The Traveler

Issue date: 5/2/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Chris Bryan J-Mee Samuels (left) and Colt Davis (right) of Arkansas compete in the second heat of the men's 200-meter dash at the Arkansas Invitational earlier this year. Samuels finished first with a time of 21.73 and Davis second with a time of 21.78.

Sophomore sprinter J-Mee Samuels was making headlines long before he was named the Southeastern Conference's runner of the week last week for the second time this year.

As a senior at Mount Tabor High School in Winston-Salem, N.C., Samuels was named the Track & Field News Athlete of the Year in 2005, proclaimed the best prep sprinter in the country after breaking an almost two-decades old national high school record in the 100-meter dash, tying Justin Gatlin's American Junior Record set in 2001.

Samuels is in elite company, considering Gatlin, the former Tennessee Volunteer and Olympic gold medalist, was once called, "the best sprinter in the world," by five-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Johnson, who holds multiple world track records.

In high school, Samuels had memorable duels on the track with Trindon Holliday, whom Razorback fans better remember as the LSU kick returner who ran a kick back 92 yards for a touchdown in the Hogs' heartbreaking loss at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock last fall.

The East Coast sprinter said he came to Arkansas "to win championships," and he found favor with Arkansas head coach John McDonnell, who has 42 national track championships, before he ever stepped foot in Fayetteville.

"He's the best prep runner ever," McDonnell said. "He has all the credentials."

When an athlete catches the eye of a 30-time national coach of the year who has worked with Olympic medalists, he's doing something right.

But with enormous hype comes high expectations.

Samuels failed to win a race in his freshman year, finishing no higher than 10th in a major event in the 2006 indoor season and peaking with a runner-up finish in the prelims of the 100-meter dash at last year's Penn Relays.

Samuels' sophomore campaign started with a bang, as he set a personal best in the 60-meter dash and recorded his first NCAA provisional-qualifying mark at the Arkansas Invitational. He was named the SEC runner of the week for the first time Jan. 16.

Continued...

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