SE: Njadoe Off to Speedy Start for K-State Track and Field
Jan 19, 2017 | Track & Field
Wurrie Njadoe busted out of the blocks like she had hundreds of times before. She accelerated rapidly for a little more than seven seconds, timed up her final lunge across the finish line and then began to decelerate, routinely checking the results board while slowing down.
Only this time, Njadoe didn’t believe what she saw. In a tight 60-meter race, 7.41 popped up next to her name. She was convinced there was a mistake.
“I looked back and said, ‘That’s not me,’ because it was a really close race with all of the girls,” said Njadoe, who recalled thinking “wow” when her time was confirmed. “It was an amazing feeling.”
This sudden euphoria occurred in last week’s KSU-KU-WSU Triangular in Wichita, where Njadoe brought home the high-point scorer award. K-State has won the individual award in all three years of the in-state battle, with Olympian and two-time national champion Akela Jones accounting for the first two.
“It’s really amazing,” Njadoe said of being on the same plaque with Jones. “I’ve seen her, read about her about how competitive she is, and I know when she comes back, she’s going to do amazing things. I’m going to learn from my teammates, the seniors and especially her. I’m looking forward to that, but I’m just honored to be on that plate.”
Njadoe won all three of her individual events, which also included the 200-meter dash and long jump, to account for 22.25 points — nearly 10 percent of K-State’s second-place point total.
“I wasn’t aware of how big this meet was for the team, but seeing how everybody was giving it their all and working hard, it just motivated me to either do as much as I can to contribute or help the team to bring both of the plaques home,” the freshman said. “It was amazing.”
On top of tying the second-fastest 60-meter time in K-State women’s history, she also ran the 10th-best 200 time (24.42) and just missed the program’s top 10 in long jump with a personal best mark of 5.97m/19-07.
“For me, it all started with the long jump. I wasn’t expecting to jump that far,” said Njadoe. “I was expecting to jump decent at least, but the first jump, that’s how you’re supposed to come out. The first jump you’re supposed to make a statement. That’s what happened, and after that, I was, like, ‘I got this.’”
If winning three individual events wasn’t enough, Njadoe also led off for K-State’s second-place 4x400-meter relay team.
“She competed really well. I think she is still pretty young, still pretty raw. She had a relatively good day, but I was more impressed with her being able to come back and do as well as she did and she didn’t have a whole bunch of rest,” K-State sprints and jumps coach Vincent Johnson said of Njadoe. “I told her going into the meet that she should be prepared to have a long, tough day. It’s what we’ve been preparing for because with only 26 people competing, you kind of have to put people in the events where you think they can be successful and be an intricate piece to the team performance.
“She was able to run the 60, she was able to do the 200, she was able to do the 4x400, she was able to long jump, and she was willing to do it because she knew the significance behind our team performance and she wanted to make sure she did whatever she could do.”
Njadoe, who was born in Gambia, a small West African country, spent part of her childhood in the Bronx, New York, before moving out to the Seattle area. It was there, at Shorecrest High School, she excelled on the track. She won seven state titles and was a four-time track and field MVP, garnering her Division I recruiting attention.
What separated K-State, she said, was the relationship she developed with Johnson early and the feeling she experienced on her visit to Manhattan.
“When he was recruiting me, we just got along really well,” said Njadoe, whose first name means “to be alive” in her native language. “Coming here on the visit and meeting the team and the girls I’m going to be working with, I just fell in love with the school and fell in love with the team. I knew this was the place I needed to be.”
So far, Njadoe’s experience at K-State has only confirmed her decision. She’s cut considerable time on the track and leapt over previous bests in the long jump, both the products of a better equipped, professionally staffed and highly focused training program.
“With lifting, being disciplined with my training really paid off and I’m seeing the results out there,” she said. “Also, my coach believing in me. He always says, ‘You can do it. If anyone can do it, you can do it.’ I have my trainers who help me out with all my soreness, injuries. Everybody contributes, so I’m just grateful to be around this team and everything they do for me.
“Here, I feel like I get the help that I need, individually, to improve. To see what I can do in the first four, five months says a lot.”
Njadoe, who will compete in Saturday’s portion of the DeLoss Dodds Invitational in Ahearn Field House, began her first season with goals that now seem conservative, like dropping her 60-meter dash time below 7.50. Her performance last week, which includes the second-fastest 200 time in the Big 12, the second-farthest mark in the long jump and the third-best 60 time, opened Njadoe’s mind to bigger opportunities.
“Now, I’m heading for bigger goals,” said Njadoe, whose 60 time was one-hundredth of a second off the school record. “I want to do whatever I can to help out my team — do well at conference and make it to nationals. That’s the goal now. It’s not just about me now, it’s about the whole team.”
Long term, Johnson said Njadoe’s daily approach, work ethic and talent bode well for what could be a very decorated K-State career.
“It’s hard to say how good she could be because I think she is very talented. If she continues to work hard and if she continues to train well, continues to learn and mature, I think she can have a really successful track and field career,” Johnson said. “If she’s willing to continue to train and work hard, I think whatever her potential will allow her, she’ll reach it.”
Admission is free for the DeLoss Dodds Invitational, with combined events on Friday beginning at 10 a.m., while action on Saturday begins at 9 a.m.
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