They came to SMU for the chance to train with one of the bestcoaches in the world and train with some of the best athletesaround. But with the surprise removal of the men’s team,these track athletes are left with the perplexing decision of whatto do, where to go, and what happened?
Sixteen years of success over
He came to SMU from Stanford 16 years ago to determine thedirection of the track program, make all the decisions and recruitathletes he knew possessed the potential to become the best in theworld.
And in that time head coach Dave Wollman has proved successfulwith his recruiting techniques. Wollman’s teams produced 154All-America athletes and 81 All-Americans.
In the past several years, both the men and women provedthemselves top contenders at NCAA competitions. In 2002, themen’s team finished third at the NCAA Outdoor Track and FieldChampionships. The team last won a national title in 1986 and hasfinished in the top 20 for eight consecutive years.
“I look for people who want to be Olympians,”Wollman said. “I’ll take those with less talent as longas they have the dream and desire to be the best.”
The 2004 men’s team, facing one of the biggest challengesan athletic team could face, could potentially produce some of thebest athletes in the world.
Although the team will be removed from the SMU athleticcommunity next fall, they continue to train and compete among thebest, knowing next year their lives will change immensely.
Although Wollman may continue coaching the women’s team,many of his hand-selected male athletes will be removed from theteam, a team they love like family.
“We have Olympic gold medalists and people who willsomeday be the best in the world all training together,”Wollman said. “The unique thing about SMU is the familyatmosphere, the unity between sprinters, throwers, distance runnersand even between the men and women.”
The family environment of champions is an important factor tothe success of the program.
With their pre-season goals still intact and their individuallong-term goals of the Olympics in mind, both teams are focused onfinishing this season and competing for the NCAA title.
In this hectic situation, Wollman’s first concern is forhis athletes. After the athletic department’s decision to cutmen’s track and field was made, Wollman and his staff helpedcomfort the team and provide help with their future plans.
“I took care of the panicked athletes first,” hesaid, “and now we are all back to having the focus we need inorder to compete.”
Although some of the men decided to stay around next year andhope to train with Wollman, he isn’t exactly sure what hisown plans for the future are.
Current athletes, future plans
Walk-on Stephen Downey knows the decision to cut the men’strack and field team may affect him less than the athletes onscholarship, but he still feels betrayed.
“I came to SMU to run,” Downey said. “Awarning would have been nice.”
Downey, a sophomore distance runner and business major fromAtlanta, said that the track team had been in a “downwardspiral” since the beginning of the year. Coach ReneSepulveda, who Downey described as “a good coach and friendto his athletes,” left to take the head coach position atOklahoma State University.
“He was the main reason I came to school here,”Downey said. “After he left, the men’s distance teamfaded severely.”
“Now the team has been cut,” he said.
The common complaint Downey cited was the lack of communicationof the decision in advance. Even so, he said the team reallyappreciated the support it received from the student body.
“There were numerous offers from friends and acquaintancesto start a rally or just start something to help us,” Downeysaid. “I think by the time that the public found out, though,it was too late.”
Downey started running track his freshman year of high school.Due to the fact that he will be studying at SMU-in-Britain nextyear, the option to transfer is not available for Downey.
For Downey, the implications of the decision show a biggerpicture that extends beyond SMU.
“I think it’s sad how sports have become more of abusiness than the thrill of both competing and watching youngathletes participate in their respective sports,” hesaid.
Downey will miss track but is interested in participating inother sports, such as club hockey, recreation baseball or coachinga little league baseball team.
“I am trying to find the other doors that have opened withthe situation, although I am pretty disappointed,” hesaid.
Oleksandr “Sasha” Lutsenko, a sophomore hammerthrower from Uman, Ukraine, is also evaluating other options atSMU.
Lutsenko, a hammer thrower for eight years, plans to stay andtrain under Wollman through the fall of 2004 and will decidewhether or not to transfer later.
Like his teammates, Lutsenko does not want to face the realityof next year. He said his dedication to the sport got him to theUnites States to study. Now, his priority is finishing hiseducation and returning home.
Junior Einar Hjartson hopes to compete in the Olympics some day.He came to Texas from Iceland to join the track team at theUniversity of Texas. His sophomore year, he came to SMU to increasehis chances of Olympic glory. However, now with no team to competewith, he cannot transfer and still graduate on time.
He is taking his only stable option: remaining at SMU.”Wehave a world-class coach right now. Everyone under his guidance hasimproved greatly,” Hjartson said.With mixed emotions aboutwho may transfer and whose Olympic hopes have turned to unreachabledreams, Hjartson just wants some consistency in his life.
“If [SMU] won’t let me train on campus, then I willfind some place to train. All I want to do is train with[Wollman],” Hjartson said.
Luckily for Hjartson, he has two more years of eligibility left.This summer, he plans to try for the 2004 Olympics in Athens,Greece and train hard during the next two years. His dream may soonbe a reality; he missed the last Olympic trial by only a quarter ofan inch.
Another player who plans to finish at SMU while training underWollman is Hannes Hopley. Hopley finished third at the NCAA’shis first year at SMU, and last year he won the NCAA title in thediscus competition.
Although Hopley is physically “small” at six feet,he throws the discus farther than most athletes’ dream of.For him to reach his own Olympic dream, Hopley must throw thediscus at least 64 meters (about 210 feet.), just two feet abovehis personal record.
“It was really hard in the beginning,” Hopley said.”But now we are just trying to focus on the outdoorseason.”
Hopley said he chose SMU because of Wollman. As one of the bestthrowing coaches in the world, Wollman helped Hopley improve histechnique and took him from No. 140 in the world to No. 33 in lessthan a semester.
“There are so many cool things about Hannes,”Wollman said. “He has a good heart. He’s verydedicated, and just a great kid.”
“Hannes’ mental growth is phenomenal,” hesaid. “He has stayed tough through the rough times. Althoughhe doesn’t look ‘world class,’ he has come torealize he can be the best. He’s at the mental levelthat’s needed to be the best in the world.”
Hopley plans to continue training with Wollman and graduate fromSMU in May 2005. After graduation he plans to go home to SouthAfrica to see his girlfriend of two years and train untilhe’s “too old.”
Hurdler Keith Kelley reacted with feelings of disbelief, angerand disappointment when he received the news about the news of theteam’s removal.
“There is nothing we can do about it,” Kelley said.”And that is the most frustrating part.”
Kelley, a 6-foot-8-inch sophomore from Minnesota, has movedfrequently since he was three years old. In the past 16 years hehas lived in six different states, and the sudden demise of thetrack team may make it seven.
Kelley is keeping his options open, but transferring is one ofhis possibilities. He is even thinking of trying out for the SMUbasketball team next year as a walk-on.
Kelley said that the team is not the only group affected by thisdecision.
“A large part of the SMU community is upset about[Athletic Director Jim Copeland’s] decision. I have even hadnon-track friends that have wanted to protest in our favor,”he said.
Those athletes who decide to transfer are left in a toughposition. They wish to stay but in order to continue their athleticcareer, they must leave their coach and teammates.
However, being such distinguished athletes, many of these mendid not have difficulty finding a new school. And with the guidanceand help that Wollman provided, the men found some competitiveprograms to join next year.
“It’s a pity, but I’m going to have toleave,” freshman Mickael Hanany said.
Hanany, a high jumper from France, only spent one semester atSMU and is unsure of what lies ahead for him.
Hanany said he plans on staying in the United States, andsent his transcript to many schools, including UTEP, USC andFlorida State. Still, he is also not sure where to continue histraining.
Paul Teinert, a javelin thrower, made the decision to transferto Cal-Berkeley.
“My decision is bittersweet,” Teinert said.”I’m excited to get to continue to compete, but I amsad to leave behind such a great coach and such greatteammates.”
Sophomore throwers, Jerome Bortoluzzi and Michael Robertson aretransferring together to Stanford, taking with them theirinternational acclaim. Bortoluzzi, one of the top-ranked hammerthrowers in his age group in Europe, is sad to leave his teammatesbut excited for this new opportunity.
Robertson, last year’s third place discus thrower at theNCAA Championships, is a valuable addition to any team and isexcited to continue training with his current teammate.
As for Wollman, he has the option to stay at SMU to coach thewomen’s track team. And with so many men wanting to trainalongside him, it is likely he will stick around.
“Sometimes you have to be patient and wait for the rightjob,” he said. “I enjoy training men and women, butI’m willing to try [training women] and see whathappens.”
The last leg
The loss of one of SMU’s top athletic programs came as asurprise to many in the SMU community.
The men are forced to leave the track, field and weight roomsempty; however, their maturity and hard work did not go unnoticedwithin the athletic community.
The missing factor to this equation is the thoughts expressedfrom the other half of the track team: the women.
The two teams train together everyday, root for each other atevery event and support one another out of the arena.
“The women feel like they’ve lost half of theirheart,” Wollman said. “The decision affectedeveryone.”
These athletes continue to pursue excellence, although they knowtheir athletic career at SMU will soon end.
“I’ll miss it so much. … Everything about it. Wehave a great team, great people, a distinct culture inside thisteam,” Hopley said. “I’m not sorry for one minuteI spent here.”
The following writers also contributed to this story:
Ariana Farris, Julie Shields, Elizabeth Bagnati, AlixMcAlpine, Alicia Booker, Stacy Goodfellow, Danielle Capper, JessicaDahl, Kasi DeLaPorte and Leslie Smith
