Southern U. Track Star Runs to Her Own Beat

By Dominique Gibbs and Brandi Worley
Black College Wire

Erikka Thomas traveled to all of her cross-country meets with her CD player blasting some of her favorite tunes to get her psyched for her competition.

Photo credit: Douglas Toussaint/Southern Digest Southern's cross country runner Erikka Thomas chooses music as her muse.

When the 21-year-old sat on the bus with the Southern University men's and women's cross- country team, her headphones were on and she would go into relaxing mode. Right now, her choice is the rapper Lil' Wayne's song "Go DJ" from the album "Tha Carter."

"I just listen to it during warm-ups or on my way to the meet," the Lady Jaguar senior said. "Once I get there, I am in a zone, I warm up with the team, but most of the time I am by myself and when he (Wayne) gets to the chorus I just play it through my head and map out how I am going to run in the meet."

The 5-foot, 105-pound Tallahassee, Fla., native has placed no less than second this season. She was 2003 All-SWAC Player of the Year, Southern's Most Outstanding Cross Country Runner and the Most Valuable Cross Country Runner.

Her personal collegiate best times have been in the mile, with 4 minutes, 54 seconds; 2-mile at 10:49, and in the 3.1-mile race, at 19:05.

"The farther I come out in the front, the better my team is going to be," Thomas said. "I feel happy when I come in first, because then I know that I've helped my team out."

Thomas has been the captain of the Lady Jaguars team since her sophomore year. She practices with the men's team daily for the extra mileage and works out in the weight room.

"Erikka is very competitive, she had a couple of track injuries, she ran just as well and practiced just as hard during that period," Southern head coach Johnny Thomas said. "She's a dynamic person with great character, she accepts her responsibilities and does what she is assigned."

It all started for Thomas because she thought she needed exercise.

"When I was a freshman in high school, I joined the track team just to get in shape," said Thomas, a secondary education major. "And because all of my friends got on. But I stayed and got good at it."

While at Tallahassee's Rickards High School, Erikka was the first person in eight years from her school to attend the state competition. During her senior year, she placed fifth in the three-mile cross country meet at 19:27.

Thomas said she would use her music to keep her focused during races.

"The same little part (the chorus) repeats in my head for the whole three miles, that's just something to keep my mind off running. I'm nervous every time I get into the line because you never know who has their day," Thomas said. "So I just try to stay focused; I don't want to underestimate anybody."

When Thomas is not racing on hilly or curvy terrain, she uses her free time to relax.

"It's never easy to be the best, nor is it easy doing anything that's really worth your effort, but you don't have to be the best to put in work," Thomas said. "What keeps me going are my teammates; they're like family, they look up to me. They are the ones who keep me stable."

Dominique Gibbs and Brandi Worley are students at Southern University at Baton Rouge who write for The Southern Digest.

Posted Nov. 15, 2004