Post Classifieds
Dunham named All-American after Nationals
By Aaron Garland
On March 25, 2012
GRINNEL, LA. - The NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships at Grinnell College did not
go as well as the three women participating for Buffalo State had hoped, but one Bengal was able to
produce an All-American award.
The national championships, held over the weekend, concluded a successful season for both the men's
and women's teams. Both teams ranked in the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches
Association top 25 at some point during the season.
Sophomore Jazmin Dunham starred for the Bengals, capturing All-America status by placing fifth in the
finals of the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.83 seconds. She matched her school record in Friday's
preliminary events, placing third (8.80).
Dunham was happy with winning the honor, but had higher hopes going into the weekend.
"(Fifth place) is still good," she said. "But I was expecting something higher, but I'll take that for now."
Dunham also said she could have improved on her mental approach heading into the finals.
"I felt like I could have done better; I felt like I was over-thinking the race," Dunham said. "Because I ran
faster (Friday) than I did (Saturday) so I just felt I was over-thinking the race, and then I felt like when I
was in the blocks I (was) hesitant."
Coming off of a national championship in the 55-meter dash (now changed to 60) last year, top-seeded
senior Erica Johnson was unable to defend her title as she did not compete over the weekend due to a
nagging injury. As tough as it was, Johnson knew she had to sit the event out to prevent further injury.
"It was a heart-breaking decision I really had to make, but I had to listen to my body and my body was
telling me I couldn't perform at the (level) that I needed to," Johnson said. "If I wanted to (perform), it
would have damaged me more."
Coach Eugene Lewis acknowledged that missing the meet was tough on Johnson, but at the same time
knew that injuries come with the territory of running track. He said it was not a severe injury, but track
athletes need to be fully healthy for a chance to perform well, especially at the national level.
"Hockey and football, those are sports you can play with injuries and kind of grind through," Lewis
said, "But track and field - if you're not 100 percent, you can't compete at a high level, and she was
probably at 95 percent."
After the disappointing end to the indoor season, Johnson has already shifted her focus to the upcoming
outdoor season.
"Right now my main goal is to come full-throttle into outdoor season, be fully-prepared, and give my
competitors something that they have never seen before," Johnson said.
Junior Sasha Henry entered the 60-meter dash field with the third-fastest seed time, but placed 11th in
the preliminaries (7.81), failing to earn a berth in the finals.
Though last season may have been more successful in terms of awards the teams earned, the future
looks bright for the program.
"Last year was definitely a better season," Lewis said. "This year was very productive because there
were a lot of new kids. We only have two seniors on the women's team.
"That's something you can walk away from and say 'hey, we have the foundation set for the next few
years.'"
Overall, the Bengals placed 34th out of 54 teams in scoring at the meet. Buffalo State will begin its
outdoor track and field season on Apr. 7 at the University of Rochester.
Aaron Garland can be reached by email at garland.record@live.com.
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