TANIKA
BROWN SPOTLIGHT5-30-03
Although most top-level athletes come from large communities and high schools, there are always a handful of exceptions - diamonds in the rough - that excel in college. The question surrounding small-school athletes concerns their competition: Can they perform as well against Division I opponents as they did at Podunk High? For freshman track and field athlete Tanika Brown, who attended Group AA Powhatan High School in Powhatan, Va., not only is the answer to that question a resounding 'yes,' she has thrived competing against some of the region's best high jumpers.
At the ECAC Track and Field Championships in Princeton, N.J., Brown out-jumped some of the top high jumpers on the East Coast to win the event with a school-record height of five feet, eight inches. She was the only competitor to make that height, and she cleared all three of the required heights without a miss. Brown will see many of the same athletes as well as the nation's leading high jumper in Chaunte Howard of Georgia Tech at the NCAA East Region meet this weekend at George Mason. The high jump competition begins Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
In high school, Brown was head and shoulders above other athletes in her school's class. She won four Group AA state championships, two in the high jump and two in the 300-meter hurdles, and set the district high jump record at five feet, seven inches. Brown feels that although she experienced a lot of success, she never really reached her potential due to the lack of quality competition.
"It was hard for me to keep my [performances] up in our district because no one else was even close to me," Brown said. "In high school I could easily win meets by jumping 5-3, but now in college I have to jump well at every meet to win.
"It felt good to win the ECAC meet, but it puts a lot of pressure on me over the next three years to continue to get better and keep winning."
Although Brown didn't get the quality of competition she wanted in high school, the fact that she competed against smaller schools probably kept her under the radar of other top Division I track and field programs and allowed VCU to recruit her. A pre-physical therapy major, Brown liked VCU for its academics and proximity to home, but also felt she could be a part of an up-and-coming track and field program at VCU. "We're developing a great team here," she said. "I saw that they were bringing in lots of talent, like Courtney Greene (Caroline, Va./Caroline) and Shaunte Barber (Richmond, Va./Meadowbrook). I think we have a pretty good team coming up."
Brown's competitiveness has allowed her to make a quick and easy transition from small-school big shot to a legitimate Division I high jumper. In her first-ever indoor track season, Brown cleared 5-7 at the ECAC indoor meet to place fifth against many of the same jumpers she later defeated at the ECAC outdoor meet. In April Brown became only the third VCU women's athlete to win a CAA title in a field event when she won the high jump with a leap of 5-7. Despite being a freshman, Brown doesn't appear to be rattled in big meets in an event that can be as much of a mental battle as it is a physical challenge.
"You can't get nervous in the high jump, because there are so many things to think about," she said. "It'll just make you mess up more."
The ECAC meet was a perfect example of Brown's focus. After making 5-8 on her first attempt, Brown sat on the infield thinking about the next height and waiting for other competitors to take their attempts. "I wasn't paying attention to the other jumpers, but I noticed people were missing. After another miss, everyone just looked at me, and Coach [Todd] Morgan came over and told me I won. I figured there were still people left and didn't know I had won."
This weekend Brown has her sights set on placing in the top five and advancing to the NCAA Championships in Sacramento, Calif. With her personal best of 5-8, Brown now ranks 14th in the East region but is less than two inches shy of ranking in the top five. Brown figures the winning height to be around 6-1 this weekend, with 5-10 being enough to make the NCAA's. She also can qualify for the U.S. Junior National meet by clearing 5-8 1/2, a mark she barely missed after winning the ECAC title in Princeton. This time she is no longer some freshman from VCU, but the ECAC champion and a contender for one of the NCAA qualifying spots.
"I'm excited [about the region meet]," Brown said. "I'm hoping to get up a little higher and see what I can do. My goal coming into this year was to jump 5-9. I haven't done it yet, but if I get everything right I think I can do it.
"[Winning ECAC's] boosted my confidence a little bit, since I didn't expect to win it. Now I know a lot more people and others know who I am. I like it that [other jumpers] know who I am. That's when I compete my best, when I know people are kind of after me."