2007 Men’s Indoor/Outdoor Track Preview
Key Losses: Ezra Bialy, Marcus Burden, Kwesi Byrd, Jeremiah Carter, Thomas Fowlkes, Anthony Murphy
Ezra Bialy and Thomas Fowlkes were All-Sun Belt Conference field eventers, who also set three school records during their Jag tenures. Fowlkes, the indoor and outdoor pole vault record-holder, earned five podium finishes between the two championships, including two SBC titles. He qualified for the Regional all four years and will deflect his loss by tutoring the young vault crew as a graduate assistant. Bialy’s triple jump victory at the 2005 Indoor Championship sparked the men’s squad to the team title and the New Yorker was a quality long jumper, resetting the Jag record indoor in 2006. The exodus of Marcus Burden and Kwesi Byrd leaves a gapping hole in a sprint crew that scored just 10 combined points at the indoor and outdoor championships last season. Semmes, Ala., native Jeremiah Carter, a four-year Jag, and Cleveland, Ohio native Anthony Murphy, a two-year transfer, were versatile runners, scoring points and achieving All-SBC status in sprint and distance events over their Jaguar careers. Carter ran legs on top-3 4x400m relay teams and finished fourth in the 800m outdoors last season. Murphy, the indoor 400m (short-track) record-holder and third-place finisher in the 800m outside, was one-fourth of the SBC record-breaking DMR team that became the first South Alabama relay team to compete at the NCAA Indoor Championships finishing ninth.
Sprints: Returners
Laronious Reddix’s return comes with good news and bad news. The senior from Ocean Springs, Miss., looks recovered from a knee injury that kept him out of last season’s outdoor championship after setting a new Jaguar record in the 400m on his way to a Regional berth. Bad news is that the indoor 400m record-holder (oversized track) will only have the outdoor season to contribute to the Jags.
Ahmd Awesu was the only true sprinter to score at either SBC Championship, with his Jag-record dash to win the 55m inside the Murphy Center. Having acclimated to the southern climate, Awesu should add a respectable 200m, both indoors and out, to give the Jags a more balanced attack from the short sprints.
Christophe DuMee was consistent over the high hurdles in 2006, earning eighth at the SBC indoors, fourth outdoors, and sixth at the African Championships competing for his Indian Ocean-island home of Maurituis. The junior scored in the 400m hurdles (fourth) in his first year of running the event since breaking his arm in his freshman year. DuMee could be one the conference’s dominant forces with the departure of Middle Tennessee’s Linnie Yarborough.
Tim Johnson’s first collegiate season was full of moments that showed his future at this level. The Mobile, Ala., native competed in all the sprint events as a freshman, finding his calling at 200m and 400m. With a year of training for the longer distance from high school days a 100m star, Johnson should be ready to step up and provide much-needed scoring in the sprint department.
Sprints: Newcomers
Olu Awoleye brings his 2004 Division II championship at 400m and unparalleled strength to the sprint crew. The Nigerian has range from 200m to 800m which speaks to his ability to handle multiple events in a short span. Awoleye will be the prime candidate to anchor the indoor 4x400m relay with Reddix out and replace Murphy on the DMR, making both foursomes potential NCAA qualifiers.
Others to watch: Anthony Benn (400m), Bobby Botsis (400m hurdles), Iori Nishizawa (sprints)
Distance: Returners
Vincent Rono won South Alabama’s first NCAA outdoor title, capture the 1500m with an incredible come-from-behind burst in Sacramento, Calif., this past June. His indoor season was just as unprecedented, capturing five titles at the SBC Championships (DMR, 800m, mile, 3000m, 5000m). In the spring, Rono ran, what was then, the sixth fastest mile in the country (4:00.69) at the Jaguar’s April home meet, breaking one of the three school records belonging to the late David Kimani (1500m, indoor mile). The Kenyan won his second consecutive cross country title in the fall and qualified for the NCAA Championships as well.
Tonny Okello was the first Jag to make three consecutive NCAA cross country appearances, earning All-American honors in 2004 and 2005. The Lira, Uganda native took second at the Mideast Regional in the 5000m and captured eighth at the Nationals, giving him two All-American performances, a first since Kimani’s 1999-2000 season. The senior missed being the first Jag to capture the collegiate honor in all three disciplines when the DMR finished ninth in last March. Already named to the All-Time SBC team in cross country and track, Okello added to his legend with three runner-up finishes indoors (behind teammate Rono) and fourth overall career title, taking the 5000m outdoors, along with seconds in the 1500m and 10,000m.
Harry K. and Stephen Larubi were also a part of the unmatched point total for distance runners at the 2006 SBC Indoor Championship. The pair scored in the 800m, mile, and 3000m. The eldest Larubi notched a fourth third-place finish in 5000m, while Stephen took a third with the 4x400m relay. The younger Larubi broke his own indoor 800m record and set the new outdoor mark in the half-mile before Rono broke it later in the season. Stephen won the 800m title outdoors and a Regional berth, while his brother had to sit out the championships due to various leg ailments. Both had quality cross country seasons and look to be the workhorses of the Jaguar stable in their final seasons.
Distance: Newcomers
Micah Tirop should help alleviate the stress on the distance side as they will carry the team through the championships. The transfer from Moi University (Kenya) grabbed fourth at the SBC Cross Country Championships and made the All-South Region team with a 16th place-finish over the 10K distance. Like fellow countryman Rono, this sophomore has World University Games experience and looks to range the entire gamut of distance events (800m-10,000m).
Devin Carter was the No.1-ranked 800m runner in the Dallas area in 2006. The Jags hope that the 6’ 4” Newman Smith product is as big as Texas in terms of versatility, seeing as he might fill the void left by Jeremiah Carter and Anthony Murphy. Like the departed All-SBC pair, Devin Carter will have an opportunity to contribute in the 400m, 800m, and perhaps the mile, while certainly the 4x400m relay also calls.
Others to watch: None
Field: Returners
Michael Bagby literally leaped out of nowhere at the SBC outdoor finale. In that meet, he set a new p.r. by over a foot with his last ditch 7.26m (23’ 10”) jump to finish second in the event. The former Davidson (Mobile, Ala.) football star finished just out of scoring position in his first collegiate triple jump appearance, taking ninth at the outdoor championship. Bagby could be the answer for Ezra Bialy’s departure in the field and could be available for spot duty on the 4x100m relay.
Kendrell Bonner is the only returning pole vaulter and, save for Bagby, was the only field eventer to score for the men’s side at the outdoor finale (seventh). The Pensacola, Fla., born Bonner, should improve with another year of guidance from graduate assistant Thomas Fowlkes.
Field: Newcomers
Tim Williams transfers in from Mississippi State, where he was a two-time All-SEC performer in the high jump. The 2006 Texas Relays champion owns a career best of 6’ 10.75”. Look for the 2.06m/6’ 9” indoor and 2.08m/6”10” outdoor records to be felled by the Pensacola, Fla. native.
David Buster, the Hoover High (Ala.) product, joins the Jag vault unit after a career of top-3 finishes at the scholastic level. Buster’s career best of 14’ 5” places him in the mix to score as a freshman, much like Fowlkes did.
Others to watch: Gary Lambert II (long jump, 55m-100m), Masaaki Akiyama (high jump)
