Published: Wednesday, Jul. 15, 2009 / Updated: Wednesday, Jul. 15, 2009 05:17 PM
Track duo speeding off to collegiate teams
FORT MILL TOWNSHIP --
If they had never met each other, Quanika Blackmon and Adrienne Cuff wouldn't be where they are today.
The two Fort Mill High School graduates, side by side most of the way, competed on the Jackets' track and cross country teams together for three years and together, they ascended to the region's top spots in their events.
This fall, they will part ways, each moving on to a collegiate running program. Blackmon will be running at Limestone College in Gaffney, Cuff at Charleston Southern.
“We definitely ran off of each other. We pushed each other, and for the last year we seemed to be step by step with each other,” Cuff said. “The teamwork we had together worked… and we always cheered for one another. We were happy if the other one won because it made us better in the long run.”
Although they came together for each race on the track, Blackmon and Cuff came from very different running backgrounds.
Running in the Blackmon family has become somewhat of a tradition.
Quanika has two older sisters, Angelina and Tiayonna, both of whom went on to run for North Carolina State after high school.
“I've been running since I was a little kid,” Blackmon said. “I've always looked at my sisters as role models for me.”
It may seem like growing up in a family of athletes would make it easier to pick up a particular sport, but Blackmon said she has always had to work hard to become a fast runner.
“It makes it more rewarding in the end,” she said.
Cuff's running history is a little different.
She didn't even begin running until her sophomore year at Fort Mill High. She actually spent her freshman year as a cheerleader before trying out for the track team.
“I don't really know why I did that,” Cuff said about choosing running as her new sport. “But I came out and I was pretty good at it, so I stuck with it.”
Last year, both Cuff and Blackmon finished in the top 25 in the state cross country championships, but in was during track season, in the 800-meter dash and the mile run, when they really began to dominate the competition.
Running almost side-by-side in most races, Blackmon and Cuff went on to finish first and second respectively in region 3-AAAA in both events.
Blackmon went on to place eighth in the state in the mile.
“I had a good time coming up. It was a good learning experience for me,” Blackmon said.
She said she is excited about running at Limestone, although competing to N.C. State in the footsteps of her sisters is a possibility down the road.
“I'm really excited about the new coaches (at Limestone). They're looking to bring in a lot of talent… I want to get a lot better there, hopefully transfer to a division one school,” Blackmon said.
Cuff said she is really excited about the atmosphere and the higher level of competition at a college program like Charleston Southern.
“The coaches are really nice and really energetic about building up the program,” she said. “I'm excited about trying something new- maybe the steeplechase. It looks interesting.”
Even though both girls are focused on what is ahead of them, they both said they will miss a lot of things about the Fort Mill team.
“I guess my favorite part (of running at Fort Mill) was hanging out with the girls, being able to be a leader for them,” Blackmon said. “I had a really good time seeing my teammates get better, and having them be there for me, too.”
Both girls are completing summer training programs in Fort Mill during the summer.
Blackmon will join the Limestone track team Aug. 14 and Cuff moves down to Charleston to begin training with her team on Aug. 18.
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