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8 - Friday, January 29, 2010
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
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Singleton sprints past life's obstacles
From Page 1
die his disability was simply to live like
he didn't have one.
"I grew up in a loving family," Single-
ton said. "They treated me like everyone
else. I was in a community that let me
play sports since I was a kid. I was play-
ing basketball, football, track."
In fact, he was a skilled enough athlete
to be ranked one of the top 100 football
prospects in the state of South Caro-
lina as a high school senior. But Single-
ton decided against pursuing any sports
dream he may have had, accepting an
academic scholarship to Morehouse Col-
lege in Atlanta to study math, physics and
engineering.
It was there, while doing academic
research about prosthetics in 2006; that
he learned about the Paralympics. He
read an article about Marlon Shirley, an
American two-time Paralympic cham-
pion.
"I approached the coach at Morehouse
and told him I was going to try and be
a Paralympian," Singleton said. "That's
"Hopefully, by the
time my career
is over, I'll be
remembered."
what got me back into track. It made me
want to see if I could compete at that
high level."
Singleton joined Morehouse's team
and eventually made his first U.S. Para-
lympic squad, participating at the Para-
lympic Pan-American Games in Rio de
Janeiro in 2007. His success in the T-44
amputee category led to his selection to
the U.S. team for the 2008 Beijing Para-
lympic games, where he won gold as part
of the 4x100 relay and captured silver in
the 100-meter dash.
Singleton came to Ann Arbor in 2008
to finish his education through a special
dual-degree transfer program. Before he
even arrived, Michigan men's track and
field coach Fred LaPlante took notice.
"We had a fella on our team, Dominic
Smith, who had been in that (dual-degree
program)," LaPlante said. "I asked Domi-
nic, 'Hey, do you know this Jerome Sin-
gleton?' He said, 'Yeah, he's coming to
school.' And I said, 'I'd like to meet him,
just to welcome him being here' ... He
came by and we just started chatting and
I think maybe by the second or third time
he came by, he said, 'I'm here, would you
coach me?' And that's how it started."
So began a relationship both parties
acknowledge as nothing short of spe-
cial. Because of his past participation at
Morehouse and NCAA transfer rules, the
sprinter had no eligibility left. He could
never be a Wolverine. Nonetheless, the
coaching staff took him under its wing.
Singleton experienced some early inju-
ry problems, but after Bo Sandoval, the
strength coach for the team, arrived this
past fall, his development took off. For
his part, Sandoval, who has experience
working at the U.S. Olympic Training
Center and with other Para-athletes, said
that it has not been difficult at all to work
with someone with Singleton's condition,
especially because of his attitude.
"We just have to tailor techniques
and get things to fit him," said Sandoval.
"With (Jerome), he's always wanting to
favor the side that he doesn't have the
prosthetic on, so it's a matter of keep-
ing some balance ... It's just easier with
him because, again, he has that high-
level experience, so there's no hesitation.
There's no confidence issues or anything
like that. He's an extremely confident
person."
The trio of strength trainer, track
coach and athlete, in general, has high
confidence in its propensity for success.
They all operate under the idea that there
are no limits to Singleton's development.
"With (LaPlante) ... I've never had a
coach take the time to try to make me
be as good as possible," Singleton said.
"I want to at least let him know that his
efforts are showing results. I know that
if I tune in to what they have to say, we're
going to take it to a-whole-nother level,
and it's going to be very exciting."
The relationship between the young
sprinter and his 59-year-old coach is an
intriguing one. They may have their gen-
erational differences (when told his coach
compared him to Mick Jagger, Singleton
could only laugh as he had no idea who
the singer was), but their bond is strong.
And despite all the praise Singleton heaps
upon him, LaPlante is quick to downplay
his role in his pupil's success, saying to
this day he does not really understand
everything surrounding Para-athletics.
"I just happen to be the guy that's
here," LaPlante said. "I really enjoy it
because when anybody's got a passion for
what they do, no matter what it is, that's
exciting. Here's a guy who really embrac-
es the sport, embraces his academics,
and life in general. He's really a joy to
be around. Guys like that, you're always
pulling for."
Last Saturday, Singleton competed
at the Simmons-Harvey Invitational in
Ann Arbor, a non-scoring meet open to
participation from non-team athletes.
The crowd was abuzz with excitement
as he lined up for the 60-meter dash,
erupting with cheers when he broke the
T-44 amputee world record for the event,
posting a blazing time of 7.34 seconds
and shattering the old mark by 44 hun-
dredths of a second - an astonishing
margin. Singleton said that, though he
has set records before, this one was "spe-
cial" because he did it in front of people
who care about him.
Despite his incredible feats on the
track, there has been one athlete Single-
ton has been unable to top: Oscar Pisto-
rius, the South African double-amputee
who made global headlines in 2008 when
he won a legal battle making him eli-
gible to compete with able-bodied ath-
letes. Pistorius missed out on his goal,
however, failing to qualify for the Bei-
jing Olympics. (For the record, Singleton
agrees that Para-athletes should be able
to compete with able-bodied performers
and would be running for Michigan if not
for his lack of eligibility.)
"I just hate to lose," Singleton said.
"After I win, I'm thankful. But after I
lose, it sticks with me for a long period of
time. You have to go for the win, you have
to at least test your boundaries. I've been
blessed to beat most of the Paralympic
athletes out there."
It was Pistorius who defeated Single-
Jerome Singleton, a student in the School of Engineering, won two medals at the Paralympic Games in Beijing in 2008. Singleton originally enrolled at
Morehouse College, but through a dual-degree program, cameto Michigan and met men's track and field coach Fred LaPlante.
ton in the 2008 Paralympics by a mere
three hundredths of a second. Though
they have had several good battles, Sin-
gleton has yet to pull away and take vic-
tory. They are the two best Para-athlete
sprinters in the world, and share a rival-
ry that, in typical Singleton fashion, is
friendly off the track but vicious on it.
"We talk off the track, but when you
come to the track, it's about business,"
Singleton said. "Until I beat Oscar, (los-
ing) is going to stick with me for a long
period of time."
Despite what has been put in front
of him, Singleton has fought diligently
through it with a grin.
"Him being around the guys on our
team is terrific," said LaPlante. "They see
a guy who's very dedicated to what he's
doing and works hard. He's one of the
guys. We give him crap like everybody
else. That's the fun part of it all."
Above all his tangible athletic ambi-
tions (besting Pistorius, winning gold
at the World Championships in 2011 and
then in London at the Paralympics in
2012), Singleton said his main goal is to
change the perception of the disabled
through his sprinting.
"If I can come out and run for a short
period of time and make people feel a lit-
tle bit better about themselves, or make
them want to take that next step and
just walk a little bit more, get a little bit
more healthy, that's what I would like to
do," Singleton said. "Everyone out there
wants to see something special and I'm
going to provide that for them."
Singleton will graduate with an engi-
neering degree this December. What
happens beyond that is anyone's guess,
but there doesn't appear to be any goal
out of reach.
"I have faith," Singleton said. "I pray
at night, and I have a lot of faith. If I stay
humble and really believe ... I would like
to become a legend in terms of Paralym-
pics, one of the best to ever come through
the sport. I'm going to work for it, and
hopefully by the time my career's over,
I'll be remembered."
Michigan and MSU will meet
in 'Big Chill at the Big House'
'M' tallies first back-to-back
conference victories after
dominant win at Illinois
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By TIM ROHAN
Daily Sports Writer
Chris Brown didn't have the best expe-
rience the first time he skated outside, on
a pond. The 11-year-old Texas native was
up north for a hockey tournament when
he and a few friends made their way to an
outdoor rink.
With his friends, Brown, now a fresh-
man forward at Michigan, chose an
unsafe neighborhood to go skating in -
and inadvertently upset the local kids.
So, as Brown recalls, a peace offering of a
hockey stick was exchanged as they left.
"It was really different," Brown said.
"It's not as smooth as skating on regular
ice. But it was fun. You get a whole bunch
of kids from Texas, 10 to 11 years old, not
really knowing what's going on."
Growing up in the Southwest, he didn't
get many chances to play on outdoor
rinks. But next season, Michigan hockey
fans, players and coaches alike are in for
a memorable outdoor hockey experience
of their own.
On Thursday, Michigan and Michigan
State announced finalized plans of an
outdoor game tobe played Saturday, Dec.
11, 2010 in Michigan Stadium. The two
teams started the recent trend of outdoor
hockey with the "Cold War" in 2001 - a
3-3 tie at Spartan Stadium.
The event has already been officially
dubbed "The Big Chill at the Big House,"
and with about 30,000 more seats than
Spartan Stadium, it could potentially
break the world record for attendance for
a hockey game, set at 74,544 in the origi-
nal "Cold War."
"It's going to be so much fun," Brown
said. "Hopefully that place will sell out. I
have no doubts that it probably will. It's
going to be fun. To play a team like Mich-
igan State outdoors, not only will it be a
great game, but a great rivalry."
Michigan coach Red Berenson grew up
playing on outdoor rinks, and he knows
how exciting outdoor hockey can be.
"This will be an unforgettable event
whether it is Chris Brown or a kid that
grew up in Canada living in Ontario that
played some outdoor hockey," Beren-
son said. "They'll never forget this. And
they'll like the hockey. The puck will
move quick. You'll feel quicker on your
feet if we have a cold day. ... You move
quick. And things happen quick. And the
game is played quick, and if it's cold out,
it's even better."
Michigan will play in an outdoor game
this season against Wisconsin in the
Camp Randall Hockey Classic on Feb. 6.
But the added factor of the rivalry with
Michigan State and the location has both
teams already buzzing about the game.
"MichiganState-Michigan is one ofcol-
lege hockey's great rivalries, and this will
be a grand stage on which to showcase it,"
Michigan State coach Rick Comley said in
a press release from the Athletic Depart-
ment. "This is an exciting event for the
student-athletes, coaches and staff, and
the fanbases of both schools. When these
teams face off, it is a game that people pay
attention to nationally - and having one
of our games outdoors in Michigan Sta-
dium will create even more excitement
and energy."
According to the press release, the
playing surface will be placed at the cen-
ter of Michigan Stadium on the 50-yard
line and the end boards will extend to the
17-yard lines at each end.
With the plans set, the big question
now is whether Berenson will be coach-
ing the Wolverines in the Big House. He
is currently on a one-year rolling con-
tract and is expected to sit down with
the administration sometime in May to
decide whether he will return.
"I'd love to be either coaching that
game or be part of it," Berenson said. "I'll
be at the game even if I'm not coaching it.
But I'm hoping to be coaching it."
Since the "Cold War," the NHL and
other college hockey teams have taken
the game back to its roots. There will be
a total of ten outdoor games played at the
end of this winter.
"The game was always anoutdoorgame
and now it's played indoors," Berenson
said. "It seems special. There's something
throwback (about it). The players love it.
Because a lot of them, especially the older
ones, played a little bit outside. And a lot
of the fans remember hockey being out-
side. But still, it's amazing its embraced as
much as it is. And I think everyone who
has gone to these games and these events
have come away really glad they went."
By ALEX HERMANN
Daily Sports Writer
After finding its shot, adjusting to the
physicality of the Big Ten and nabbing a
few wins, it's
apparent that MICHIGAN 64
the Michigan ILLINOIS 48
women's bas-
ketball team may have finally turned the
corner.
With the Wolverines' 64-48 victory over
Illinois last night, the team has won back-
to-back Big Ten games for the first time in
almost two years. The 16-point rout also
represents Michigan's first double-digit
conferencevictory away from Crisler Arena
since a win at Northwestern in 2004.
The Wolverines stormed out of the gate
with a quick 10-0 lead and never looked
back.
With a five-game losing streak and
three senior starters benched, the Illini
(3-7 Big Ten, 11-9 overall) never took a lead
and couldn't muster a serious run to tie.
"It's obviously a very big win," Michi-
gan coach Kevin Borseth said after the
game. "Anytime you can win on the road
convincingly, that's good stuff."
Sophomore forward Carmen Reynolds
led Michigan with a career-high 21 points.
She went 5-of-7 from downtown, extend-
ing her hot shooting. The Hillard, Ohio
native has hit 56 percent of her 3-pointers
the last five games.
"I was just feeling it offensively," Reyn-
olds said. "My shot was falling. I kind of
laughed a couple of times because it looked
like wasn't going in, and somehow it ended
up going in, I didn't know how."
It was a career night for freshman for-
ward Nya Jordan as well, scoring a season-
high nine points, and continuing to show
that, as her role expands, her statistical
contributions will as well.
Overall, the Wolverines dominated the
stat sheet. Michigan outrebounded the
Illini 37-28, shot 18 more free throws and
scored 19 points off 18 Illinois turnovers.
But things won't be as easy for the
Wolverines (4-6, 12-8) when they return
to home next Sunday to host No. 23 Penn
State. The Nittany Lions have won 10 of
their last 12 games.
"Penn State, in my mind, has the most
talent of anybody in the conference,"
Borseth said. "They can pull up right in
your face, and right now,,on a dime, they
can just come right at you. They are load-
ed."
A win against the Nittany Lions, cou-
pled with the team's early-season success,
might set the Wolverines up nicely to make
a run at the NCAA Tournament.
"They are one of the teams at the
top of the Big Ten right now," Reynolds
said. "Hopefully we are. able to carry the
momentum over and keep getting these
wins. Because we can, I know. We're on
the verge of something great"
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