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Track and Field’s Stewart looks to end her collegiate career with a bang TRACK & FIELD CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Green track and field athlete to be recognized since 20 08. But Stewar t’s jour ney to greatness hasn’t been pictureperfect. She ar rived to Nor th Texas at the same time as Sheffield, in 2011. She was a freshman looking to ma ke the transition from high school basketball and volleyball to r unning collegiate track fulltime. Her athletic ability was never a doubt for Sheffield, but he said the amount she’s grown as a competitor and as a person has sur passed his biggest expectations. However, preventing injur y has arguably been Stewar t’s biggest hurdle. After missing the majority of the 2014 -15 season, she came back for her four th year of eligibility as a graduate student this year.
“Ever y other year it seems like she’s been injured – major injuries that would almost keep her from coming out to compete and train,” Sheffield said. “She’s always worked her way through.” With five to six days of practice per week, almost all track and field athletes deal with nagging injuries each season. But injur y is only a small obstacle as long as athletes don’t let it diminish their motivation, Stewar t said. “It’s easy to lose faith in the training process. I’ve done that before,” Stewar t said. “This year it was just tr usting coach Sheffield, tr usting my body and tr usting that God is going to work ever ything out.”
That same mindset has tur ned Stewar t into one of the strongest leaders for the Mean Green. She said she was more of a vocal leader early in her career but has shifted her focus to leading by example as an upperclassman, making sure she shows up early and maintains good grades. “I think there’s some natural [leadership] instincts inside of her,” Sheffield said. “As she’s gotten older, the diversity of the team has changed a little bit, but she continues to find some of those little pieces, those apples, that come out. And they kind of rise up to her because of her ability.” One teammate who has benefitted greatly from Stewar t is junior Jazmine
Business Administration senior Chastity Stewart hopes to startt a career in public relations. Courtesy | North Texas Athletics Mar tin. The third-year jumper had never been par t of a r unning event until joining Stewar t’s 4x10 0-meter relay team this season, and said she’s always looked up to Stewar t as a role model and friend.
“I’m an outcast for the 4x4,” Mar tin said. “She made it welcoming because she was a senior, and it was my first time actually being able to do it. She made it easier for me just by tr usting me.” The team of four had
two second place finishes and one first place finish in April, finding its stride right in time for the C-USA Championships from May 12 to 15. And if Stewar t’s steady improvement and schoolrecord 10 0-meter hurdle time of 13.03 last weekend at the Bobcat Classic is a sign of things to come, even more records could be broken. “The seniors who have been there before and know what it’s like, they feel the energy star t to come up,” Sheffield said. “This is the time of year where you’ve got to get it going.” After postseason play, Stewar t’s future is up in the air. She will be graduating with a master’s degree in business administration this summer and hopes to star t a career in the public relations industr y for an enter tainment news outlet. However, she hasn’t r uled anything out quite yet. If she is able to qualify for the Olympic trials this summer and move on to national competition, Sheffield said she’s capable of becoming one of the top hurdlers in the countr y. “It would be my dream,” Stewar t said. “I think if the universe kind of guides me that way, I’ll definitely go. I’m just going to continue to put in work and hopefully the numbers come out. If I can continue my [athletic] career, I’ll definitely hop on that train.”
Business Administration senior Chastity Stewart poses for a photo on Fouts Field. Colin Mitchell | Senior Staff Photographer
ATHLETE
Dynamic recruit Griffin has potential to be next two-sport star at UNT By Brady Keane Staff Writer @BradyKeane3 Deion Griffin is fast. The Arlington Heights High School senior who signed to play football with the Mean Green next season is so fast that his speed in the 200m dash would have placed 2nd at the K.T. Woodman Classic as a member of the North Texas track and field team last weekend. With that speed, Griffin has the potential to join a short list of athletes who have competed for both the football and track team at North Texas. The most
successful member of that exclusive club, Johnny Quinn, is the all-time leading receiver in school history with 2,718 yards. He ran on the relay team for the
Mean Green as well. Now, Quinn is an American Olympic bobsledder and competed at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games. “We’ve had guys do it before, and we’ve been really successful with it in the past,” head track and field coach Carl Sheffield said. “It just depends on the quality of the athlete, because competing in Conference USA is a really high task.” Throughout the last four years at Arlington Heights, Griffin has used his elusive speed and quickness to excel on both the football field and the track. Despite being undersized at the quarterback position, Griffin used his speed to make an impact under center. As a junior, he threw for 25 touchdowns without an interception while also running 1,000 yards and making 15
touchdowns. The Mean Green plans to use the dynamic playmaker in the slot position next season. “Speed is my biggest asset. It helped me in high school by making people fear not only the pass, but the run,” Griffin said. “Now in college, I’ll just be using my speed to create space between me and the defender.” While his numbers on the football field certainly stood out to Littrell and the rest of the coaching staff, Griffin credits track for helping to further develop his competitive nature and toughness. “With both sports, there is a mental and physical toughness,” Griffin said. “When you’re tired while training, you want to give up. But your mind has to overcome your body. Both sports can make you physically uncomfortable, but that helps so when you get to the football field, you can thrive in uncomfortable situations.” Littrell said speed is one of the
biggest things the team looks for while out on the recruiting trail. “It’s big,” Littrell said. “Obviously, you want to get guys that have speed, and speed kills. You want guys that get out and run. It’s been fun watching some of our guys signed on for next year do great things in track events.” So far, Griffin has certainly been one to do great things during track season. After taking first place at both district and area meets and second in the regional meet, the high school senior is advancing to the 5A State meet at the University of Texas on Friday, May 13. Griffin’s fastest time in the 200m, 21.18, is faster than 11 of the 12 Mean Green athletes to run the race at the collegiate level this season. Only junior Colin Heard was faster, with a 21.05 run at the UTA Invitational in March. Despite the time commitments required to play in college, Sheffield said the two sports co-
exist well with cooperation from coaches on both sides. “Football is going to be their major sport, and we’re always going to be the understudy,” Sheffield said. “The only logistical issue is what happens in the spring time when they have practice and we’re in season. I’ve had guys that did their football stuff in the morning and then came to track practice in the evening.” If Griffin is able to continue the sport at the collegiate level, Sheffield said it could benefit him on the football field. In addition to the extra competition, it provides a chance to continue to build on the impressive speed that is already there. “I’m definitely going to say yes,” Sheffield said. “We believe that those kids were getting the off-season conditioning in high school, so why keep them from continuing that success?”
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Deion Griffin poses for a team photo. Griffin was recruited for his speed. Courtesy | North Texas Athletics
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