For someone who has been as successful as sophomore North Carolina A&T women’s track and field jumper Kimona Smith, it can be considered risky to try something new.
Smith not only took the risk, but she hasn’t missed a step in doing so. Smith continues to extend her success from the indoor season into the outdoor season as she finished first in the triple jump and second in the long jump at the 2008 Murray Neely Invitational on a rainy Saturday at N.C. A&T’s Irwin Belk Track.
Smith has gone from using a double-arm technique when she takes off for her triple jumps to a single-arm technique, which she says makes her more explosive in the third and final phase of her jump. She went from the power of the double-arm technique to the single-arm because he takes advantage of her speed because the technique is similar to a running motion.
The new technique certainly hasn’t hurt the Jamaican native. She qualified for the NCAA East Regional in the triple jump two weeks ago at the Wake Forest Open. On Saturday she jumped a season-best 41-feet, 7.75 inches in the triple jump to finish first.
“It’s something I knew I wanted to do coming into the season,’’ said Smith about her new technique. “I ran cross country this year to make sure I was in shape. I also wanted to make sure I had a good running motion and I was faster when I began jumping competitively.”
Smith said she also focused on improving in the long jump by improving her posture during the leap. Smith came a few meters shy of qualifying for the regionals in the long jump in last week’s Raleigh Relays. On Saturday, she jumped 5.81 meters (19-feet, ? inches), coming just short of the six meters needed to qualify for regionals. Last week, she jumped 5.88 meters (19-feet, 3-inches) at N.C. State.
The Aggies did have some new regional qualifiers on Saturday. Alexandria Spruiel, a 2007 NCAA National qualifier, finished first in the 200 meters with a time of 23.91. Spruiel also qualified in the 400 meter relay along with teammates Crystal Carrington, Carmenta Mitchell and Loreal Smith. They finished third on Saturday with a time of 45.61.
Loreal Smith was also a double qualifier at the Neely Invite. She ran a 13.40 in the 100 meter hurdles preliminaries to qualify for the regionals. She then ran a 13.78 in the final to finish fourth. Her final’s time would have also qualified her. Smith was running against the nation’s No. 2 best hurdler in Virginia Tech’s Queen Harrison.
“I thought she competed well,’’ said N.C. A&T sprinter’s coach James Daniels of Loreal Smith’s performance. “She hit a couple of hurdles, which slow her down. You hope you athletics bring their best against the best and I think she did very well.”
On the men’s side, Calesio Newman, David McFadgen and Lonnie Phifer placed first in their respective events. Newman placed first in the 100 meters with a time of 10.53. His time in the final and his 10.51 time in the preliminaries should be enough for him to qualify for regionals. He has already qualified for the regional in the 200 meters.
McFadgen came nine-tenths of a meter short of qualifying for the regionals in the triple jump. He had a first-place leap in the triple jump of 14.91 meters (48-feet, 11-inches). Phifer came away with a first-place finish in the discus with a throw of 149-feet, 10-inches. Teammate Robert Boulware came in second in the same event with a best throw of 147-feet, 9-inches.
The Aggies return to action again next week in the Sea Relays in Knoxville, Tenn.
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