Courtesy of Howard University Athletic Media Relations
WASHINGTON, D.C., June 5, 2020 – The Howard University women's track & field program is no stranger to stellar student-athletes. Over the past two years, numerous school records have been broken with several Bison advancing to the NCAA East Preliminary Round.
Although most Bison see success after some time through the program, others have excelled early in their collegiate careers.
Rising sophomores De'ja Dade and Dasia Wilson are among the Bison who found success after one year under Director of Track & Field David Oliver, despite no spring season due to the coronavirus (COVID-19).
In their freshmen campaign, both competed and placed at the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Indoor Championships while maintaining academic honors in their first semester at Howard.
Both are excellent student-athletes who are each showing great promise early on. Even though their names are pronounced the same, but spelled differently, they are both working to take the program to the next level in their respective events.
Dade is a media communication major with a minor in business. The Dallas, Texas native attended Allen High School where she made strong strides towards success in the 200-meter dash and high jump. Both are straight-forward events that cause student-athletes to have quick thinking skills and the ability to adjust on cue.
"Coming to Howard was like being dropped in the middle of the ocean; it was either swim or drown," Dade said. "And one thing about me, I'm going to swim. I was set to run under 23 seconds [in the 200-meter dash] this season before COVID-19. So, I am going to continue to work hard."
At the collegiate level, she has continued to make strides in those events.
"Her mental aptitude has allowed her to smoothly transition into this high-level program," Oliver said.
Wilson is a civil engineering major from the City of Brotherly Love where her specialty is the 800-meter dash, a grueling, four-lap event that test your emotions and endurance. Yet, within one indoor season, Wilson conquered the course, breaking the school record twice.
"I don't believe anyone was surprised how she performed," Oliver said. "Coach [Andrew] Murphy did an amazing job, not only in recruiting her, but also developing."
At the South Carolina Invitational, Wilson shattered the 800-meter record (2:10.09), a mark she set a week prior and qualified for the MEAC Indoor Championships in the 400-meter dash.
"[Dasia] Wilson has shown the desire to be a model student-athlete," Howard assistant coach Andrew Murphy, who coaches the program's distance runners, said. "She does everything asked [of her] because she takes the time to truly digest everything that's going on. Wilson has taken the time to learn from her teammates and that's what has brought her early success."
During the cross country season, Wilson saw teammate rising junior Melanie White raised her standard after seeing All-MEAC selection Destiny Stanford suffer a season-ending injury. She won MEAC Women's Runner of the Week en route to earning all-conference honors at the league's cross country championships.
"Coach Murphy does a great job at showing us how to balance between our high intensity days, low intensity days and the days where we need to just give our bodies a break," Wilson said. "For next season, I'm going to be more aggressive and never settle. The indoor [season] showed me that I can achieve greatness if that's what I stride for. [I am] really pushing myself every day."
The indoor season saw six Bison reset the school record book, including five on the women's side.
On the track, Dade and rising seniors Jessika Gbai (200-meter dash) and Ameenah Saalih (60-meter dash) broke program marks in their respective events. Diana Effiom (weight throw) and Rachel Edler (triple jump) headlined the field events with record-setting performances.
With an early unexpected break, the squad continues to train mentally and physically for the 2020-21 season.