No doubting Thomas’ talent after fast start

After placing third in 200 meters at last year’s NCAA outdoor championship and reaching U.S. Olympic Trials final, Harvard sophomore looks to build on world-leading effort in anticipated showdown at 59th Mt. SAC Relays

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

It’s not often that a world leader enters a meet as an underdog, but that’s exactly the challenge facing Harvard sophomore Gabrielle Thomas this weekend at the 59th Mt. SAC Relays.

Harvard’s journey to El Camino College’s Murdock Stadium in Torrance also coincides with Oregon’s annual trip to Southern California, with the Ducks’ talented trio of Hannah Cunliffe, Deajah Stevens and Ariana Washington all scheduled to run the 200 meters. Former Oregon standout Jenna Prandini, the 2015 Mt. SAC champion, and 2014 winner Natasha Hastings are also entered.

Call it creative matchmaking by associate head coaches Curtis Taylor of Oregon and Kebba Tolbert of Harvard to reunite the top three finishers from last year’s NCAA Division 1 Outdoor final – Washington, Stevens and Thomas – for a championship preview two months ahead of their potential title showdown at Hayward Field.

“The Oregon girls are very well coached and we have a lot of respect for them, and it’s obvious that Curtis has them running really well,” Tolbert said. “We know where the bar is and Mt. SAC is a good benchmark for Gabby. It will give us a good understanding of where she’s at and what we need to work on, but it’s important to keep things in perspective because the biggest races are in June.”

Thomas ran a wind-legal 22.60 seconds in her outdoor 200 opener March 31 at the Pepsi Florida Relays, the fastest performance by an American sprinter in March since Sanya-Richards Ross ran 22.56 in 2008. At the same meet, Makenzie Dunmore joined Cunliffe, Stevens and Washington to help Oregon set collegiate relay records in the 4x100 (42.34) and 4x200 (1:28.78).

Thomas also equaled the world-leading 200 mark produced a day earlier in Florida by five-time Jamaican Olympian Veronica Campbell-Brown, with Tennessee graduate Felicia Brown also running 22.60 on April 8 to win the Grenada Invitational.

“Normally my openers can be pretty inconsistent. I ran 24.08 last year and Kebba wasn’t happy, so getting so close to my PR was really encouraging,” said Thomas, who ran 22.47 to place third behind Washington (22.21) and Stevens (22.25) at last year’s NCAA final.

“Florida Relays was a great meet to open at, but going to a meet like Mt. SAC is really beneficial for me because I get to run against Oregon and so many other talented athletes. It’s difficult to get that level of competition in the Ivy League, so it’s really good for me mentally to run against those girls.”

The fastest winning 200 time by a collegiate female sprinter in Mt. SAC Relays history remains 22.33 by USC’s Inger Miller in 1993. The overall meet record is 22.07 by Evelyn Ashford in 1983.

Both of those marks, along with the 1989 collegiate 200 record of 22.04 by LSU’s Dawn Sowell could all be in jeopardy during Saturday’s invitational races. Stevens and Cunliffe took the top two spots at last year’s meet in 22.61 and 22.71, with Cunliffe clocking 10.99 in the 100 – taking runner-up to Prandini (10.95) – and Washington winning her section in 11.24.

“American sprinting is developing so quickly and it’s very exciting to have so many people running so fast already,” Thomas said. “When I think about (sharing the world lead), it comes with a lot of responsibility and I hope to the keep the title as long as I can. But what is most important to me is making sure I am going about my training the right way so I can continue to improve. As honored as I am, the biggest thing for me is how can I ensure that I’m running my best at nationals.”

After producing a school-record 11.24 at the Florida Relays, Thomas is also scheduled to run the 100, an event that features Prandini, winner of the past three Mt. SAC titles, and world-leader Aleia Hobbs of LSU at 11.07. In addition, LSU sophomore Kortnei Johnson (11.13), USC junior Deanna Hill (11.18), the Oregon trio of Cunliffe, Stevens and Washington, along with former Ducks All-American Jasmine Todd are all entered.

“I had such a good freshman season, so I knew I’d have to work twice as hard this year to get half the improvement,” said Thomas, who finished sixth in the 200 (22.72) and 26th in the 100 (11.35) at the U.S. Olympic Trials.

“The 100 has been so unpredictable for me, so I was unsure how it was going to turn out, but it was a solid opener. I was content with it.”

Thomas is also looking for redemption this weekend for the last time she raced against Cunliffe, Washington and Hill in the 200 final March 11 at the NCAA Indoor Championships in College Station, Texas. After qualifying for the fast section by running 22.89 in the prelims, Thomas struggled in the championship heat and placed eighth overall in 23.35.

Washington won the title in 22.42, with Cunliffe second in 22.53 and Hill third in 22.54, and that doesn’t even include Stevens, who clocked what would have been a collegiate-record 22.28 in the prelims, only to be disqualified for a lane violation.

“It was unacceptable to run like that at NCAAs, but that race was not indicative of where I was at the time,” said Thomas, who ran indoor personal bests Feb. 25-26 of 7.29 in the 60-meter dash and 22.88 in the 200 at the Ivy League Indoor Championships.

“I took for granted how fast I was in the beginning of the season and I didn’t improve as much as I felt I should.  Since I came back to school, practices have been really intense and I feel like I’ve been making a lot of positive strides. What we’ve put together in training so far has been really promising.

“I love running outdoors and I’m much more confident running outdoor events. The energy I have when I run outdoors has been an important factor in my success and my acceleration phases are better than they are indoors, which allows me to run that much harder.”

Tolbert knows it will be a tall order for Thomas to run a faster 200 than all three Oregon standouts Saturday, but he is confident she’ll be a factor in what could be a historic showcase at one of the world’s most prestigious meets.

“I thought she was in shape to run 22.60 indoors, so it’s been good to see her come back and run well outdoors,” Tolbert said. “She’s already ahead of where she was last year, so I know she’s ready to compete against anyone who lines up next to her. It’s going to be a great challenge.”