UH's Injuries slowly healing

Sports Opinion

By Tom Carpenter
Daily Cougar Staff

Ifoma Jones should be an Olympian. Like the ancient Greeks who began the Olympic games, Jones believes "moderation in all things" is the best policy.

The 5-6 senior business major from Houston insists on keeping a low profile, except in her specialty, the heptathlon. "I just played sports and went to school; I was never really a teenager," Jones said. "I don't do much except study and practice."

Ifoma means "she has done well," in Nigerian. Her mother named her child well.

Jones was an NCAA qualifier in the high jump for the 1998-99 indoor track and field season after tying the UH high jump record with a leap of 6-2 to win the AllSport All-Comers meet.

She won the Conference USA high jump and the heptathlon championships the past two years, and hopes to make the Olympic squad that will be competing in Sydney, Australia this summer.

The 1998 outdoor season culminated with Jones finishing 18th in the heptathlon at the NCAA championships. In the 1999 outdoor NCAA championships, she finished fifth in her signature event.

The heptathlon consists of the long jump, the high jump, the 100-meter hurdles, the javelin, the 800-meter race, the shot put and the 200-meter dash.

Jones began her college career at McNeese State, but transferred to UH after her freshman season. "I wanted to get away from home, but I didn't choose the right place. I didn't know about the coaches here. I came back home just to come back home," Jones said. "Once I met the coaches here everything was all right. I love my coaches. Coach (Tellez) is the best."

The versatile athlete won the 1998 Outdoor C-USA heptathlon title with 5,173 points.

Jones says her time is valuable and she spends it with her focus on the future. "I'm pretty much a loner. I like being around my family. There's not enough time in the day to study for school and practice track and field and have much of a social life."

Jones has the Olympics on her mind, but she isn't certain which event she'll participate in when she tries out for the squad.

"I try to keep it in perspective. I don't want to get too high and lose my focus," Jones said. "After the 2000 season, the heptathlon is going to be changed to the decathlon, adding to it the discus and pole vault, which makes it just like the men's events. I'd like to try pole vaulting; it looks fun."

Jones is glad she went to college, but she says she probably wouldn't even go to school if it weren't for track and field.

"I couldn't see myself just going to school, being a straight student and studying. It would have been too hard to go to school and study and work too. I might have gone to school, but I wouldn't have enjoyed it," she said. "That's too boring for me."

Jones will graduate in December. She intends to pursue a career in professional sports when her college days are past. 

"I'm just looking forward to no more studying, no more tests, no more reading chapters for the next day," Jones said.