TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University indoor track and field team are back in action Friday, Jan. 31-Feb 1 at Penn State National, hosted by Penn State. The meet will take place in Ashenfelter Indoor Track located in State College, Pennsylvania.
For sophomore Baltimore native,
Crystal Johnson this upcoming meet is very exciting for her because the anticipation and expectations that is expected of her, fans will get to see once again.
"I am very excited for this upcoming meet because it will be another chance to show who I am", said Johnson. "Everybody always has the expectations and hopes for how they want the meet to go and I am excited to see how it all plays out.
"Everything has been building up for me and I am excited for all the upcoming opportunities for me to show what I have in store."
Johnson says that the high energy and positivity is what the team feeds off of going into the meets.
"As a team we all train hard. We train to be better in our respective events everyday so when we have a meet coming up, we are always excited to see what lies ahead because this is what we work for."
"Every meet is another opportunity for us to compete and show what our work has resulted to," said Johnson. "No matter what may happen at a particular meet, we continue to look forward, look at the positives, and go into the next meet with a clear mind.
"We are all excited for the upcoming meets but in the back of all our minds, we are all thinking about the bigger picture. We all build off of each other's energy so if one person comes into the meet positively, it can reflect onto teammates."
In her freshman year, Johnson set numerous records in the 60m, breaking her own record at last year's Fastrack Last Chance Invitational so one would think these are her favorite but fans will now learn a fun insight into the truth.
"My favorite event is the 200," said Johnson. "I do love the quicker races like the 60m and 100m because they require less energy but the problem is they're too quick and not enough time to fight.
"The 200 is a sprint but a sprint with endurance. It has unpredictable endings and it leaves room for me and my competitors to fight and compete to the finish. It will be anybody's game and not just a pure speed race so it's more fun to run as much as it hurts."
With this, going forward Johnson is most looking forward to ECAC's because the facility is one of a kind and she still has over a month to prepare.
Being a part of a huge team is always fun for most because the enjoyment of competing with one another and seeing each other succeed is the enjoyment that everyone can share in. Even better they all have the same goal and mindset, says Johnson.
"We as a team want to win a championship. Our team grows closer every meet and we all have the same end goal in mind.
"With our pride, potential, and perseverance we can achieve anything. Personally I would like to become a better sprinter. It is a simple answer but at the end of the day I want to be 1% better than I was the day before. I also would like to qualify for NCAA regionals. I would want to get the opportunity to be around and feel the energy of some of the best competitors in the country."
Fun insight and motivation for Crystal Johnson: "My motivation every meet is to be better than I was before. Nobody ever wants to be stagnant. Of course nobody is perfect and one doesn't perform exceptional every meet so my goal is to always leave the track knowing that I tried my absolute best. No matter how bad or good I did, I will only be satisfied if I feel that I actually gave it my all that day or else there's no point."
Tigers Last Time Out
Towson dominated the Towson Tiger Invitational last Sunday, Jan. 19. Numerous school records, ECAC qualifying times and first-place finishes highlighted the evening.
Just a few highlights consisted of:
Crystal Johnson finished in first with a time of 7.59.
Shamika Burton (7.72),
Christina Riggins (7.75) and
Adia Cavalier (7.99) rounded out the top four.
Towson also had the top three performers in the 60-meter hurdles with
Helnsarah Penda (8.84) followed by
Victoria Jones-Alleyne (8.92) and
Asia Chen (9.21).
It was a 1-2 finish in the 1 mile as
Kylie Anicic crossed the line first with a time of 5:13.41 and close behind was
McKenzie Delahanty with a time of 5:14.84.
In the Record Books
- The week of Jan. 14, freshman Adia Cavalier set a new school record in the triple jump. Her 12.03m jump broke Wilhelmina Austin's jump from 2017. Then she broke her own school record at the Towson Invitational on Jan. 19, with a 12.29m (40'4") mark.
- Hayley Horvath set a new record at the Towson Invitational as well in the pole vault with a 4.02m (13' 2.25").
Mid-Atlantic Rankings
- The Tigers started 2020 in the top 5 of the USTFCCCA Mid-Atlantic Region, announcement went out this past Monday, Jan. 27.
Scouting the Tigers
Towson returns 34 student-athletes from last year including seven seniors in
Zellie Charles,
Shelby Francis,
Melissa Graham,
Victoria Jones-Alleyne,
Michella Obijiaku,
Helnsarah Penda and L.Coleman. This senior class has already made a name for their selves in the different Towson record books and will contribute to making the 2019-20 season one to remember.
Towson also brings in 11 freshman that help round out the roster and will bring some depth to each event.
Tigers in the Community
The Towson University athletics department deems community service as one of its highest priorities to give back to the Greater Baltimore area.
- For the 7th consecutive year, the department exceeded 10,000 hours of community service to the Greater Baltimore region, finishing with 11,162 hours of community service in the 2018-19 academic season.
- Towson ranked #1 nationally for community service and won the 2018 National Championship for Community Service through the Helper Helper NCAA Team Works Competition.
- Towson had a 97% participation rate, attended 118 community service opportunities and volunteered with 19 organizations.
- Towson won the 2018 Volunteer of the Year Award from Susan G. Komen of Maryland.
Looking Ahead
Towson will be competing at the Don Kirby Elite Invitational, hosted by the University of New Mexico on Thursday, Feb. 13-14 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
