Collin Matiza
13 January 2012
FOLLOWING the departure of Ngonidzashe Makusha from Florida State University at the end of last year, the American college is grooming another Zimbabwean track and field athlete – Paul Madzivire.
Like Makusha, Madzivire specialises in sprint and long jump events and is already expected to fill in the big shoes of the former athlete who won the 100m and long jump titles at last year’s NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Madzivire, a former pupil of Gateway High School in Harare, is on an athletics scholarship at Florida State University where he is also majoring in economics.
He is now a sophomore (second year student) at Florida State University.
The 21-year-old Zimbabwean athlete is part of this year’s Seminoles’ men’s and women’s indoor track teams who will open the 2012 season with top 10 rankings and high hopes of improving on solid finishes at the NCAA Indoor Championships, with an eye toward a highly-anticipated, outdoor season.
According to the official website of Florida State University, their head coach Bob Braman is looking at Madzivire and Phillip Young to pick up the scoring slack left behind by multi-time NCAA champion long jumper Makusha this season.
Braman’s FSU men’s team open the season ranked No. 6 in the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association pre-season poll, while the women check in at No. 9. Both Seminole squads will be represented by a small contingent competing in today’s Crimson Tide Indoor Opener at the new CrossPlex Indoor Track and Field Facility in Birmingham, Alabama.
The initial rankings are based largely on the returning student-athletes from the 2011 season, which the Seminoles capped with a fifth-place finish by the FSU at the NCAA Indoor Championship and a ninth-place finish by the women.
Senior All-American sprinter and Olympic hopeful Maurice Mitchell will lead the way for the Seminoles after finishing second in the 200m and third in the 60m dash at last year’s NCAA Indoor Championships.
In fact, the Seminoles should continue to boast one of America’s top sprint contingents, which received a boost with the January arrival of Louisiana State University transfer Horatio Williams.
Williams was a five-time All-American for the Tigers last season. Returning sprinters Kemar Hyman and David Ambler, plus the addition of touted newcomers Stephen Newbold, Kieran Showler-Davis and Rachmil van Lamoen, could all factor in scoring.
Senior Michael Putman, and All-American outdoors in the shot put, is back for his final season with the ‘Noles.
Junior Andrew Lahaye was an All-American outdoors in the pole vault. As usual, the Seminoles’ distance contingent will be led by veterans David Forrester and Mike Fout, both of whom are coming off cross country All-American honours.
On the women’s side, senior Amanda Winslow is the lone returning NCAA Indoor Nationals scorer, after placing fifth in the mile run in 2011.
That doesn’t mean the ‘Noles will be short on those with championship meet experience. Michelle Jenije (triple jump), Marecia Pemberton (60 meters) and Amy Harris (long jump) were all NCAA qualifiers last season and plan to be back for this season’s championship meet at Nampa, Idaho.
FSU will have to find a way to replace the scoring of graduated All-American Kim Williams, who spent her entire career on the NCAA podium in the triple jump and long jump. Distance coach Karen Harvey’s crew could provide some help.
In addition to Winslow, graduate student Hannah Brooks is coming off an All-American performance outdoors in the 1 500 meters, while Violah Lagat looks like a potential scorer in the 800.
“Coach Harvey is going to put together a really good distance medley team together this year,” said Braman, figuring a quartet that will include Winslow, Brooks and Lagat, plus touted freshman sprinter Jande Pierce in the 400, should score well at nationals.
While Braman’s focus will be clearly on preparing for the outdoor season, the ‘Noles should still be a formidable challenger, especially on the men’s side, when they head to Reggie Lewis Centre in Boston for the ACC Indoor Championships from February 23-25.
Paul Madzivire Profile
All-ACC
Long Jump Outdoor: 2011
Collegiate Best
Long Jump: 7.54m (outdoor), 7.39m (indoor)
2011 Track
Outdoor
- Â Member of the team that won the 4x100m relay at the FSU Relays early in the year.
- All-ACC selection in the long jump after finishing as the runner-up in the event at the ACC Outdoor Championships.
- National qualifier in the long jump.
- Had the second-best long jump of any freshman in the nation this year.
- Finished as the runner-up to teammate Ngoni Makusha in the long jump finals at the ACC Championships.
- Indoor
- Placed fifth in the long jump at the ACC Indoor Championships.
- Personal: Born on May 28, 1991.
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