| TOP OF SITE | TOP OF ISSUE | TOP OF SECTION |
| PREVIOUS STORY | NEXT STORY |
 By Carrie Chin/ STUDENT PUBLICATIONS |
|
| Chasing History? Angelo Taylor, who already owns the school record, has the potential to challenge the world record in the 400m hurdles. | |
Last year the Georgia Tech women's track team finished third and fourth in the conference (indoor and outdoor seasons). At nationals the team was 29th outdoors and 27th indoors. Head coach Alan Drosky commented that the women on last year's team learned how to compete and they learned that it didn't matter who was in your race or how many other races you had to run.
They learned that, "whenever they get on the starting line, there's an opportunity to do something special and they took advantage of it". Coach Drosky was very pleased with the performance of last year's team and much of the success of the team was due to a really solid coaching staff.
Coach Drosky said that assistant coaches, Nat Page and Heather Van Norman were keys to the team's success. Page was in his second year as assistant coach and Van Norman was in her first year as coach. Even though the coaching staff was fairly new, Coach Drosky said that there was just something that "clicked" last year between the athletes and the coaches.
This year, Coach Drosky expects the women's track team to do even better than last year because of several leaders on the team. One of the most noteworthy individuals on the team is senior Andria King. King finished second in both the 55 and 100 meter hurdles (indoor and outdoor nationals, respectively).
"The improvement that she made in one year is really nothing short of phenomenal. Every week Andria was setting school records. It was unbelievable," Coach Drosky boasted.
King not only led the team with record setting, but she led the team with her attitude towards competition. Andria was more than willing to help out her team, in any event she was capable of competing in. She competed in the second leg of the mile relay team for the first time at the conference meet, and her 52-second split helped the team win the event at the ACCs.
Lynn Houston, a senior who has one indoor track season left, will look to continue her success in the high jump. As a four-time conference champion (indoor and outdoor combined), Houston will try to break her best jump of last season, a 5-08.75 and regain her title as conference champion (last year Houston finished second at ACCs.).
Two other track women to watch for are Becky Megesi and Alisha McClinton. Last year, Megesi won the 1500m race at the conference meet in 4:31.98. This win was pivotal to the team because, with the loss of All-ACC Beth Mallory, Coach Drosky was a bit apprehensive about this event and Tech's chances of getting points from it. McClinton had an outstanding freshman year, scoring for Tech in both sprints (100m) and the long jump.
The Tech women's track team welcomes many new freshmen that will add to the team's depth, including four high school state champions. Eboni Crosby (Aurora, CO) was state champ in the 1500m run. Tiffany Giles (Seattle, WA) was state champ in both the 200m and 400m run. Jennifer Ledbetter (Ringgold, GA) was the state champ in the high jump, and Tosan Osaigbovo (Marietta, GA) was state champ in the 100 meter hurdles.
Two other freshman who will have an immediate impact on the team are Nadia Johnson (Silver Springs, MD) in the 400m run and Amanda Woodall (Marietta, GA) in the 800m run. Coach Drosky commented that the most significant thing about this year's incoming freshman is that their high school times are already competitive times in the conference.
The Georgia Tech Men's Track & Field Team looks forward to another winning season after finishing fifth in the conference and ninth at the nationals (outdoor).
400-meter hurdler, Angelo Taylor, returns for his third season, after breaking the school record of an Olympic gold medallist. Taylor is an "incredibly versatile athlete" according to Head Coach Grover Hinsdale. Indoors, Taylor runs the 400m and outdoors he runs the 400m hurdles and the 4x400m relay.
Hinsdale added, "Angelo has the potential to challenge the world record" (400m hurdles).
Also returning to this year's team is 6th year senior Tomas Motiejunas. Motiejunas was granted a six-year exemption by the NCAA due to an injury that kept him out for a year. Motiejunas, a two time national champion, runs the 400m and the 4x400m relay.
Michael Johnson, a junior, also returns to compete in the 400m run and the 4x400m relay. Other returners to watch for are Tyrone Ross (400m) and Clayton Porter (long jump).
The team adds six freshmen to its roster this year. Bryan Swarn (Denver, Colorado) has the third fastest national high school time in the 400m (46.34). David Vaughn joins the team as a pole vaulter, with a personal best of 16 feet, already beating Tech's 1998 season best (14-09.00).
The Yellow Jacket men hope to finish higher in the conference this year, but they must beat conference-dominating Clemson to get to the top.