ASU stars shine at annual Alice Coachman meet

ALBANY, GA — Brittany Carter found herself all alone as she approached the starting line Saturday for the 800-meter run.  “I didn’t believe it,” said the Albany State sophomore, who waited and hoped for another runner to step onto the track. “I was the only one on paper (scheduled to run in the 800), but I thought somebody else was going to run.”

But there she stood — all by herself on ASU’s home track during the 19th annual Alice Coachman Track & Field Invitational. She was just one of several athletes who were on the cusp of qualifying for the Division II National Championships. And Saturday’s meet offered those runners a final chance to post qualifying times.

Carter needed a 2:14 to provisionally qualify in the 800, something that becomes tougher to do as a solo runner.  “Usually I have someone to run with and get my first lap time. Usually I practice for a 1:03 first lap, so I kind of knew how to run that by myself,” said Carter, who ran her first lap in 1:04. “The second lap I had a strategy to pick it up at the 300 mark and at the 150 try to finish strong.”

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XU degree for Olympic medalist — 71 years after enrolling

"It's a storybook ending. Can you believe it? Xavier really started my path in life. I learned academics there. I learned how to run. And I learned religion." — Herbert Douglas

NEW ORLEANS — Closure is coming this weekend for Herbert Douglas.

Douglas, 89 years old and Xavier University of Louisiana's only Olympic medalist, will receive an honorary degree during XU's 84th commencement at 10 a.m. Saturday at Lakefront Arena.

"It's a storybook ending," Douglas said. "Can you believe it? Xavier really started my path in life. I learned academics there. I learned how to run. And I learned religion."

Douglas arrived at Xavier in the fall of 1940 after being recruited to compete for future hall-of-famer Ralph Metcalfe's men's track and field program. Douglas excelled — in 1941 he set a Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship-meet record of 23 feet, 11 inches in the outdoor long jump, and in 1942 he teamed with William Morton, Clarence Doak and Howard Mitchell to make Xavier the first HBCU (historically black college or university) to win a relay at the Penn Relays. The quartet won the 440-yard relay in 41.7 seconds.

But the demands of World War II forced Douglas to leave XU in 1942 after two years. His coach, Metcalfe, left Xavier after the fall 1941 semester to join the U.S. Army. Douglas returned home one semester later — not to enlist, but to help at his father's Pittsburgh parking garage.

"My father had been blind for several years and needed help," Douglas said. "He was losing employees to the military and to war-related industries. He had a 24-hour garage, and he could not find enough reliable workers. I wanted so much to stay at Xavier, but the circumstances just wouldn't allow me."

After the war Douglas returned to college — but at his hometown University of Pittsburgh, where he competed in football ("I scored a touchdown against Notre Dame," he said pridefully) and in track, where he set a school record in the long jump (24-4.88) which lasted 23 years. He received a bachelor's degree from Pitt in 1948 and a master's in 1950.

He long-jumped 24-9 to win bronze at the 1948 Olympics in London and plans to return to London for the Olympics next year.

Douglas joined Schieffelin & Company (now Schieffelin & Somerset) in 1963 where he became the third African-American to reach the level of vice-president of a major North American corporation.

"I have been blessed in so many ways," Douglas said.

Front row, left: Xavier University of Louisiana men's track and field standout
Herbert Douglas in 1942. Also in the front row is Edward Culp. In the back
 row, from left: Howard Mitchell, Clarence Doak, Coach Giles Wright and
 William Morton.  Wright replaced Ralph Metcalfe after the fall 1941 semester.

According to the U.S. Olympic Committee, Douglas is the fourth-oldest living U.S. track and field Olympic medalist. Three other medalists from the 1948 U.S. team — sprinter Cliff Bourland and shot-putters Jim Delaney and Wilbur Thompson — are older.

Also receiving honorary XU degrees Saturday will be businesswoman and philanthropist Camille Hanks Cosby, BET Holdings CEO and chair Debra Lee. Urban League CEO and former New Orleans mayor Marc H. Morial will be the keynote speaker.

The honorary degree is far from a take-him-off-the-shelf-and-dust-him-off moment for Douglas. Next Tuesday he'll be back at his alma mater for a dinner he helped plan as a centennial salute to African-American athletes at Pitt.

"All the heavy hitters will be there," Douglas said. "Hugh Green, Tony Dorsett, Roger Kingdom, Larry Fitzgerald, Charles Smith . . . and Bob Costas will be the emcee."

Officials at the Penn Relays, Douglas said, want him to help plan a fundraising dinner within the next year. And there will be more projects.

"When will he really retire? That's a good question," said Douglas' wife, Minerva. "I would say never. He's like that (Energizer) bunny. He just keeps going. He finishes one thing, and then he moves on to another. He gets involved in a lot of things."

Douglas swims every other day in an indoor pool at his Philadelphia condominium. "I can't walk or jog for exercise any more because of my knees," he said. "But I'm doing fine for a guy my age."

The trip to New Orleans and Xavier will be the first for Douglas since 1992, when he attended the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials. He and the other honorary recipients will attend a baccalaureate Mass and honors convocation Friday evening at The Barn, then convene to Dooky Chase restaurant for a much-anticipated meal with Xavier officials.

"That's some good Creole food," Douglas said. "You know, Dooky Chase opened the year I got to Xavier, 71 years ago. I couldn't afford it then."

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
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Fort Valley State University: 2011 Florida Track and Field Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony - Coach David Bowden

2011 Florida Track and Field Hall of Fame Inductee David Bowden or 'Coach' as he is affectionately known, is one of Florida's All-time great High School coaches. Coach Bowden grew up in segregated St. Petersburg, Florida, and later played football at Fort Valley State University where he was All-SIAC Conference.

Coach Bowden also played football professionally with the Washington Redskins organization.

After moving from St. Louis to Florida, Coach Bowden taught and coached briefly at Blanche Ely High School in Pompano Beach, Florida, before transferring to Boyd Anderson High School in Lauderdale Lakes.

Coach Bowden guided the "Cobras" of Boyd Anderson High School to six Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) state championships in both cross-country and track and field.

Coach Bowden was selected Boyd Anderson's Teacher of the Year, elected to the Broward County Sports Hall of Fame in 2000 and was honored as the Coach of the Year by the Florida National High School Coaches Association.

The Miami Herald named Coach Bowden "Coach of the Year" for Track and Field SEVEN times, and the Sun Sentinel named Coach Bowden as "Coach of the Year" six times. The New York Based "Children's Press" wrote a book called "Track and Field Fundamentals" about Coach Bowden and his athletes.


Videographer: DistancePreps

Coach Bowden is known as a dedicated runner and Marathoner winning his age group in numerous running events including the New York, Boston, Disney World, Royal Victoria and Montreal marathons with a personal best time of 2:45.20.

Coach Bowden's personal best time in the mile is 4:33 and he is a three-time participant in the Master Division of "The Prestigious Mercedes Mile" held on 5th Avenue in New York.

In 1996 and 2002 Coach Bowden was a member of the Olympic Torch Relay Team.

There is an annual event in remembrance of Coach Bowden's dedication and service every January 13th to honor Coach Bowden as a Coach and Educator affectionately called the "David Bowden Day".

The Annual David Bowden Relays (track & field meet) at Boyd Anderson High School in Florida are named in his honor.

What is 'Coach' doing now?
David Bowden, Coach, www.teammannatech.com, as everyone refers to him, has 38 + years as a Coach/Educator. A member of the Lions Club in Kailua, Kona Hawaii, David, steps to the plate and is an incredible community player. Coach of Team in Training for the Honolulu Marathon, David is passionate about inspiring and working with others to manifest their personal dreams… his 2 favorite words….it is doable and obtainable!

There is an annual event in remembrance of David every January 13 to honor David as a Coach/Educator called the David Bowden Day, and the Annual David Bowden Relays (track & field meet) at Boyd Anderson High School in Florida. David has coached at Kealakehe High on the Big Island (Hawaii)  and was a Director of Boot Camp at Kahakai Elementary (Hawaii).

Claflin's Priest named NCAA All-American in Track & Field

The road to NCAA All-American for Laquan Priest was long and hard to say the least. The Georgetown native and three-time NCAA Championship qualifier won All-American status after finishing 5th, at the NCAA National Indoor Track and Field Championships, in Albuquerque, NM.

After winning the State Championship in the triple-jump his senior year at Georgetown High School, the only school to recruit Priest was Claflin University. And for that I will be eternally grateful.

“I came to Claflin to prove a point to those schools who did not recruit me,” said Priest.

“I used that as motivation to make a mark on the Track and Field world here at Claflin, the SIAC and the NCAA.”

Making a mark is exactly what he did in just three years Priest has been a National qualifier for indoor and outdoor track for three years. He was named ALL-SOUTH REGION Male Field Athlete of the Year in 2009, and 2010. Priest was also ALL SOUTH REGION outdoor Male Field Athlete of the Year 2010. Laquan was also SIAC triple-jump Champion, SIAC Field Athlete of the Year 2010.

Laquan started his track career his junior year in high school when the track coach observed him in the gym playing basketball, and asked him about track.

“The coach had me run the 200 and 400. But I started jumping in the pit and found out that I enjoyed it and was really pretty good at it,” remembered Priest.

“I began to jump my senior year and was fortunate enough to win a State championship in the event.” And the rest of his story we all know. Priest says “that the road to becoming an All-American took a lot of hard work and practice.” And this would be the advice he would share with any young athlete who dreams of becoming an All-American in any sport.

After graduation and his track career is chronicled in the history of Claflin University, Laquan is aspiring to become an athletic trainer, which he is an intern at Claflin, in the Athletics Training Department. “I do not have any aspirations of furthering my track career after I have graduated, but I do know I will be involved in track and field, for thirty years. I am looking forward to helping my 12 year old brother who has competed in track and field for the past three years.”

Knowing the determination and work ethic that Priest possesses, there is no doubt that he will become an All-American in whatever he sets his mind to do. Look to see Laquan write an article in a sports medicine journal, or becoming one of the nations’ best track and field coaches. He is an All-American, All-American…..

Dr. Lionell W. Sabb, Sports Information Director
Claflin University
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ASU lands two on SIAC preseason team as 2010 season opens Saturday

ALBANY, GA — Slow and steady wins the race. No, there aren’t any tortoises on the Albany State men’s and women’s cross country teams this year, but head coach Kenneth Taylor is stressing that saying all the same as his teams heads into its season-opening race against Troy University Saturday.

“Basically, we’re doing a lot of race-pace training,” said Taylor, who coaches both the men’s and women’s teams. “The first race is usually a shorter race, so we’re working on maintaining race pace, which may be slower than other runners’ (paces at other schools), but it’s better than (the possibility of our runners) overextending themselves.”

So despite the SIAC coaches predicting Tuesday that the Rams would finish in fifth (men) and sixth (women) in conference this year, Taylor said they’ll just focus on the track and what they have to do to improve.



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ASU cross country set to open 2010 season early next month‎

The Albany State University Rams announced their 2010 cross country schedule this week.

Coached by Kenneth Taylor, the Rams and Lady Rams will kick off the 2010 season on the road against Troy University on Sept. 4. ASU will then return home on Sept. 11 to host the Albany State University Invitational. They go back on the road to compete in the Wildcat invitational at Fort Valley State University on Sept. 15, then return to Albany to compete in the Cavalier Classic, hosted by Darton College on Sept. 18. From there, the Golden Rams will run in the Clark-Atlanta/Morehouse Cross Country Invite on Sept. 25.

The Rams’ road trip from there continues as they run in the Paine College Invitational on Sept. 29, and compete in the Florida A&M University Invite on Oct. 2. The teams will compete against Jacksonville State University on Oct. 9, and run in the Troy University Invite on Oct. 16. The Pre-SIAC Meet in Jonesboro is next on Oct. 27.

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Fort Valley State Lady Wildcats Twin Tracking

Two-times All-American distance runner Raven Wilson, Fort Valley State University Lady Wildcats had a tremendous season competing with her three-times All-American sister, Portia. The freshman twins are from Carrollton High School, Carrollton, GA and are hitting the books hard in summer school.

In the rare instances in which Portia and Raven Wilson are not side by side, people at Fort Valley State University seem confused. Even shocked. The fraternal twins and Carrollton natives recently finished their freshman seasons with the school’s nationally-ranked Division II track and field team, and were almost always together.

“If someone sees one of us and doesn’t see the other, they say, ‘Where’s your sister?’” Portia Wilson said. “Every time people see us, they always see us together,” added Raven Wilson. “We’ve always been real close.” That closeness — the two often even wear the same outfit — helped the former Lady Trojan track standouts settle in quickly with the Wildcats and earn All-American honors in the spring outdoor season.

Portia Wilson swept the 100 and 200-meter dashes individually, while also being a part of the 400-meter relay and 1,600-meter relay events at the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships in April before finishing fourth in the 100-meter final at Nationals in May. She was the lone freshman on the medal stand. Raven Wilson competed with her sister in the relay events, helping Fort Valley State finish fifth in the 1,600-meter relay and sixth in the 400-meter relay at Nationals, breaking school records in the process. “I think we do our best if we are together,” Portia Wilson said.

Tiffany B. Moore, Portia Wilson, Latonya Payne and Raven Wilson: 2010 NCAA Division II Track & Field Championships Women 4x400 Relay Final


Tiffany B. Moore , Portia Wilson , Tasha Burke , Raven Wilson: 2010 NCAA Division II Track & Field Championships W4x100 Relay Final.

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