In the latest edition of Thompson Talks Track, Olympian and USF track alumni Kemel Thompson breaks down the Bulls latest performance at the BIG EAST Indoor Championship and lends insights from his conversations with the coaching staff and athletes. Thompson also discusses some of the hurdles technique that helped him become the No.3 hurdler in the world in 2003.

On the BIG EAST Championship
“Looking at the weekend, we had pretty good results. The athletes really rose up to the occasion with the 15 personal records and two school records that came out of this meet. With that you can see that the coaching staff is doing what they need to do to get the athletes prepared for competition and to peak at the outdoor conference championship.”

On hurdles technique
“With hurdles, especially with the 60m hurdles it is over so fast so you really have to be on the money in terms of getting off the blocks quick. You should get tall, stay tall and keep your hips at the same level, but it has to be high. You have to keep your center mass high, keep it level and don't let it go up and down in between the hurdles or over the hurdles.

“When I'm running into the hurdle my hips should be at the same height as when I take the hurdle. When I go over the hurdle my hips are going to be the same height when I land and they were over the hurdle. That is when you have your more effective and efficient race, when your hips start to move up and down it messes with your stride and how fast you can go. Keeping your hips at the same height all the way through the race is the best way to run a faster race.

“I talked to Glenn (Fowler) before that race and told him just that, to stay tall and keep his hips at the same height. He did hit two hurdles but that could also be because he is doing things right and isn't used to getting there that quick. The same thing with Yvana (Hepburn), she probably got into the heat of competition and really focused in to do more of those things right and get faster.”

On learning the hurdles
“Everybody is a little different in their abilities. If you're coming out of high school and really haven't had a lot of training it could take a solid year just to get you to not think about the race. It takes time and strength to keep yourself up and keep your hips at that position you have to have some strength behind you. Sometimes as a freshman it is harder to do because you're not used to the weight regimen or staying that strong in terms of your body position for that long. Even though it is only 60m hurdles if you don't have the strength behind you, you can't stay in the upright position. The more experience you have the better you become at holding that posture.”

On running a semi-final versus a final
“Sometimes in big competitions your best race has to come in the semi-finals. It depends on what you have ? if you have a three round series where there are heats, semi's and finals then you approach the heats as going through and just making sure you make it. With a semi-final you have to make sure you make it to the finals. Most of the time when you watch athletes run the semi's they have to run hard to get into the finals. Sometimes your best race is actually the semi-finals. Most of the time it depends on the competition you have ? Yvana had great competition in the 60m hurdles so she had to run hard to make the finals.”

On a flat indoor track versus a banked indoor track
“A flat track ? especially in the sprint events ? you can't get the body lean to go around a tight curve on a flat track, which makes your ankles do a lot of work. It is almost like running on ice when you're going around a flat track on the turns, it is just that much more difficult. Your ankles really have to work hard and it slows you down because you have to physically slow down to get your feet set to take the steps. With a banked track is almost like a race car being on a race track. NASCAR has banked tracks ? you can go faster on a banked track because you can have more of a linear position. Your ankles are in a line with your knees, your knees are in a line with your hips, your hips are in a line with your shoulders and a banked track allows you to do that. On a flat track your ankles aren't as aligned with your knees because you're trying to go around a bend, you have to lean but your ankles will have a bend in it versus on a banked track where they won't and everything will be more in line, which allows you to run faster.”

“You feel the curve because you're not used to running on a slope, but you appreciate it because you know if you were running on a flat track on the same radius track it would be a lot harder to run. On a banked track you feel it because it isn't the same as an outdoor track where you have wider turns and radiuses and the whole ankle issue comes out of play. On a tighter track you definitely want to have a bank because it takes the ankle issue out of it. On a banked track there is a lot less having to adjust your stride versus when you're running on a flat indoor track.”

On crowd noise
“Some people hear the crowd noise and some people don't ? it all depends on whether you're in the zone. If you're in the zone and you're really focused on the race it might just be a really dull sound to you where some people hear everything, it depends on what kind of athlete you are. As a coach and former athlete I know you perform better when you can block it out to the point you barely hear it ? that is when you know you're in the zone and you're going to have a good run. You don't want to hear anyone cheering, you just want to run.”

Breaking Down the Performance

Sprints
There are a couple that stand out ? Josh Wimbley in the 400m, he ran a 48.20 which I know is a school record because I don't recall anyone having run that before. A very good race for him ? Josh is more of a sprint oriented guy, a 100m and 200m guy, but this year Coach Bye is working on getting him stronger so when he does run a 200m he'll be running quicker. With a 48.20 200m time, I'm wondering if Coach might be second guessing that and thinking he'll keep Josh in the 400m.”

“Shaniel (Chambers) our freshman had a great run in the 500m ? she broke her own school record, ran a 1:13.66 personal record in the semi-final, once again reiterating that sometimes the semi has to be your best race. She came back and got seventh place in the final with a 1:13.76. She is a strong 800m runner for us but this year she has had some knee issues running indoor which can happen because of the way it is laid out. It is a little bit tighter and on a flat indoor track it is harder to get around. At the same time on a banked track one leg is always going to be lower than the other and you can get some knee issues indoors ? they decided not to run her in the 800m because of that. She already set the school record twice which is a good thing because she has four more years and who knows where that school record is going to end up.”

Hurdles
“Glenn Fowler had a great race in the 60m hurdles, he had a few mistakes but he got third with an 8.04. Glenn hit two key hurdles in the race ? he hit hurdle three and hurdle four. Those hurdles with the 60m indoors are your momentum building hurdles so if you're hitting the hurdles where you're really getting your momentum going in the race it is going to slow you down big time. Glenn probably slowed down when he hit those but then charged back to get third place. To be honest I think Glenn could have won that race without hitting those hurdles.”

“I have to congratulate Yvana (Hepburn) on her school record 8.40 in the 60m hurdles which breaks Damu (Cherry's) school record in the event of 8.41 ? Damu being one of our four Olympians here at USF. Yvana is on her way, a great result for her ? she got fourth place in the finals with an 8.45. As we were speaking about before sometimes you have to run your best race in the semi-final. We could see it coming with Yvana because she was very consistent throughout the indoor season and she was lowering her personal record every meet. Finally she broke through at the BIG EAST Championship where is exactly where you want to break through.”

Mid-Distance
“On the mile side our two girls Pernilla (Savestrand) and Yasmin (Smith) ? Yasmin underperformed a little in this race, she came in with a 4:56 best and ran a 5:01. She had to run the DMR the night before so she had a busy weekend ? she ran a 4:55 split in the DMR which is faster than what she has run in the mile, that is a lot of running for her. The mile was a bit of a jostling race in the beginning so it takes some time to get settled in, you're running wide, you're running narrow, you're bumping and it takes away from you performing at your best when you're running a race like that.”

Pole Vault
“We got hurt in the men's pole vault ? we missed Sean (Young) our defending outdoor champion in the event, he would have placed highly in conference. Kirk Dandridge stepped up in his place and had a 15-3 PR. With that the same height ? 15-3 ? was seventh place at conference. The difference being that Kirk cleared 15-3 not on his first attempt but maybe his second or third attempts. If he had cleared it on his first attempt then he would have been seventh.”

“Stephanie Duffy in the pole vault had an awesome result with a 12-7.5 for fifth place. That was a fifth place because she missed her first two vaults at that attempt ? if she had made the 12-7.5 height on her first attempt she would have been tied for second but you can't knock anybody for their personal record, that is awesome for her. She had a great attempt at 12-11 and just came down barely grazing the bar. Dana Webb was a little down on her previous performance of 12-5 but she still scored at conference.”

Jumps
“The high jumpers, both of them tied for sixth place at 6-7 and they both had near misses at 6-9. Our guys made the all-conference team by being in the top eight but they can both high jump more than seven feet so we'll look for them to do that outdoors. Indoors it is a different surface and a different atmosphere to jump in, you're not as prepared as you would be for outdoors, but with indoors being new for the men this year it was still a great performance for those guys.”

“Antillo Bastian jumped 49-3 but again, I don't know what the surface is like there. He is scoring points for us and that is good ? Antillo has jumped an NCAA provisional 50-10 but I don't think that will take him to the NCAA Championship. Antillo needs a bit longer run up then what you get indoors, so outdoors I foresee him jumping very well.”

“Samantha Shade in the triple jump with 38-11.75 is consistent, she got seventh place out of it which is about where her career-high would have scored as well. I was hoping for a little bit bigger jump out of her but she'll benefit from the longer run up outdoors.”

Throws
“Our throwers, Jazmine (Highsmith) and Lauren (Noe) both had fouls on their first two attempts and if they miss their third attempt with a foul then they would have been out of the competition. I'm sure Coach Colyer was stressing a bit but they got it down and got those throws in on their third try and they'll continue to improve from there. With that it holds you back from really performing on your best when you foul on your first try because you're very cautious from there on out. That probably hindered them from what they could really do, but they both still scored at conference. Hopefully what they will take out of it is learning to deal with those situations again when they're in a situation where they've fouled on their first or second throw. When you foul on your first throw you've got to really reel it in and focus on getting that second throw out there so you don't have to use your third throw as a back-up safety throw. Hopefully what they'll take out of it is learning how to settle in after a foul.”

“Atasha (Warren) missed out on placing by about a foot in the shot put. Right now she is still learning her throws ? when she switches over from the glide throw, which is slower, more cumbersome and requires more height ? she'll be able to use the rotational form of throwing the shot put. Rotational is probably more suited for her but it takes longer to learn, once she gets that sometime next year then you'll see her throw jump massively ? a foot and a half or more. I'd watch out for her in the future.”

Pentathlon
“Rachel Etienne had a good performance for eighth place in only the second time she has ever done the pentathlon. She set her personal best in three out of five events. Her weakness right now is the shot put, she is not a big girl and the technique for someone who is a little smaller is key, she just doesn't have that yet. Once she gets that technique down for the throw her points will jump up. There were some world-class girls in the pentathlon with one scoring 4,000 points, which is someone that could be in the top six at the World Championships. I'm proud of Rachel for hanging in there and performing with some of the best in the country in this event.”

Relays
“The DMR had a great performance, they ran above and beyond their ability level to get seventh place and score points for us. To see a very young group with three freshman and a senior placing at conference is awesome.”

“Our 4x400 relay had a really strong team in place, I really feel bad for those guys because Carlan (Arthur) pulled a hamstring on the second leg but we really got a good start. We got out there well and had a good position in the race before Carlan got the baton on the second leg. The team came in as the sixth ranked team in conference, but with the team they had in place they could have run 3:14 and they could finish anywhere between third and fifth, scored some points and that would have been a big point swing in conference standing.”

Kemel Thompson is one of USF's most prolific track and field alumni. A native of Jamaica, Thompson was offered collegiate scholarships in both football and track and field before deciding to join the Bulls. A 400-meter hurdler, Thompson qualified for the 1996 NCAA Championships in the event and holds the USF school record in the event with a time of 50.50. Thompson competed in both the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games for the Jamaican National Team ? finishing 27th and 28th overall in the 400m hurdles, respectively and in 2003 he ascended to No. 3 in the world after a series of impressive runs.

At the conclusion of his professional track career Thompson returned to his alma mater where he currently serves as the Director of the Bulls Varsity Club.