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Aliann Pompey won the title of 400 Meter National Champion at this year's NCAA Indoor Championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas. She is first female National Champion at Manhattan College, a program steeped in Track & Field tradition. Much of Aliann's success has been the result of careful planning, diligent execution of those plans, and the resilience to overcome adversity. |
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| The gun goes
off, and #1 seed Mikele Barber of South Carolina virtually blows by
Manhattan College's Aliann Pompey to make up the stagger on the first
straightaway of the NCAA 400 meter final. Aliann merges off the
second turn a distant 3rd. "I planned to go out
comfortably", says Pompey. At the 200 meter mark, Aliann is
nearly 10 meters back, but still at a strong 24.6 seconds. Barber
and Texas' Moushaumi Robinson jostle around the next turn, and the
5'6" 108 pound MBA candidate begins her calculated move: a 27
second 200 meters. "Coach Ryan had stressed strength work all
season long" says Aliann, who broke the NCAA 500 meter record a
week earlier at the ECAC championships in Boston. And it is here
that the season's careful plans pay off. Barber, the meet's 200
meter champion and eventual anchor on South Carolina's winning 4x400
meter relay, is "tying up" and Pompey passes with power and
authority, prompting ESPN's commentator to exclaim "poor
Miki!" as she is passed by the hidden talent from the small New
York City College, via Guyana.
Her path to Fayetteville was one of those phenomena that takes everyone by surprise, until one looks deeper, when it makes seemingly perfect sense.
"On my first day at practice I showed up, lets say, 'improperly attired', and a certain coach took me by the arm and said, 'we have a lot of work to do'". Coach Ryan would find his new charge equal to the task. Pompey would qualify for and compete in four NCAA championships during her Jasper tenure. But on February 14th, 1998, a defining event in her career would occur, as she would painfully fracture her knee at a meet in Nebraska, just as her season was reaching its peak. "It was a key turning point in my track career, when I became determined to reach another level", says Aliann. Coach Ryan notes that "many runners meet with adversity, but all handle it differently. She was exceptional in her resolve--a dream to coach" . But some would say Aliann doesn't have the classic sprinter's build. A slight 108 pounds, she often toes the line as the smallest athlete in the field. But she sees this as an asset. "Training to run from strength, my size is an advantage". A thinking that held true in Arkansas as she powered past much bigger foes struggling to run through the late- race lactic acid, a fate that Pompey would evade as a result of meticulous preparation. In many ways, the very things that one might claim should hinder her--lack of a big-time track background, small frame, debilitating injury--are the very things that brought her to the finish line in Fayetteville last Saturday. In fact, the Pan Am Games finalist, with a 23.54 200m PR and plenty of experience in major US meets at the Armory and around the nation, should have been seen all along as a serious threat at the NCAAs. But that temporary anonymity is all but gone now, as Aliann has big plans. Looking forward to representing Guyana at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, Aliann sees the elite women's track milestones as within her grasp. "Sub 50 seconds in the 400 and sub 2:00 in the 800 are not impossible goals" says Pompey. "But its easier to predict the stock market than track times". Aliann may get her chance to do both. Professing a love for Wall Street, Aliann plans to earn her Masters in Business Administration and put to use her talents for planning, competition and hard work. If she approaches the market with the same determination and precision she has her stellar racing career, no one should underestimate her. Email your questions and congratulations to Aliann at slim_1999@hotmail.com See Alliann's 400m
results, or complete NCAA
results. Also, click here for ECEC
results of Aliann's NCAA record 500m run. |
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