Spring Break
The Daily OrangeTrack | Owusu-Agyapong hoping comeback trail ends with NCAA regional bid
By Heather Crowley
Posted: 4/17/08, 11:45 PM EST Section: Sports
It didn't take Flings Owusu-Agyapong long to make it to the top.
Owusu-Agyapong didn't start training for track and field until her 11th year of school but was soon a three-time team MVP. In 2006, Owusu-Agyapong became the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations champion in the 100-meter dash.
It was a place she fast became accustomed to.
"Well competitions in Toronto, or at least the region I was in, it wasn't really that big," Owusu-Agyapong said. "There weren't really a whole lot of runners there. Coming out here it's like everyone is running really, really fast. You're like 'Wow,' and you have to step back and find yourself again."
Next up for the Owusu-Agyapong and the Orange is the Larry Ellis Invitational in Princeton, N.J., as the Big East championships loom just two weeks away.
This season, as member of the Syracuse track and field team, Owusu-Agyapong outran the vast majority of her fellow, and often more experienced, teammates. In her first indoor season with the Orange, Owusu-Agyapong broke the school record in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.52 at the ECAC Championship in January.
She fell short of her goal of posting an NCAA Regional qualifying time during the indoor season, and her name didn't enter the record books under easy circumstances. Her performance at ECAC came after significant strife because of something else she had become accustomed to.
Owusu-Agyapong's season training took a devastating blow when she was sidelined with what the coaching staff reported as a minor injury. This wasn't a huge surprise as Owusu-Agyapong battled injuries throughout her high school career. Owusu-Agyapong had to work her way back through a slow rehabilitation process. Each month represented a different benchmark as she fought to return.
During the month of October, Owusu-Agyapong didn't run at all. As weeks fell off the calendar, progress gradually occurred. November marked the return of running but still no sprinting. After nearly three months, Owusu-Agyapong could finally come back to sprinting in December.
Owusu-Agyapong didn't start training for track and field until her 11th year of school but was soon a three-time team MVP. In 2006, Owusu-Agyapong became the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations champion in the 100-meter dash.
It was a place she fast became accustomed to.
"Well competitions in Toronto, or at least the region I was in, it wasn't really that big," Owusu-Agyapong said. "There weren't really a whole lot of runners there. Coming out here it's like everyone is running really, really fast. You're like 'Wow,' and you have to step back and find yourself again."
Next up for the Owusu-Agyapong and the Orange is the Larry Ellis Invitational in Princeton, N.J., as the Big East championships loom just two weeks away.
This season, as member of the Syracuse track and field team, Owusu-Agyapong outran the vast majority of her fellow, and often more experienced, teammates. In her first indoor season with the Orange, Owusu-Agyapong broke the school record in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.52 at the ECAC Championship in January.
She fell short of her goal of posting an NCAA Regional qualifying time during the indoor season, and her name didn't enter the record books under easy circumstances. Her performance at ECAC came after significant strife because of something else she had become accustomed to.
Owusu-Agyapong's season training took a devastating blow when she was sidelined with what the coaching staff reported as a minor injury. This wasn't a huge surprise as Owusu-Agyapong battled injuries throughout her high school career. Owusu-Agyapong had to work her way back through a slow rehabilitation process. Each month represented a different benchmark as she fought to return.
During the month of October, Owusu-Agyapong didn't run at all. As weeks fell off the calendar, progress gradually occurred. November marked the return of running but still no sprinting. After nearly three months, Owusu-Agyapong could finally come back to sprinting in December.
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