All-District team the past two years.
“Right now I am a bit nervous because I didn’t run this season and I thought it would put pressure on me to come back this year and try to run. But the Lord made it so that this year people saw enough potential in me to sign me. Overall, I have also run well on relays and that showed them that I can do it – that I am a team player as well. Coach Frye helped me record a number of personal bests last year,” said Solomon (Inglewood, Calif). “Everybody that has been involved at my success at South Carolina from my trainers, SIDs, tutors and of course the coaching staff especially Coach Frye, Coach Quarles and Coach Ross – everyone stood by me this year throughout my injuries. To the people that are here or coming here – stay focused and don’t give up. You will have your ups and downs so remain close to those who love you so you can receive their support when you have those downs. And finally – to my parents and family who stood beside me and supporting me while I was away at school – Thank You for your love and support!”
“This is a dream come true because this something I imagined when I was four or five years old when watching the Olympics, NCAAs, World Championships,” said Hastings (Rosedale, N.Y.) “Now to be in this situation it’s still surreal because it’s one thing to dream it and another thing to live your dream. I am working on getting into some European meets to get some racing at the next level under my belt, but my main focus is getting ready for the World Championships and going after the gold. Leaving USC is bittersweet. I have been close with the underclassmen this year and they may go on to win the NCAA title and I haven’t done that year. I have been blessed to be around so many wonderful people – coaches, fans, support staff. I will miss them and I hope they will continue to support me in this next phase. But I am not going anywhere – I will continue at South Carolina and finish my degree. I am forever and always a Gamecock!”
“We have worked together through this process the entire way,” said Frye. “They have been junior champions, NCAA champions, world champions and both someday soon will be South Carolina graduates. They are perfect examples of what we want when we recruit a student-athlete because they care about their work in the classroom as much as they care about track and field. They are leaders, they aren’t satisfied with cutting corners and manage their time well. Off the track, they have solid guides and role models in their mothers. They are good citizens and outstanding Christian women who truly care about people. They put team first. Because of our support staff here – which includes everyone from President Sorenson on down and especially Associate Head Coach Delethea Quarles, they have reached the highest of heights here.
“Natasha has made me very proud in her ability to get through difficulties and will finish at USC with a degree from the Honors College,” Frye said. “She expected to be a world-class runner and really will be. I wish she was coming back next year, but I can’t hold her back and we really wish her the best of luck. I am so proud there are people who recognize everything she has to offer as a classy, smart woman who is a good role model. People will want someone like Nastasha representing their product.
“Shalonda brought to us an expression of kindness and religious faith,” said Frye. “She chose USC over Texas, Southern California, UCLA – the heavy hitters. She wanted a degree in Nursing and got into our Nursing program. She has shown you can be a world-class athlete and be in a Nursing major. A lot of people will say you can’t – she showed you can and be an elite level athlete who wins NCAA titles.
“They are both super-stars who have run at the pinnacle of sport and still continue to be outstanding students,” said Frye. “The myths of the student-athlete not being a student have been shattered by these two. They have excelled and our program is set up for everyone to excel. This something that has been done before here and I am so happy we were able to make this commitment to them and they made the commitment to us. Our program proves that they are exceptional, but because others before succeeded and gave them confidence that it can be done – they came here and did it.”
Solomon has signed with super-agent Mark Wetmore and has already signed an apparel deal with Reebok. Hastings is finalizing a deal that should be announced in the next few weeks.
“It is a pleasure to welcome Shalonda Solomon to the Global Athletics Family. She is a fitting addition to the Global Athletics Family, which includes Tyson Gay, Tonique Williams-Darling and Melissa Morrison-Howard. In her career at South Carolina she has already shown she belongs among them. We look forward to her bright future,” said Wetmore, who is based in Boston.
Solomon won the NCAA title indoors and outdoors in 2006 – running a school record 22.30 in the 200m and 11.07 school record in the 100m, finishing as the silver medalist in the 200m at the USA Championships as well. Injured this year, Solomon was an All-American indoors in the 60m, but did not run the 200m finals due to injury. Solomon shined at the Penn Relays where she led USC to the 4x200m and 4x400m relay titles along with Hastings. She won five SEC titles, including back-to-back 200m titles in 2005 and 2006 and ran the anchor leg of the SEC champion 4x100m relay this season – defeating NCAA champion LSU.
Hastings, a member of the South Carolina Honors College, was named the 2007 National Athlete of the Year and the 2007 SEC Co-Scholar Athlete of the Year. Last weekend she set the collegiate record in the 400m when she won the silver medal at the USA Championships (49.84). She won the NCAA indoor and outdoor 400m titles this year, setting the indoor collegiate record (50.80) and helped USC to the NCAA indoor 4x400m relay title and a runner-up finish outdoors. She won the 200m and 400m at the NCAA East Region meet, setting the region record in both.
