The 2009 CSI Team

The 2009 CSI Team
The National Scholastic Sports Foundation has announced the team members for the Fourth Caribbean Scholastic Invitational. Twenty-eight male and female student-athletes have been selected, all of whom have recently completed the freshman, sophomore or junior years in high school.
This is the fourth year that the NSSF will sponsor a team to the meet, held in Carolina, Puerto Rico (a suburb of San Juan) and partially sponsored by that city. Teams from Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands, Martinique, Guadalupe, and others are expected to be in attendance.

TEAM ROSTER
Women
Shanae Bailey, Swenson, Philadelphia, PA, jr
Dominique Booker, Immaculate Conception, Montclair, NJ, jr
Kristin Brown, McDonogh, Owens Mill, MD, soph
Michelle Brown, Seneca, Tabernacle, NJ, jr
Erin Busbee, Collinwood, Cleveland, OH, jr
Ashley Collier, Dunbar, Fort Worth,TX, jr
Emmy Fraenk, Bethel, Hampton, VA, jr
Patrice Gates, Villa Rica, GA, jr
Bridgette Owens-Mitchell, Oak Park, MI, jr
Jill Rushin, Jackson, MO, jr
Sha'Keela Saunders,Great Bridge, Chesapeake, VA, frosh
Aurieyall Scott, Eleanor Roosevelt, MD, jr
McKinzie Schulz, Benet Academy, Lisle, IL, jr
Olicia Williams, St. Anthony's, South Huntington, NY, frosh

Men
DeVaughn Benion, George Washington, Danville, VA soph
George Chambers, Archbishop Curley, MD, jr
Marquise Dendy, Middletown, DE, soph
Alec Faldermeyer, Minisink Valley, Slate Hill, NY, jr
Dominic Filiano, Lebanon, NH, jr
Jordan Hill, Albemarle, Charlottesville, VA, jr
Anthony Kostelac,Albemarle, Charlottesville, VA, jr
Bill Ledder, Gonzaga Prep, Washington, DC jr
Carlton Lavong, Methacton, Fairview Village, PA, jr
Jeff Lewis, Western Branch, Chesapeake, VA, jr
Justin Lord, Glen Hills, Augusta, GA, jr
Malcolm Nunley, Southeast Raleigh, NC, jr
Bradley Sylve, South Plaquemines, Port Sulphur, LA, soph
Tyler Stephenson, Lancaster, TX, jr

For more information on this event visit http://www.nationalscholastic.org/caribbean.
Congratulations to all of those selected, what a great honor and opportunity!

Breaking News!

Gamecock Freshman Booker Nunley runs a collegiate best of 13.49 and takes 2nd behind his teammate fellow Gamecock Senior Jason Richardson who ran a 13.29 at the SEC Track & Field Championship in Gainsville, Florida. Their other teammate Johnny Dutch placed 4th with a Season best time of 13.68. Congratulations to all of the Gamecocks!

Update: Johnny Dutch also went on to place 1st in the 400h with a season best time of 48.58! The Gamecock Men went on to place 4th overall in the SEC conference.

Written by Jacqueline Nunley

RACES FROM LAST WEEK

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!!

From Booker, Malcolm, Justine and Alex, we would like to say HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to our mom. We love you, more than you know!!!!

I see you working hard for me
And wonder what it means:
Whether I will do the same
And give up my own dreams
To offer someone else my world,
A stranger from my womb,
And say: Here, take my life,
So you, not I, can bloom.

I often wonder at the depth
Of that cool sacrifice;
I know it can't be "just because,"
Or simply to be nice.

It is so awesome, I can't think
How I could make that choice,
Except I see something in you
That gives my own heart voice.

I see sometimes a happiness
Amid the stressed-out day
That no one else can hope to know
In any other way.

I feel it when you look at me
And understand sometimes
That things I do, I do for two,
And then your hard life shines.

And when I give you grief, I know
That all the bitter pain
Between a mom and growing child
Is simply like the rain

That alternates with sunny days,
Passion without end,
While underneath is more of life
Than we can comprehend.

And then I know, perhaps, why I
Like you might be so moved
To give my life to someone else,
And know that I have loved.

Outdoor Season Update - Malcolm

This trackstar has had a busy week. Starting on Sunday evening he ran at the Duke Twighlight meet in Durham, NC. Where he ran his personal best of 22.46 in the 200 meters right after stepping off the track from competing in the 400 hurdles. As his older brother states he is strong. On Thursday he ran at the Greater Neuse highschool conference meet where he took second in the 110 hurdles and 1st in the 300 hurdles where he ran a personal best of 38.05. He also anchored the 4x200 team to a third place finish and the 4x400 team to a 2nd place finish. No time for rest he ran yesterday at the Chick-Fil-A UNC Elite meet in Chapel Hill, NC where he ran another personal best of 54.34 in the 400 hurdles. Malcolm will take some much needed rest for the next couple of days and then he will pick it up with his hurdles coach and a few days of sprint and endurance training with his school team early in the week. No meets until next weekend where he will compete in his regional meet for a spot at the NC 4A state meet. Malcolm currently has the #1 State times in the 300 and 400 hurdles!

Written by: Jacqueline Nunley

Outdoor Season Update - Booker

I can't believe it Booker has completed his freshman year of college, well that is academically speaking. As for Track we are just getting to the good stuff! After a much needed rest and break so that he could finish up his finals. He hit the track yesterday at the Chick-Fil-A UNC Elite meet in Chapel Hill, NC. Back at home where he is in his element. He ran his collegiate best so far this year in the 110 hurdles with a 13.82 to take second in the event. Booker will be running next week at the SEC Conference in Gainsville, Florida and the following weekend he will be back in NC at Regionals being held at A&T in Greensboro, NC.

Written by: Jacqueline Nunley

Duke Twilight

Tomorrow I will have another chance to improve my 400 hurdle time. I will be running at the 2009 Duke Twilight Meet, Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. My last 400 hurdle race was a PR, and I plan to get another one tomorrow. I'm shooting for a 52, so if I fall short I can still try to run a 53. The trials for the youth team going to Italy is approaching fast, and I need to be at least at a 53 going in. I'm feeling good about tomorrow, now I have to perform.

Wake County Champion!!!!!

Yesterday I ran at the 2009 Wake County Championships in Cary, North Carolina. This year the meet was held at Panther Creek High School. I set out to bring home some gold and that is exactly what I did. I had a full load to run out there; 110 and 300 hurdles, 4x200 and 4x400 relays. Their weather was great too, except for the 90 degree heat!!!!


In the prelims of the 110 hurdles I ran a 15.28. I was not focused and it showed. The race was terrible! I came back in the finals to run a 14.70. I have a lot to work on. I was real sloppy toward the end of the race. It was straight, but it is not where I need to be, at least I am running in the 14's more consistently.

After, taking the gold in the 110 hurdles. I told myself to win the 300 hurdles also. By the time we got to 300 hurdles, I did not know how I would run this race. I had already run two rounds of the 110 hurdles and the 4x200 meter relay. I was so tired I didn't feel like getting into the blocks. While I was warming up I felt terrible, my legs were sore and I was starting to get a headache, but I decided to run anyway.

My goal was to run 37 seconds, but the way I was feeling, I was just hoping to run a 40. I got set in the blocks and began asking myself what am I doing?? When the gun went off it was another story. I got to the first hurdle, hit in stride and then I thought to myself, I'm going 37. My steps were on point! I got to the last hurdle and just lost my mind. I was tired, thought about alternating, I started shuffling and forgot all about the hurdle and I hit it. I fell on the last hurdle and still ran a 39.31, that should have been a 37!!!

Happy Birthday!!!!

Today on April 22, 2009, our dad Booker Nunley III has reached a milestone in the journey of life. Our dad turned 40 years young today. Another year older, another wiser. Our dad has been a key part in our success so far in life. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Outdoor Season Update

The past few weeks have been difficult due to the lost of our Granddad. Trying to practice and perform while in mourning was especially tough for both my brother and I, but by the Grace and Mercy of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ we are persevering through these tough days. Below are a few updates since our last post in March.

Malcolm
PR in the 110 hurdles with a 14.61 at the Bill Carver Invitational in Fayetteville, NC on 4/4/09
PR in the 300 hurdles with a 38.45 at the Bill Carver Invitational in Fayetteville, NC on 4/4/09; I also won both events at that meet.
PR in the 400 hurdles with a 54.65 at the Sea Ray Relays in Knoxville, TN on 4/10/09.
I will be running this week at the Apex Relays, in Apex, NC.

Booker
PR in the 110 hurdles with a 13.90 at the SC Collegiate State meet in Columbia, NC on 4/8/09.
1st Place at the Weems Baskins meet in Columbia, NC on 3/28/09 in the 110 Hurdles and in the 400 Hurdles.
1st Place at the Spec Towns Relay meet in Athens, Georgia on 4/11/09 in the 110 Hurdles. Booker currently has the 2nd fastest time in the SEC Conference.
He will be running this weekend at the International Friendship and Freedom meet in Greensboro, NC.

In Loving Memory

R.I.P. Melvin Anderson (Granddad) 3/26/09 and Treondale Bailey (Cousin) 4/15/09 both of you will be greatly missed.

OUTDOOR SEASON!!!

I kicked off my outdoor season with the Raleigh Relays Friday. I competed in the 400 hurdles. It went okay for the most part, stumbled at the 5th hurdle and was off the rest of the race. I posted a 55.25, I wasn't happy but I was content, for now.

Today I ran at the 2009 Spartans Invitational at Southern Durham high school. I started off the meet with the 110 hurdle prelims, it was terrible but somehow I qualified for the finals with a 15.81. I just wasn't focused and it showed. I made some what of an improvement in the finals running a 15.12, it was still bad for me. Its no where near I want or need to be right now.

After that hurdle performance, I was down a little but I was looking for redemption in the 300 hurdles, and that's exactly what I got. Determined to run good, I got focused. I got in the blocks and I knew what I had to do. Came out okay, but I focused on getting my steps right. I was even thinking about alternating if I had to. I think I ran well and posted a 38.54, a new PR! This weekend went well, and has given me a new boost of confidence for the season.

MileSplit - Interview with Malcolm Nunley

By: Ben Hovis - ben@ncrunners.com
Published: 2009-03-17 06:13:00

Q: First of all, Malcolm, how old were you when you started running track?

A: I started running track in the 8th grade when I was about 13. At that time I ran track just to run it, basketball and football was my thing. I didn't know where track could take me at that time. Although I was good, I didn’t take it seriously.

Q: Growing up with an older brother, were you guys pretty competitive?

A: Yes!! Booker and I competed in every little thing. Our competitive nature helped us both get better, especially in track. Ever since we began running track, we have been competitive. That competitive spirit was there in practice. In our workouts, we pushed each other to get better. I would try and beat him, while he was trying to hold me off.

Q: Why the move to Southeast Raleigh?

A: I wanted to be on a more competitive team, a team that would be in the running for a state championship. A state championship is exactly what I got, my first season there! To win by .5 was great, but for me to have to catch Knightdale for fourth place for the title, made the win feel even better! Southeast is a good team and we’re planning to win more championships.

Q: You have run so many events, from the 55 dash, to the open 500m, to the 400mH . . . what is your favorite?

A: I love to run, that’s why I’ve competed in every event up to and including the 800m. It’s good to have a wide range of events; it makes a track athlete look better. Although I have competed in so many events, I would have to say my favorite is the 400 hurdles. It is a great mix between my two passions, the 400 and the hurdles.

Q: With times of 55.13 & 55.14 in the 400mH, seems you have a bright future in that event. Would you consider those two performances highlights of your career thus far?

A: Yes, for now, I plan to blow those times out the water. But those times helped me earn my first event championship title, and got me a fourth place finish at the 2008 Junior Olympics. Those times have also put my name on the map for the IAAF Youth Team going to Brassone, Italy. When I ran 55.13, it gave me a new boost of confidence.

Q: Have you thought about your college plans?

A: I would like to stay close to home, and I would also like to play football in college. That’s why I have been looking at schools that allow their athletes to be dual sport athletes. I want to get my times lower in track and see what schools are interested in me before I decide.

Q: Being at a school like SE Raleigh, I'm sure your training began pretty early this season. When did you start getting ready for the indoor season? How early in your training did you start going over hurdles?

A: I started early, as soon as I came back from Jr. Olympics, football season started. There was no down time. I would practice football through the week and on the weekends I was hitting the track practicing with my hurdles Coach Steve McGill. Those off-season workouts were the worst; doing high reps of 800's, 600's, 500's and 300's. I did not touch a hurdle until November. I had to get my base down, before I began hurdling. My off-season training went well and helped me set new PR's this indoor season.

Q: It seems you have gotten to travel quite a bit with your running. What has been your favorite experience? What is your favorite track?

A: Thanks to Track Eastern Carolina, Coach Dave Simpson and Coach Nicholas Sparks, I have been given an opportunity to travel and run. I would have to say that the Randal Tyson Track Center is my favorite place to run. The high banks on the curve made the track so fast. It felt real good to run down off those turns, when I came off the turns, I felt like I was shot out of a sling shot. I hope I can run there again.

Q: What is your favorite food?

A: I don't know; I love to eat. If I could have one thing to eat though, it would probably be pizza.

Q: Thanks for your time, Malcolm. Now for the thinker. Who has been your biggest inspiration as an athlete?

A: My inspiration as an athlete would be my brother. Booker Nunley went through so many hard times during his high school track career, yet he still persevered through to become the US#1 110 hurdler in 2008. When Booker was hit with hard times, he made the best of it and by turning a negative situation into a positive one. When he was declared ineligible for high-school track, instead of giving up, Booker trained over the 42 inch hurdles competing in college meets unattached, running a 13.91 over the 42 inch hurdles as a senior in high-school. Booker then went on to take silver at the IAAF World Junior Championships. I have looked up to him and I am trying to follow in his path now. He has shown what hard work can do, and has helped pave the way for me.

Alternative to TrackShark

It has been about a week now since TrackShark closed down its website. TrackShark was the leading source of information for the Collegiates and also offered information for the Youth as well as Professional Track and Field Athletes. TrackShark was apart of the daily news in our family and will be missed.

For those of your like us who want to stay informed about what is happening in the Collegiate world you can visit Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association http://www.ustfccca.org. It has schedules, results, rankings and more for DIV1 to 3.

2009 NIke Indoor Nationals

Malcolm will be closing out his indoor season at the Nike Indoor National Championship this weekend in Boston. Malcolm will be traveling with his track club TEC out of Newbern, NC and he will be competing in the 400m and 60m hurdles. You can check out dyestat for a complete listing of entries.

Booker's Gamecock Indoor Season - Virgina Tech Last Chance Meet

Booker finished his freshman indoor season Saturday in Blacksburg Virginia at the Virginia Tech Last Chance meet. He placed 4th in the finals after he ran 7:86 twice which was a personal best and a NCAA provisional time. Congratulations Booker on a great start to your collegiate career!

A relay storm from New Bern NC expected to arrive in Boston by next weekend

By: David Mann - david.mann@darton.edu
Published: 2009-03-04 22:07:00


Some years ago, New Bern High School Coach "Big Dave" Simpson felt that having kids under 13 in his Track Eastern Carolina club was too much like running a day care. Odds are he’ll be singing a different tune next weekend.

A former teammate told Simpson of 12-year-old twins Anthony and Andrew Hendrix who were running 2:15 halves at the local recreation center. At about that time, Simpson ran into Nicholas Sparks training his son Miles on the oval. Soon thereafter, young Fuquawn Greene was in also in the picture. Something was brewing in New Bern, N.C.

But that was five years ago. Now heading up what is possibly the most talked about high school indoor team in the nation, Simpson is days away from taking these New Bern High School boys on a mission to break records at the 2009 Nike Indoor Nationals. That’s right – the focus in Boston on March 14 and 15 is not just to win – but to set a new standard.

"They’re an out of control roller coaster going into the national meet," Simpson said. "They are mentally really getting perked up for this."

The perk may have come from an ironic twist noticed as they stomp down records held by one of high school track’s most note-worthy teams.

Running as Track Eastern Carolina at the Simplot Games recently, Simpson’s boys Greene, Sparks, and the Hendrix twins turned heads as they broke two meet records set in 1996 for the 4 x 200 and the sprint medley relay.

Those meet records were recorded by Pasenda, California-based team, Muir High School, who following the Simplot games in 1996 went on to set the national records in the those same events weeks later in Boston.

These 2009 nationals, for the first time in 12 years, will also be held in Boston.

"We’ll break it," Anthony Hendrix said of the SMR record. "I think we can break the 4 x 200. We just have to run the fastest times we’ve ever ran indoors."

When you look at their accomplishments thus far, Anthony’s confidence is easily understood. It may even be understated.

He is ranked #1 in the 500- and 600-meter dash (1:03.48 and 1:18.38, respectively) and twin Andrew is right there with him, ranking #2 on the 500 and #3 on the 600. Teammate Greene holds the top spot on the 200 with 21.39.

Track Eastern Carolina is ranked #1 for both the 4 x 200 and 4 x 400, and has already beaten the national record for the latter (3:13.06).

"We have come to a point that we don’t go to meets just to win meets," Simpson said. "We’re going to meets to break records."

There is one more meet to go for New Bern, and these day-care racers turned indoor-track phenoms are making a lot of room for themselves.

USATF Indoor Championship

Congratulation to fellow hurdlers Lolo Jones and South Carolina Alumni Terrance Trammell for their Indoor Championship Titles and their Visa Championship Series wins.

Jones is the first female back to back winner in the history of the series. She won by winning the 60m hurdles final with a time of 7.84 which was worth 1202 points for the win.

Already the Visa points leader with 1226 entering the USA Championships, Trammell led from start to finish Sunday afternoon, winning in 7.37 seconds to break Reggie Torian's 10-year-old meet record of 7.38. The time was just .01 off the American record, was a 2009 world leader, and gave him 1259 points in the Visa standings. This is Trammell's 2nd Visa Championship win; he won his first in 2006.

Both athletes receive a bonus Visa check in the amount of $25,000.00

Booker's Gamecock Indoor Season - SEC Championship

The first event up was the 60m hurdles as Richardson, sophomore Johnny Dutch and freshman Booker Nunley again set the pace with a 1-6-7 finish. With Richardson earning Carolina's first individual indoor title since 2002, Nunley and Dutch both ran 7.92's to take sixth and seventh, respectively, bringing Carolina's total in the event to 15 points. Congrulations to Jason Richardson and the Women's 4x400 team for the SEC Championship titles that they earned this weekend! Way to go Gamecocks!

Booker's Gamecock Indoor Season - Gamecock Invitational

Booker won his first collegiate meet Saturday at the Gamecock Invitational in the 55m hurdles. With a personal record of 7.39 and just missing NCAA Provisional time by .01 Booker steadily improved his times in the Prelims, Semis and Finals.

Men's 55m Hurdles Prelims

3. Booker Nunley - 7.59

Men's 55m Hurdles Semis

T2. Booker Nunley - 7.

Men's 55m Hurdles Finals

1. Booker Nunley - 7.39

Booker will be competing next week in the SEC Championship in Kentucky.