THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, May 3, 1996 TAG: 9605010115
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 27 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BILL LEFFLER, CURRENTS SPORTS EDITOR
LENGTH: Short : 44 lines
WITH TWO MORE YEARS of college track ahead of her, former Wilson High star Latasha Colander already has established herself as one of the all-time great hurdlers at the University of North Carolina.
Colander won the 100-meter hurdles in the recent Atlantic Coast Conference outdoor meet. Earlier she captured the ACC title in the indoor 55-meter hurdles. She also won the indoor 200-meter dash.
Becoming an ACC champion was one of the many goals Colander set when she accepted her athletic grant to UNC.
Still ahead are goals of an NCAA championship and an Olympic gold medal.
A 5-foot-4, 117-pound sophomore, Colander is majoring in communications and is in the midst of exams this week.
She already is the holder of the all-time ACC mark in the 100-meter hurdles, posting a 13.27 in the Coaches Invitational as a freshman. This matches her personal record. She registered a similar time when finishing second in the 1995 USATF Junior Nationals.
Colander also has shattered the UNC record in the 55-meter hurdles with a l7.57 time.
In high school at Manor and Wilson, Colander never lost in the 100-meter hurdles. She racked up the third best time ever for a female high school hurdler, the 15th best by any American high schooler.
A two-time winner of the Gatorade Circle of Champions Award in Virginia, she also earned the Track and Field News High School athlete of the year award.
Colander was sixth in last year's NCAA Championship in the 100-meter hurdles and is looking forward to being a title contender this year. ILLUSTRATION: Staff file photo by MARK MITCHELL
Latasha Colander, pictured when she was a Wilson High star, has made
her mark at the University of North Carolina by winning three titles
in the Atlantic Coast Conference outdoor meet.
by CNB