Ocean Township’s Nembhard looks to run her fastest at the big meets

Will begin indoor season at Seton Hall Games

BY TIM MORRIS Staff Writer

BY TIM MORRIS
Staff Writer

Indoor track may not be suited to Georgina Nembhard’s strength, but she still approaches it with the same fervor.

“I don’t use the indoor season to prepare for outdoor,” the Ocean Township senior said. “I treat both seasons the same. I race to win.”

Which means you can look for the Spartan sprinter to make an impact at the state championships.

Although the longer 100- and 200-meter dashes (along with 100 hurdles) that are contested outdoors are what Nembhard is best at, she’s pretty darn good in the short 55-meter races.

Last winter, Nembhard was the county and conference champion in the 55-meter hurdles, and at the State Group III championships was second in the hurdles and fourth in the 55 dash and the 200.

Last June, Nembhard won the State Group III titles in the 100 and 200 and finished second in both at the Meet of Champions. She pointed out there were two ways to look at those MOC silvers.

“It means I lost twice,” she pointed out. “It also means I was second in the state of New Jersey. It boosts my confidence knowing that if I can get that close, I can win.”

Nembhard will begin her indoor season Wednesday at the Seton Hall Games. She will do both the 55 dash and hurdles, and hopes to run an open 200 as well.

Her biggest goal of the indoor season with regard to the clock is to do 7.0 or under in the 55-meter dash. Her ultimate goal is to earn All American honors. If there is any difference at all between indoor and outdoor track, it’s the area of concentration in workouts.

“The only difference is that you work more on your power because the race is shorter,” Nembhard said. “I’m lifting a lot more than I used to.”

Nembhard goes into the 2006-07 winter season with no outside pressure. She has already made her college decision, signing with the University of Georgia last month. She has put that potential distraction behind her.

“I wanted to go into my winter season knowing that I don’t have to prove myself,” she said.

Nembhard made visits to Villanova and the University of North Carolina-Greensboro before settling on Georgia.

“I went in with an open mind,” she said. “Georgia is where I felt most comfortable. I think I made a very good choice.”

What sealed it for the Spartan was how Georgia’s sprint coach (Tonya Lee) “talked to me as a person, not an athlete.”

No one can blame Nembhard if she feels a little lonely this year. She’d been linked with Tiffany Grant the last couple of years. She and Grant (the 2006 outdoor MOC winner) formed one of the most dangerous one-two sprint duos in the state. They brought home state championships and relay titles by the score in indoor and outdoor track for the Spartans. But this year, Nembhard is on her own, with Grant having graduated on to Georgia Tech. Grant had a hand with getting Nembhard to Georgia.

“We still talk to each other,” she said. “I talked to her about it [college] and she thought it [Georgia] was good fit for me.”

Georgia and Georgia Tech are only an hour or so apart, so that even if they won’t be teammates again, Nembhard and Grant will still be close to each other.

The indoor season will feature a new site for the state meets: the new facility at Toms River North High School will be the new target for the state’s best instead of Princeton University’s Jadwin Gymnasium.

The indoor season will take athletes up to the New York Armory in New York City, the Rothman Center at Fairleigh Dickinson University, Seton Hall University and the Armory in Jersey City.

The first championship meet of the season will be the State Relays at the Jersey City Armory Jan. 12-14. The Monmouth County Relays in Toms River are Jan. 25.

February, which begins with the 100th Millrose Games at Madison Square Garden on the 2nd, is championship month. The Monmouth County meets will be held Feb. 3 in Toms River followed on Feb. 10 by the Shore Conference championships in Toms River. The State Group meets are Feb. 15-18, with the Meet of Champions Feb. 24 for the girls and Feb. 25 for the boys.

The Eastern States at the New York Armory are Feb. 27. The Scholastic Indoor Nationals are March 9-10 and the Nike Invitational in Landover, Md., is March 10-11.