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Obstacles nio problem for Miami Hurricanes track star
After finally winning an NCAA title in the hurdles, Ti’erra Brown now has her sights set on earning gold at the world championships and Olympics.
BY Walter Villa
Miami Herald Writer
Running around the track is boring to University of Miami hurdler Ti’erra Brown.
“Unless,” she said, “you have something in your way.”
As it turns out, Brown has cleared all the hurdles — on and off the track — to become just the eighth UM woman to win an NCAA championship in track and field.
Next week, she will travel to Eugene, Ore., to try to qualify for the IAAF World Championships in Daegu, South Korea.
Brown, who won the 400-meter hurdles last Friday night in Des Moines, Iowa, battled adversity this year, including an injury to her left hamstring that kept her from the NCAA indoor finals in March.
She also had problems with allergies and asthma, which made life difficult for her in the outdoor season.
To add more drama, the senior earned the national title on her last weekend as a Hurricane. She had finished second in the event the previous two years.
“It’s about time,” Brown said. “It’s long overdue.”
Although that might be true, Brown’s four-year wait for NCAA glory had to be delayed an extra hour because of lightning.
Once the threat had passed and the hurdlers were in place, it started to rain heavily, which was not a cause for delay but a reason for Brown’s concern.
As a youth growing up in Hampton, Va., she had fallen twice on a wet track, finishing third in the race.
Last Friday, in her biggest test yet, the rain — and the long wait that preceded it — produced anxious moments for Brown and UM coach Amy Deem.
“As a coach, you try to have a poker face,” Deem said. “I had to stay calm so that she could remain focused.”
Once the race started, Brown was an ace, turning in a time of 55.642, which was .004 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Turquoise Thompson of UCLA.
Brown completed her UM career as a seven-time All-American. The All-American status is given to athletes who finish top eight at the NCAA finals, a feat she accomplished all four years in the 400, twice in the 100 hurdles and once in the 60 hurdles (indoor).
She set school records in all three events, blazing in 8.00 in the 60, finishing in 12.84 in the 100 and 54.74 in the 400. All three records were set last year, when she also won the U.S. championship in the 400.
“Both were great, but the NCAA title was higher on my happy list,” said Brown, the first Cane to win a U.S. championship.
Brown joins other Hurricanes NCAA track champs, including five-time hurdles winner Gillian Russell and Olympic silver-medalist sprinter Lauryn Williams. The others are Yolanda McCray (hurdles), Kimberli Barrett (shot put), Tabia Charles (triple jump), Krista Simkins (400) and Murielle Ahoure (200).
Deem, who coached all those champions, didn’t recruit Brown until she got a tip from a high school coach in Hampton.
Deem, who will coach the USA women’s track team at the 2012 Olympics in London, said there is a good chance Brown will nail the top-three finish she will need to qualify at the U.S. Championships next year.
Until then, Brown, who graduated in May with a degree in psychology and a minor in criminology, has hired an agent and will now begin her pro career, including signing a shoe deal.
“Someday, I’d like to be an FBI agent, busting down doors, shooting guns and protecting the world,” Brown said. “But for now, the ultimate goal of any track athlete is the Olympics.”
“Unless,” she said, “you have something in your way.”
As it turns out, Brown has cleared all the hurdles — on and off the track — to become just the eighth UM woman to win an NCAA championship in track and field.
Next week, she will travel to Eugene, Ore., to try to qualify for the IAAF World Championships in Daegu, South Korea.
Brown, who won the 400-meter hurdles last Friday night in Des Moines, Iowa, battled adversity this year, including an injury to her left hamstring that kept her from the NCAA indoor finals in March.
She also had problems with allergies and asthma, which made life difficult for her in the outdoor season.
To add more drama, the senior earned the national title on her last weekend as a Hurricane. She had finished second in the event the previous two years.
“It’s about time,” Brown said. “It’s long overdue.”
Although that might be true, Brown’s four-year wait for NCAA glory had to be delayed an extra hour because of lightning.
As a youth growing up in Hampton, Va., she had fallen twice on a wet track, finishing third in the race.
Last Friday, in her biggest test yet, the rain — and the long wait that preceded it — produced anxious moments for Brown and UM coach Amy Deem.
“As a coach, you try to have a poker face,” Deem said. “I had to stay calm so that she could remain focused.”
Once the race started, Brown was an ace, turning in a time of 55.642, which was .004 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Turquoise Thompson of UCLA.
Brown completed her UM career as a seven-time All-American. The All-American status is given to athletes who finish top eight at the NCAA finals, a feat she accomplished all four years in the 400, twice in the 100 hurdles and once in the 60 hurdles (indoor).
She set school records in all three events, blazing in 8.00 in the 60, finishing in 12.84 in the 100 and 54.74 in the 400. All three records were set last year, when she also won the U.S. championship in the 400.
“Both were great, but the NCAA title was higher on my happy list,” said Brown, the first Cane to win a U.S. championship.
Brown joins other Hurricanes NCAA track champs, including five-time hurdles winner Gillian Russell and Olympic silver-medalist sprinter Lauryn Williams. The others are Yolanda McCray (hurdles), Kimberli Barrett (shot put), Tabia Charles (triple jump), Krista Simkins (400) and Murielle Ahoure (200).
Deem, who coached all those champions, didn’t recruit Brown until she got a tip from a high school coach in Hampton.
Deem, who will coach the USA women’s track team at the 2012 Olympics in London, said there is a good chance Brown will nail the top-three finish she will need to qualify at the U.S. Championships next year.
Until then, Brown, who graduated in May with a degree in psychology and a minor in criminology, has hired an agent and will now begin her pro career, including signing a shoe deal.
“Someday, I’d like to be an FBI agent, busting down doors, shooting guns and protecting the world,” Brown said. “But for now, the ultimate goal of any track athlete is the Olympics.”
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/06/17/2270828/obstacles-nio-problem-for-miami.html#ixzz1PZWO5CH2
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