One Last Run

GASTONIA - Stormy Kendrick doesn't believe in waiting until the last minute.

As the Forestview High School sprinter prepares for her final track meet before recruiting season heats up, she feels no pressure to impress the many college coaches keeping an eye on her. She's already done that.

Instead, all she cares about at this weekend's USA Youth Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Charlotte is racing against the clock.

"I would like to run a fast time," the rising senior said. "This is probably my last meet of the season, so I want to bring my time down."

No matter how she performs in front of the dozens of college coaches expected at UNC Charlotte this weekend, Kendrick already feels pretty confident she'll land a roster spot at a major Division I program. Her top choices are Miami, Penn State, Florida and LSU. Colleges can't start offering her scholarships until next month.

Kendrick, who won the 100 meters at this meet last year, will likely compete only in the 200 this weekend. She and her coach feel she's already proven herself in the 100 - especially after running well last weekend in what's widely considered the nation's biggest high school meet.

She placed third in the 100 at the Nike Outdoor Nationals in Greensboro, crossing the line in 11.87 seconds. She finished behind Chalonda Goodman of Newnan, Ga., (11.51) and English Gardner from Vorhees, N.J. (11.82). In her preliminary race, Kendrick recorded a time of 11.71.

"That pretty much showed everybody what she was about," her coach, Valentino Sykes, said.

She put herself on the radar long before that. It certainly didn't hurt that she won the 2007 Class 3A state championship in the 100 meters and placing second in the 100 and 200 this past season.

If some college coaches haven't taken notice by now, they might never.

Within the past week alone, Sykes has spoken with coaches from Penn State, Michigan, Oklahoma, LSU and Virginia.

"She's pretty much set (for a college scholarship)," Sykes said earlier this week. "I got enough phone calls today to pretty much solidify that."

Kendrick has the eighth-best 200 meters qualifying time (24.28) for this weekend's meet and the seventh-best 100 time (11.69) behind familiar competitors like Goodman.

"They've got a bunch of fast people coming in," Kendrick said. "You've just got to perform on that day, so we'll see how that goes.

"I've been training pretty hard and I just feel confident. I know I ran good at the Nike meet, and I'm pretty sure I can bring my time down."

The first round of the 200 meters begins 11:30 a.m. today, with the finals scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Saturday. Should Kendrick choose to run compete in the 100, the first round begins 8 a.m. Friday.

After this weekend, she'll take a few months off and then start preparing for the indoor season.

Kendrick heads a long list of Gastonia Jaguars Track Club members competing in Charlotte this weekend.

Delante' Sykes (100m, 400m, long jump), Roman Barnette (200m, 400m, long jump) and Jaime Marlow (800m, 1500m, long jump) will compete in the 10-and-under or bantam division. Jaquan Brooks (800m, 1500m) will enter the midget division for 11- and 12-year-olds. Jalen Marlowe (shot put, discus) and Destinie Sykes (400m, 100m hurdles, 200m hurdles) will compete in the youth division for 13- and 14-year-olds. Aaron Tribble (400m, high jump) and Damita Ford (800m, 1500m, 3000m) will enter the intermediate division for 15- and 16-year-olds.

Ashbrook High School's Justin Crawford is also on the entry list for the 100 meters and 110 hurdles in the young division for 17- and 18-year-olds.