T
odea-Kay Willis marvels at the support the Golden Gophers receive at competitions all over the country. She hears people say, “Go, Gophers!” on planes or at track and field meets far from Minnesota, and she wonders, “How are you here?”
But people probably wonder the same thing about Willis. The native of rural Mavis Bank, Jamaica, goes to school and competes in the sprints and long jump thousands of miles from her island home. Willis is not the only Caribbean athlete to flourish up north at Minnesota. Alena Brooks of Trinidad and Te’Shon Adderley of the Bahamas currently compete for the Gopher women, and Jamaican Titania Markland recently signed a National Letter of Intent to join the team. Another Jamaican, Emmanuel Onyia Jr., is a freshman on the Gopher men’s team.
PHOTOS: ERIC MILLER
The National Pastime “Track and field in Jamaica is like the NFL here,” Onyia said. Children in Jamaica are exposed to the sport at a young age, from spur-of-the-moment races between friends to organized school sports days. Jamaica’s grassroots programs and Olympic success grab kids’ attention early. When they reach their teen years, they may compete for their schools within four different age groups at the annual Boys and Girls Championships at the National Stadium in Kingston. “Even before you walk into the stadium, when the lights hit you, the sound of the horns hits you, it’s indescribable,” Willis said. “I’m kind of getting goose bumps thinking about it. You feel like it’s a mini-Olympics.” The competition draws capacity crowds of 30,000. The atmosphere rivals the national Olympic Trials. “Sometimes the meet has to stop because the walkways are blocked,” Willis said. “So they have to stop to make sure the police can clear the walkway just so in case anything happens, people can exit safely. People are outside, can’t get in. You have to get your ticket early. It’s a big deal.” Willis won gold in the long jump as a senior, surpassing the 20-foot mark for the first time and beating the girl favored to win the event. Onyia took silver in the shot put his last year at “the Champs.” In both Trinidad and the Bahamas, club sports are more prominent than school sports. Brooks’ first love was netball, a sport similar to basketball that is played with two teams of seven players, where she represented Trinidad in international competition. A club coach convinced her to join his track club in addition to netball, and she eventually chose track over netball when forced to pick one, because she was motivated to beat the girls she had been racing. Adderley started track in fifth grade and was competing internationally by the next year. She
started in the short sprints, but another coach convinced her to try the 400. She would practice with the mid-distance coach at 5 a.m. and then go to her regular practice in the afternoon. Adderley chose the 400 (and eventually 800) in the end. On The Recruiting Trail The framework for recruiting the Gophers’ current crop of Island athletes started coming together before any of them got to high school. It started when Matt Bingle, now Gophers’ director of women’s track and field/cross country, had a Jamaican track teammate during his undergraduate days at Ball State. As an assistant coach, Bingle started recruiting Caribbean athletes before his arrival at Minnesota in 2002. He was at Eastern Michigan in 1997 when he got an important phone number: that of Leacroft Bolt, who eventually coached Willis at St. Andrew High School. “We have stayed friends,” Bingle said. “I’ve watched his kids grow up. We’re really, really close. We’re like family. He’s just a really good person.” Before Willis and company, Bingle recruited the likes of Kadian Douglas ( Jamaica) and Bianca Dougan (British Virgin Islands). Nyoka Giles (Trinidad) came in at the same time as Willis and graduated last year. One of the greatest obstacles Bingle faces in his attempts to sign islanders is the weather. In a place where indoor track is not necessary, the thought of a long winter can intimidate recruits. So Bingle highlights the people and the opportunities the University of Minnesota and its athletics program can offer. “It’s all based on relationships and knowing what they’re going to get from me,” he said. One way that Bingle sets himself apart from other coaches is simply by showing up. Not only does he keep in contact with recruits, but he actually makes the long trip down to the Caribbean to meet them in person. “I think I was the only coach to go visit Titania twice,” he said. “I was the only coach to go visit Alena, if I remember correctly.” “It meant a lot to me just because it made me feel special,” Brooks said. “My friends back home also made me feel special. They made it a big deal.” Brooks was impressed that Bingle came to her practices and met her family, rather than just watching meets. He and his wife also met Willis’ family. “It meant a lot, because I didn’t get to come (to Minnesota to visit),” Willis said. “(Bingle) taking the trip to Jamaica to see me really showed character and it showed the level of commitment that he was willing to make to me.”
THE ISLANDERS
>>
Te’Shon Adderley
Nassau, Bahamas / junior 400, 800 meters
>> Alena
Brooks
Diego Martin, Trinidad / senior 200, 400 meters
>> Todea-Kay
Willis
Mavis Bank, Jamaica / senior long jump / 100 meters
>> Emmanuel
Onyia
Montego Bay, Jamaica / freshman shot put PHOTOS: JERRY LEE