Issue date: 4/9/09 Section: Sports

Houston native Violet Nwordu, junior, is a sprinter for the women's outdoor track team and has also been a member of the indoor track team. (Karolina Strack/The Daily Eastern News)

Estern junior sprinter Violet Nwordu is still focused, and it was evident last week.

The Ohio Valley Conference announced Nwordu as the Female Track Athlete of the Week.

She was honored for her performance last weekend at the Big Blue Classic, where she posted two first place finishes and one second place finish.

Nwordu placed first in the 100-meter dash in 12.05 seconds, which placed her eighth on the Eastern career list. The time was also the top mark in the OVC this season. Nwordu was second in the 200-meter dash in 25.07 seconds.

In the 400-meter relay event, Nwordu ran one leg of the event to help the women's squad place first in 46.49 seconds. The time ranks the relay team third in Eastern history.

Eastern head coach Tom Akers said he was especially impressed with the way Nwordu ran at the Big Blue Classic.

"She did a great job," Akers said. "She ran a very strong leadoff leg in our 4x100 and she ran an excellent leg in the 4x400. She obviously had a very strong weekend."

Aside from her strong performances this past weekend, Nwordu and her teammates remain focused on capturing their second conference championship in three seasons.

"We told ourselves last season when we lost that we were going to have to make it up to everybody," Nwordu said. "We want to show people that we are a good team and for them to start to recognize that."

Nwordu said while practices have been tough this season, the coaching staff has given the proper amount of rest to the runners.

"Practices have been a whole lot better this year, with less injuries than last year," she said. "On Mondays and Wednesdays we have really strong workouts, while on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays we have a more relaxed, restful workout. These lighter workouts have allowed us to maintain our speed and keep increasing our speed, instead of burning out early in the season."

As a junior, Nwordu said she feels she must help the younger teammates understand what it will take to capture their second conference championship in three years.

"We have really been trying to set the tone for the younger teammates, because we don't know exactly who will be back next season," Nwordu said. "Our goal before we graduate is to help the younger teammates understand that you must be a team if you're going to win the conference championship."

Junior hurdler Chandra Golden agreed with Nwordu that, for the sprinting squad to be able to capture another conference championship, they need to run as a team.

"We just need to have the same common goal and come together as one," Golden said. "We need to give it our best and leave everything out on the track."


Neil Schneider can be reached at 581-7944 or at jnschneider@eiu.edu.

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