Syracuse sprinter Flings Owusu-Agyapong epitomizes progress, and has been improving her times ever since she first set foot on campus in the fall of 2007.

‘In indoors, she definitely ran a ton faster this year,’ sprints and hurdle coach Dave Hegland said. ‘This year, she has already broken her personal best by a pretty substantial amount just in her second race. I would say she has already exceeded what she did last year.’

Improvement has always been the norm for Owusu-Agyapong.

She started running track and field in 11th grade. By the end of the year she managed to shave a whole second off her time. The improvement was startling and helped Owusu-Agyapong realize her potential.

‘I improved by a lot. I was running maybe like a 13 something, and then by the end of the year I ran a low 12,’ Owusu-Agyapong said of her 100-meter dash time. ‘It was hard work. The coach had a lot to do with it, the workouts he gave us and everything.’

As a freshman at SU, Owusu-Agyapong set the school record for the 60-meter dash at 7.52 seconds during the indoor season. This year, as a sophomore, she ran the event 10 times and failed to beat that mark only once. The school record for the 60 has become the Owusu-Agyapong Show, and the record currently stands at 7.38.

Not only did she crush the school record, but she was also one hundredth of a second away from qualifying for the NCAA Indoor championships.

In four meets during this year’s outdoor season, Owusu-Agyapong has already secured two first-place finishes in the 100 dash. She has already broken her personal best and has already met the NCAA regional qualifying mark.

This weekend, Owusu-Agyapong leads the Orange into Philadelphia, for the Big East Outdoor Championship. The ECAC and NCAA East Regional Championships follow, while the men’s team will compete in the IC4A and the NCAA’s.

Owusu-Agyapong has yet to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships, and the next three events mark her last chance to do so.

Hegland cites Owusu-Agyapong’s focus as the source for her constant improvement – focus that he claims was evident the first time he met her.

Three years ago, Hegland traveled to Toronto on a recruiting trip to see Owusu-Agyapong and immediately realized she had what it took to succeed.

‘I had driven up and there had happened to have been a huge snowstorm that day,’ Hegland said. ‘She and a couple of athletes were still there and the whole gym was empty, the whole track was empty, just a couple of kids training. Stuff like that says a lot. Just being there and doing it when no one else is.

‘She is more focused than the average college athlete. She takes the sport more seriously and works at (the) little things. More than most people do, most college kids for sure.’

Owusu-Agyapong’s health has also been crucial. Last year, she sat out several months out with a leg injury. It was a tumultuous time filled with anxiety and a yearning to get healthy again.

‘The stronger she gets the better she’ll be able to hit certain positions technically,’ Hegland said. ‘I think strength is the one domino that if you tip over everything else will sort of fall in line.’

With her time consistently dropping, Owusu-Agyapong hopes she’ll make it to NCAA Outdoor Championships in June. She’s been improving all year, but she needs to stay healthy to do such.

‘One major part about coming into this year was just about staying healthy,’ Owusu-Agyapong said. ‘That was a big part. Then when I got that down I got more training days in. It just made everything better.’

rwmarfur@syr.edu

Published on April 27, 2009 at 12:00 pm