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STUDENT-Athlete Profile: Camelia Blake
The senior for Virginia State University ran the women's 60-meter hurdles in a time of 8.93, good enough for third at the CIAA Championships and making Blake a provisional qualifier for the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships, to be held in Houston, Tx., in March. A few hours later, her cell phone rang as the VSU team bus was pulling onto campus. It was her grandmother. It was bad news. Blake's father, who had been battling a long illness, had died. He had not seen his daughter race since high school, but his influence on her had continued even in his absence. "My dad was real big on being the best you can be," Blake said later. "He always told me to keep doing what I've been doing." Blake has run track for the Lady Trojans ever since coming to VSU. "It was my goal this season to run below nine seconds,' Blake said. Blake ran the preliminary round in a time of 9.01, barely missing the 9-second mark. Her finals time was her personal best. "It's a huge achievement to score in the CIAA's top three hurdlers," Blake said. The two runners who beat me (both from Johnson C. Smith University) were ranked seventh in the nation." Blake also has her future planned out after her track days are over. After graduating in May, Blake will become the Assistant Director of Compliance at Chowan University in Murfreesboro, N.C. "I already have a two-year contract," Blake said. Somewhere, Blake's father must be proud. |
On February 14, 2009, Camelia Blake laced up her shoes, pulled off her warm-ups, and went out ran the best race of her life.