May 30, 2009
| NCAA East Region Championships | Fri.-Sat., May 29-30 |
Championship Central | Live Results | Meet Notes  | Friday Recap |
Each day this weekend, freshman and senior members of the track & field team will blog about their experiences at the NCAA East Region Championships in Greensboro, N.C. Senior Senior Liza Todd blogs about earning her bid to the NCAA Championships, and freshman Stacee Roberts blogs about getting ready for her event Saturday.
Senior Liza Todd
This was the plan from the beginning or at least that’s what Coach Johnson told me. I was going to peak in time for regional’s and nationals. And that’s exactly what happen today: a new PR and a spot on the nationals team! At the team meeting Wednesday night, Coach Frye told me there was not a spot as an alternate on the 4×1 team and I didn’t want to go to the meet as a cheerleader and not a competitor; so as the other girls started to drop (in the pole vault competition) I knew that I had a chance to make top 5 and continue as a pole vaulter and not an alternate. The competition was fierce and at one point I was afraid Coach Johnson was going to be escorted out of the meet after he was told over and over again by the police that he could not stand at a particular spot to coach us. I know that he would fight to the death for us and is going to do anything that benefits his vaulters during competition, even if it means getting kicked out of the venue!
I can’t thank my teammates enough for their support throughout the meet! Vica acting as my wind gage, Allie catching step, and Sallie just being as supportive as ever! Some of my best friends are on the team and it’s days like this, when they want you to win as much as you do, just solidifies this friendship! It’s days like today when I wonder why I’ve trained so hard in the fall, given us so much of my time over the past four years, and put my body through so much! It’s the personal best days, the finally making it to nationals, and also helping the team out in a way they didn’t think possible! “Today was a great day to be a Gamecock!” -Coach Frye
Freshman Stacee Roberts
Today was our first day of competition. As usual we had our team shakeout and breakfast. We went to the mall to get some lunch before heading over to the track. It was great to see all of my teammates performing well. Jason Cook in the throws qualified for NCAAs which was really exciting, as did Liza in the pole vault. I got to see Janica, Radiance and Johnny all run hurdles and Shayla run the 200m, which was pretty awesome. The weather was nice and the rain held off until right before we left the track. Tomorrow I will get to compete in my first regional meet. I’m really excited but a little nervous. I know I’ve trained hard to get here and Coach Serge has given me the tools to succeed, so I just have to pray that everything comes together for me and hopefully I will get a new PR. I’m hoping Mike Zajac does well in the hammer throw and Jeff Merkt in the discus. Wish us all luck in our last day of finals, go gamecocks!
