TRACK: In their first year in the lone Star conference, the Lady Bison track team exceeded their own expectations by breaking personal , school and conference records. "This was OUf first year in the conference, and , with a limited number of scholarships, we d id well placing seventh in the nationa ls and having th ree AlI - Americans and one national champion," Coach Bryan Phillips' said. Freshman Calister Ubah, of Nigeria ; sophomore Bumiegha Tombiri , of Nigeria; and Junior Ericka Harris, of Amioch, Tenn. , were named All-Ameri cans for 1997. Ubah was also a national champion for the season. "Th is was the best yea r for both the men's and women's track teams. The Nat ional Coll egiate Athletic Associa ti o n (NCAA) Divis ion II had tough competition with a lot of good ath letes, but we ran ha rd and trained well ," Tombiri sa id. "Our team placed fourth in relays , and in the overall season, we rea lly improved. " All-America honors several Lady Bisons Forme r Olympian Calister Ubah broke six records in the 1997 season - Harding's record for the 55-meter, 60-meter, indoor 100-meter and 200-meter dashes and the conference 200meter outdoor record. "I think my arm strength from our workou ts helped me (Q ach ieve these records in the AlIAmerica competition. I am looking fOlWard [Q improving on my time for next season," Ubah said. During the season, the team also participated in the University of Texas relays and the Drake relays in Iowa. Although one member of the relay team got sick at D rake, the team was excited to be part of such a large event. "It was neat to be somewhere with so many people li ke M ichael]ohnson, who ran in the race, "Harrissaid. "We think our relay team can do well next year because we will all be back. " "This was the first year we were a part of the conference, so we had something to work toward. We hope that , with tough training, we will even be better conditioned and have a pretty good yea r," Amy Wiley, of Smyrna, Tenn., said. The Lady Bison track team placed thi rd behind Abilene Christian University and Angelo Sta te University in the Lone Star Conference D ivision II meet, which was held at Tarleton State Unive rs ity in Stephensville , Texas. Harding's relay t~am placed fourth in the 400-meter relay, while Ubah se t a conference record in the 200-meter race with a time of 23.51 seconds. According to Tombiri, the women trained every day, even during the fa ll semester, to prepare for the spring season. They ran longer distances in the fall , five to 10 miles, and shorter distances in the spring, 400 to 500 meters. U A number of school records were broken, and there were a number of personal best relays. I think we did we ll last season and wi ll continue to progress ," Phillips said. - Robin Henson Track Team. First Row: Dianne Grubbs, Cheri Scharf[. Kelly Lauterbach, Ericka Harris, Amy Roberson. Katie Pant, TommyNoel,jonathanDandy. Tyson Ledgerwood, Albel1 Tabul. SecondRow: Margarel Kiplagal, Calisler Ubab, Erin Elliott, Ashley Howard, Sbawn King, Miriam Adams, Bumiegha Tombili, Bruce Vimba, Conner Grimes, jonab Ttmui and Richard Ashlock. PbOlO By jefflvlontgomelY. f1iiI 210 Sports " Thilwas the firit year we were part of the conference, 10 we ha~ iomething to work towar~l_ " Amy Wiley SCOREBOARD Lone Star Meet ACU 237 Angelo 201 Harding 39 Tarleton 35 A & M Kingsville 34 UC Oklahoma 16 " Thil was the belt year for both men'l an~ women'l track teami. " Bumiegha Tom.biri
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