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June 9, 2009

BY MARIA M. CORNELIUS
ROCKY TOP NEWS

A hurdler by happenstance, a former in-state walk-on, a Caribbean thrower seeking an education, a senior with a year for the record books and a freshman superstar in the making all added up to a phenomenal track and field season for the Tennessee Lady Vols that included two world records, an American record, an SEC indoor championship and an NCAA national title.

Hurdler Celriece Law, Tennessee native Phoebe Wright, Trinidad and Tobago's Annie Alexander, senior Sarah Bowman and freshman Chanelle Price were key contributors and proved the 2009 Track & Field media guide prophetic with its images of Lady Vols on a deck of cards and the words "Strong Suit." For the seniors it has been an outstanding way to exit from college.

"I actually thought about that question because I knew it was going to come but still I'm speechless," said Law, a former walk-on who came to Tennessee from Denver on an academic scholarship and became a standout hurdler, winning the SEC Indoor title in the 60m - the first Lady Vol to do so since 1988 - and winning the outdoor 100m hurdles at the Sea Ray Relays and the 100m hurdles at the SEC Outdoor Championships in a career-best 13.22.

"There are no words that can express how happy I am, not only for me but for the other seniors and the other people on this team because they have also worked so hard and that's why we are who we are.

"I still think about this answer, and I can't get one down. I think it would hit me more later, but there is still not a more amazing feeling than what we did. I consider everyone on the team a friend of mine and lifelong friends as well. I know that I am going to look back on this team and know I love everyone on this team. We've made a lot of memories."

Track and field is a combination of team and individual events, and the Lady Vols united this past year behind the belief that they didn't want to let down a teammate. That is what tipped the scale for the relay teams this year, Bowman explained.

"We run for each other and I think it shows that we run for each other, because it shows in our face, it shows in our race," Bowman said. "We are a tight group. We all have so much faith in each other's ability. You want to do your best because you know that they're going to do their best. To have a group of girls that you can get on the line and have that much confidence in, you don't get people like that too often. We know that we're giving our best. Phoebe has been amazing. Her attitude, her determination, the way she puts it out on the line when she runs. That really motivates you."

Wright returned the compliment, which underscores the synergy the relay team had this season.

"I think a lot of my success could be attributed to Sarah," Wright said. "She trains like a machine and seeing her do it gives me proof that I can do it. She pulls through at every race. Every race she is exactly where she should be and that is not a quality to be overlooked, because it's learned. I would say she's the most consistent NCAA runner probably ever. She is really good at leaving it and running."

The connection among teammates wasn't limited to the distance runners. The sprinters, jumpers and throwers also meshed with the team as a whole.

"From the fall to now we have really come a long way," said Alexander, who competes in the shot put and discus. "We have really stuck together. We all got the same mindset and we worked towards it."

"I think that is one thing the Lady Vols pride themselves in, whether it's an individual sport or a team sport," Law said. "We consider ourselves a team sport, and I think that's why we're so successful. We had everyone cheering for everyone at all times. If you knew nothing about the event, everyone tried to know a little bit more every track meet, and I love that about Tennessee."

That is the culture that Head Coach J.J. Clark wanted to instill and it's that emphasis on unity among all the track disciplines that sets him apart in his field.

"Most programs are sprint-based or distance-based," Clark said. We want a well-rounded approach. These four years are a small portion of your time and life expectancy. Hopefully it's a bigger picture than that, and we can create a bond and friendship that goes through track and field, and we can grow closer as time goes."

It was that team synergy that led the Lady Vols to one of their most successful seasons ever and will make Clark even more in demand. He came to Tennessee in 2003 and won his first indoor national title in 2005, so he now has two on his resume. His athletes excel in the classroom - Wright has a 3.97 GPA in biochemistry and Law will leave Knoxville with undergraduate and master's degrees - and perform on the track and in cross country. The team's GPA as a whole this season was 3.2.

Women's Athletics Director Joan Cronan hopes Clark's ties to Tennessee will keep him in the orange fold for years to come. Clark's older sister, All-American Joetta Clark, competed at Tennessee from 1981 to 1984. J.J. Clark, an accomplished high school track athlete in New Jersey, was a miler for Villanova and an assistant coach at Florida before accepting the Tennessee position in 2003.

"I have a picture of J.J. when he was 8 years old with a Lady Vols shirt on, so I think he was born to be a Lady Vol," Cronan said. "When I think about J.J., you hear people say that they were born to run, J.J. was born to coach. He is an incredibly good coach."

It was also the position that Clark wanted, but he didn't think there would be an opening at Tennessee. The Clark family had relocated to Gainesville, Fla., from the New Jersey area - his father, Joe Clark, the infamous bat-wielding principal made famous in the movie "Lean on Me," still farms there - and Clark had carved out a niche first as a licensed sports massage therapist and an assistant coach for the Gator women's track and field team.

"I had written off Tennessee because the coach previously was the same age as I was, and then an opening happened, and I was called," Clark said. "I couldn't believe it. I hope I am here for another 15 to 20 years or longer."

Clark sent the photo of himself as an orange-clad child with his professional resume, but he likely could have submitted paperwork in crayon with stick figures, because Cronan had no doubt who she wanted for the slot.

"I knew when we made a change in track that J.J. was the person I was going after," Cronan said.

In the photo that Cronan already had, Clark is standing beside his sister, Joetta. He also has another photo of himself as a youngster wearing a hooded Lady Vol basketball sweatshirt.

"I was standing in the exact same position as my sister, hands on my hips," Clark said. "We were looking at something. I was at track camp and she had on her Lady Vol singlet.

"I am a track enthusiast. I love the sport. I was a student of the sport. I've been learning since I was 6, 7, 8 at day camps and then AAU and Junior Olympics and all the way through. I learned by doing and watching. I like to win. I like to win honestly, and I like to have fun doing it, so somehow putting it all together comes out with a good fit. You have to have the personality for the sport. There are a lot of hours, a lot of student-athletes come through, and you have to have time for all of them without neglecting your family. You have to be very effective, efficient and have a skill to communicate to the student-athletes so that they can perform on the field."

The student-athletes noted that Clark, who is married to former Olympic standout Jearl Clark, is serious in practice, at team meetings and on the track - he wants all distractions eliminated at meets - but he has a soft side, too.

"He is amazing," Law said. "He's not only a coach, but I can consider him a friend. He's one of those coaches that knows what he's doing and has your best interests at heart and that's what athletes need."

"He's an awesome coach," Bowman said. "At this point he is all I know, but I have heard stories about other college coaches. They only show up at practice. You don't really know what's going on. He keeps us so involved. On and off the track he's there for us if we need to talk to him. He does an amazing job of keeping a team atmosphere. He is really looking at the big picture."

"He is a great individual," Alexander said. "He is willing to listen. He's more like a father figure. Sometimes he just tells it as it is and you have to understand and respect his decision. In season you always see him with a serious look on his face because he is focusing and trying to get us to do what we are capable of but don't be shy. If you walk up to him he will give you that smile."

"He's a friend, a fatherly figure," Price said. "He's close to my parents. He is such a down-to-earth guy. When we go to meets, guys know to stay away from us. We're here to run. Fun will come. What he instills in us is very powerful."

"God wanted me to meet Coach," Wright said. "He is caring. He is brilliant. He knows exactly what I need."

He also will engage in some friendly smack talk by telling the distance runners that he could beat them one on one in a race. So could he?

"No," Price said with a big smile.

"He still thinks he can beat me in any race," Wright said.

So has Clark ever lined up against her?

No, he's scared," Wright said with a laugh.

Clark just smiles about the remarks. He wants his student-athletes to take the track thinking they can beat anyone in the field, and they did just that throughout this past season. At press time, the Lady Vols still had the NCAA Outdoor Championships in June, but regardless of what happens there - and Tennessee has a legitimate shot at the double-double indoor/outdoor titles - the 2009 season has been one to remember. But neither the coach nor the athletes think they can put it in perspective yet.

For the senior Sarah Bowman it would be hard to script a better exit.

"I really don't think I could have," Bowman said. "It's definitely been the icing on the cake this senior year. It's kind of hard to look at it right now because I'm in the moment and I am enjoying it, but I know that it is definitely going to bring a lot of memories in the future. Right now I'm caught up in it and it's just exciting to be a part of it and I know that when I do leave I'm going to miss the team and the girls. It's definitely been amazing.

"You take the victories, you celebrate them and you head to the next thing. I think definitely in a few years it's going to be, `Wow, look at what we did. How did we do that?' We've done some amazing things race-wise and practice-wise, and I think what makes a difference is we can pull each other through it."

Celriece Law is also a senior who ended up at Tennessee via Denver after seeking a place to both run and get an education. She came to school on an academic scholarship, walked on the track team and later earned a scholarship.

"The athletics here are amazing," Law said. "You even hear about it in Denver, which is even more amazing since it's so far away. I think that's what really brought me here was that it wasn't just (Lady Vol) basketball I heard about. It was track and field and it was other sports. That's one thing that I didn't get from other schools. Last minute I decided to come to Tennessee, and I think that was one of the best decisions that I could have made, especially with this senior year that I just had. There is nothing I would want to change. I couldn't think of one way."

Law became a hurdler by happenstance.

"I got into hurdling because I was at practice one day in high school and being just the person that I am I go over to the hurdles and I just start playing around and I see other people doing it and I'm like, `I can do that. It's nothing hard,' " Law said. "So I tried it and I got caught by the coach, so from then on I've been a hurdler."

She, of course, came to realize how hard hurdling could be with the training and precision mechanics needed to both sprint and leap in stride.

"I think every time I step on the track I am still learning something new," Law said. "It is very technical and I don't think I understand that sometimes, so I know it's hard for other people to understand that. I do like detail.

"I believe that I am more technical in practice therefore I don't have to think as much during competition, which I think is a good thing, especially for a hurdler, because there is so much going on during the race and it's really good that you don't have to think about it, and you already have muscle memory. Put it all in God's hands."

Law also took advantage of the academic opportunities that guided her in the first place. She earned a bachelor's degree in political science and will receive her master's degree in sports psychology at the end of this summer. Her education isn't over either. Law also wants to be a contract lawyer, a very detail-oriented specialty.

Law is not yet ready to retire her racing spikes, though, and harbors hopes to participate in the Olympics.

"That's always a dream," Law said. "I am not going to say that it's out of reach because I will always keep working towards my dreams. If that's not in the plans for me I do plan on going to law school. Right now I am not closing any doors. I am just letting God take me down the path that he wants to take me and hope for the best."

She will leave Tennessee with two degrees and three dogs, all Toy Fox terriers. Havoc is a male, and Law has two of his offspring, the female Covah and the male Jazz.

"I love, love dogs," Law said. "That is relaxation for me watching them. I love how they interact with each other and also me. If I didn't go to law school I would probably become a vet. I love animals that much. They can teach me patience. They have patience with me all the time and that is one thing I need being a runner, and I am constantly working on that. I treat them just like they are my children. They are spoiled rotten."

Law will leave a senior footprint on the Lady Vol track program.

"It wasn't just individuals that did it," Law said. "It was as a team, which makes it even more special."

Phoebe Wright will be a senior next season. She walked onto the track team as a freshman from Signal Mountain in nearby East Tennessee. It was a last-minute decision as Wright, who was born and raised in the state, initially wanted to leave home for school. But she didn't get a scholarship lined up in time and made a late visit to Tennessee.

"I was like, `Oh my gosh, why wasn't I looking here before?' " Wright said. "This is perfect. God gave me a blessing in disguise."

At first Wright was overmatched in practice. She had distance-based training in high school at Red Bank but needed speed training, too, to succeed in college.

"You run with the team or you get beat down in practice every day so I make my choice," said Wright, who changed her training program.

For Wright it was a magical meet at the Penn Relays this season. Nearly 50,000 people were cheering for Tennessee to set the world record in the 4x1500m, and the quartet of Bowman, Wright, Price and senior Rolanda Bell didn't disappoint with a readout of 17:08.34.

Wright, Bowman, Price and senior Kimarra McDonald then snared the American record in the 4x800 with Wright running a 2:02.62 split, and Price peeling off a 2:02.45 turn to put the race out of reach for any competitors.

The Lady Vols pulled off the trifecta and won three relay events - they also claimed the distance medley - in the same Penn Relays for the third time in program history, joining the 1984 and 2004 squads.

"You can actually feel the vibrations of the crowd," Wright said. "It was the coolest thing in my life. I did think, `Wow, take this in.' The whole time I was thinking, `Run as fast as I can.' "

At the SEC Outdoor Championships this May, Wright won the 800m with the fastest time in the NCAA this season at 2:02.15 and the eighth fastest time in the world this year.

Wright realizes her story is special - former walk-on to world record - but she doesn't want it to read that way because her goals were always to be successful.

"I don't feel as great as the story is because I always felt that I could do something like this," Wright said. "I knew I had untapped talent. I didn't know it was this much, and I got really lucky that Coach Clark was my coach. I really think God was on my side."

Wright started out playing soccer and then decided to concentrate on running without a ball being involved.

"I played soccer for a long time and the only reason I was good at soccer was because I could run," Wright said. "I tried out for track and then I had to pick one so I chose track. I did it because I was good at it, and you like what you're good at."

Teammate Annie Alexander started out running and ended up in the field events.

"I used to run track and that didn't work out for the best," Alexander said. "My coach was like, `I am not just going to let you give up on sports. I am going to find something else for you to do.' I started playing around with the shot put, and he saw I had potential. The discus was an event I didn't want to take part in, but I put in the hard work and the time in it and now those are my two main events, and I will never step foot back on the track. Just throw heavy stuff around."

Alexander made her way to Knoxville from Port-of-Spain, Trinidad & Tobago, a city of 51,000 people on the Gulf of Paria.

"This is the only school that spoke to be about academics and after that I was like, `I am going to go to Tennessee,' " Alexander said. "Because, yes, I can excel in sports, but at the same time I wanted something I could fall back on because this is not guaranteed for a lifetime. I think I made one of the best decisions in my life."

Alexander, who was recruited by Assistant Coach John Frazier, is majoring in journalism and electronic media with a minor in English. She enrolled at Tennessee mid-term a year ago after studying for and earning the necessary ACT score and opting not to wait until the following fall to arrive.

Her events - throwing heavy things, as she said, with a smile and delightful Caribbean lilt - are actually ones of nuance and precision. Alexander won the SEC indoor and outdoor shot put as a freshman, and holds the Tennessee records at 57'2 and 57'3, respectively.

She said "yes and no" when asked if she enjoys the events.

"Yes, because to me when I go to a meet and I am able to perform to my best, I can say, `Yes, this is the hard work I put in.' I can see the results of it," Alexander said. "And no, because sometimes you have your moments when you're mad and pick it up and you want to throw it this far. It doesn't work. You've got to be the most relaxed that you can. Otherwise, it's not going to happen. I have to be in a happy, jolly mood all the time."

Fortunately, Annie Antoinette Alexander's personality is suited to one of good humor. She is the third of seven children with the first six all having names that begin with the letter, A. The seventh child was named Maxwell.

"They did that for the first six kids and ran out by the last one," Alexander said.

She has spent just two weeks at home in the past year because of the distance.

"They were all so grown," Alexander said of her siblings. "It's difficult, but I try to be grown and set an example. I have to do what I have to do."

If she is not practicing, competing, traveling to a meet, studying or attending class, Alexander has two things in mind.

"Every time I get free time I sleep or I cook," she said. "I cook Creole dishes and now I am learning some American traditional foods, like some Southern dishes. I like to experiment in my kitchen."

Her class work takes priority because of the law laid down by Alexander's mother.

"As my mom said, `If you can't get the schoolwork done, you're not going to partake in sports.' That was held over my head," Alexander said. "If my grades didn't match up, one had to go and it's not going to be school. It takes discipline, lack of sleep. The coaches are great. They are willing to adjust stuff for us and make sure we get the job done both on the track and in the classroom."

Her high school coach was happy to see her head to the United States to further her sports career - both figuratively and literally.

"When I got accepted to the school my coach at home had told me, `I took you as far as I can and this is the time you let go and trust someone else.' I came in and I bought into Coach Frazier's program," Alexander said. "Everybody thinks you just go out and spin, but every day is a learning process for me. Sometimes you can just go out there and get the job done and sometimes your timing is off. Ninety percent of the workout is drills, him telling me what is right and what is wrong. When you look at the video, you see how many mistakes you make."

Alexander's ultimate goal is to compete for her country's home flag in the Olympics. She has already represented Trinidad & Tobago in other international events and now has her sights on 2012 on the biggest stage.

"Hopefully I will have something to unleash for the world," Alexander said. "I can see myself walking with my teammates, but I would probably be in tears to know I made it this far."

Sarah Bowman had a much shorter trek to Tennessee but she has left tremendous footprints on the Lady Vol program. The senior distance runner from Warrenton, Va., had a final year to remember on and off the track as she also earned accolades in the classroom. Cronan said Bowman was one of the best student-athletes to ever attend Tennessee.

"She is one of the most outstanding student-athletes we have ever had," Cronan said. "I think she is a great example of what a Lady Vol stands for."

"That's a pretty powerful title to put on someone, but I just focus day to day getting through what I need to get done," Bowman said. "I'm competitive on the track and I think that helps in the classroom as well. I expect the best from myself, and I demand the best from myself. I focus on the task at hand at that particular moment, and the support here has been great also with coaches, teammates, the academic counseling, my parents. I have tremendous support from people who care about me and I think that helps."

Before the 2009 campaign even started Bowman was named the Women's Division I Indoor Track Scholar Athlete of the Year. She proceeded to make SEC history by winning three consecutive titles in the 3000 meters, the 1500m at the SEC Outdoor Championships, the SEC Indoor team title, an NCAA Indoor Track & Field national championship, the world record in the Distance Medley Relay at the NCAA meet and the individual NCAA title in the mile by out-leaning Texas Tech's Sally Kipyego, one of the best runners in NCAA history, by 3/100ths of a second, for a time of 4:29.72, breaking the NCAA Indoor meet record of 4:30.63.

Bowman was joined in the DMR world record by Wright, Price and redshirt freshman Brittany Jones - the quartet covered the 4000m distance in 10:50.98.

Bowman also received the Women's Outstanding Relay Athlete Award at the 115th Penn Relays, an historic meet in Philadelphia that is as prestigious in track as the Kentucky Derby is to horse racing.

The ending is storybook for Bowman, but it also means it's over for her at Tennessee.

"It's definitely bittersweet," said Bowman, who majored in business and human resource management. "I am going to miss it. I am going to miss competing for the team, but it's also a milestone in your life. That's all you're allotted and I am happy with the time that I served so that makes it easier to move on. You have to keep going forward.

"I am hoping to sign a contract and run professionally while I can while I am young and can do it, go for it because it has been my dream. ... I've learned that in life opportunities come up and you take them as they come. You can't always explain how you got what you got. There are so many events that happen that lead to that and the journey is part of it, so I am going with that attitude and seeing where it takes me next."

The distance program at Tennessee has another superstar in the making in Chanelle Price, who entered Tennessee with comparisons to Joetta Clark, the legendary runner and sister of the current coach.

"I try not to put too much pressure on myself, but it's also a motivation to be put in that class of runner," Price said. "You want to keep that and keep working hard."

Price, who is from Easton, Pa., was named the 2008 Gatorade National Female Athlete of the Year in high school. She ran a 2:01.61 personal record in the 800m in high school at the famed Prefontaine Classic in Oregon, which earned her an invite to the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials.

Her freshman year at Tennessee was filled with a national title and the relay world records.

"You don't expect it; you become speechless," Price said. "I don't know how I am going to top this, but I am definitely going to work hard. This year has been about the team for me but hopefully as I get older I can accomplish some individual goals."

It is that level-headedness that will serve Price well in track and considering her background - her father is a Marine; her mother is a parole officer - it is not surprising that she arrived in college with composure and discipline.

"No playing around; get the business done," Price said. "I think it gets you ready for life. They raised me to be a respectful, disciplined young lady. I am mature enough to look back and say thank you."

She also has an effervescent personality that has embraced her talent. Her nickname is "CP," and those initials have a storied history at Tennessee because of Candace Parker, who won two national titles and every major national basketball award.

"I definitely want to hold onto that legacy and be the next `CP' at Tennessee," Price said. "I want to be big. I want to shock people and do great things."

Price already pulled off one great accomplishment in her home state when she played a key role on the track in the Penn Relays.

"I am from Pennsylvania so I had run (there in high school), but it was nothing like running for Tennessee," Price said. "It was just amazing. People have asked me how am I going to top my freshmen year. I have been blessed. It happened at the perfect time in the perfect location. It was like a gift."

With nearly 50,000 people cheering for the Lady Vols to take the world record, Price said the runners could feel the vibrations on the track.

"Oh, definitely," she said. "You hear the people yelling. They kind of carried us. It was just so cool. You just put that pain in the back of your head and you're just running to shock yourself and shock the crowd."

Price also wants to wear the red, white and blue in the Olympics - it's not her daily focus, but it's in the back of her mind.

"I like to take it day by day, year by year, but I definitely want to be an Olympian," Price said. "I told Coach, one day I want to be the best intermediate runner that ever was and he said, `You're one that can be, but take time and grow.' I want to go to the Olympics. I want to win gold for America. I have big plans."

Tennessee has attracted the caliber of student-athletes such as Price and gotten world-class results despite the lack of an indoor track facility. It's on the drawing board with scouted locations - and a priority for Lady Vol athletics - but the finances must be raised.

"We need an indoor track," J.J. Clark said. "We are competing against programs that have indoor tracks or they are so far south that they don't need indoor tracks. With the staff we have this is the best you get and the student-athletes are determined to get it done. We need finances and we'll be on our way and allow us to really achieve the successes that I believe this program can do. Right now we're just moving forward and taking what we have and running with it, literally."

Clark doesn't want his program to occasionally win titles and set records. He wants that type of success to be regular for Tennessee. Five years from now he envisions himself still at the helm and still on top.

"And more consistent and be known for being a winner and being successful," Clark said. "Graduate student-athletes who go on to successful things and they win and they have fun. What other combination do you want? Kids who are educated, intelligent, having fun, winning and enjoying the process. That's a good deal."