 "Photo: Patrick Clayton")
Sophomore Gabby Mayo and junior Porscha Lucas are friends, competitors and share the dream of competing in the Olympics.
At comparable stages in their track careers, they have taken similar paths and faced similar challenges as they hope to bring Texas A&M an NCAA Outdoor Championship.
Lucas and Mayo started track in the seventh grade. Lucas, a Plano, Texas, native, and Mayo, from Raleigh, N.C., have people to thank for their successes.
"My aunt, who was my high school coach, got me to where I am now," Mayo said. "She ran track at Clemson and was at the 1996 Olympics. Her and my dad were the ones that got me started."
Mayo said her first experience with track did not go well.
"The very first time I ran track was in fifth grade," Mayo said. "I quit."
Lucas had a different experience growing up. Her natural talent and skill were a surprise to her.
"In middle school, I broke our city record in the 200-meter, so I thought to myself, 'maybe I should stay in this,'" Lucas said. "So I continued running and I broke district and regional record in high school. I continued to get better coaching, so that really made me love it."
When deciding on potential colleges to continue their track careers, Lucas, a kinesiology major and Mayo, a sports management major, had many choices.
Lucas got offers from Baylor, Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and South Carolina, but wanted to go to A&M.
"The school itself and all the networking A&M has was really important but I guess the main reason would be the coaches," Lucas said. "Coach [Vince] Anderson is a great coach and I know he has done so many things throughout his years of coaching. All of them know what they are doing."
Mayo was in a different situation when college was on the horizon.
"I was the No. 1 recruit in my class so I could have gone anywhere," Mayo said. "I only went on two visits. I only went to Southern California and here because the other schools, there was no other point. I could have gone to any school you could name. I even got a letter from Harvard."
Lucas and Mayo had one reason in common for choosing A&M: the coaches.
"I really like the coaches," Mayo said. "They are the number one reason why I came here."
Lucas and Mayo have developed a friendship as competitors and teammates during their years at A&M.
"We hang out," Mayo said. "I go to her house, she comes to mine, stuff like that."
When it comes to competition on the track, Lucas and Mayo compete in almost all the same events, including the 100-meter, 200-meter and 4x100-meter relay.
Lucas' personal record in the 100-meter edges Mayo by .01 seconds with Lucas running a 11.12 and Mayo a personal best of 11.13. Lucas also has a quicker personal record in the 200-meter with a time of 22.29 and Mayo a 22.88.
"I guess in a way our competitive side does that for us," Lucas said about competing against Mayo. "It's good encouragement to have someone running fast and to be there with you."
Their sprints coach, Vince Anderson, has coached Lucas and Mayo for the past two years and has noticed a competitive edge between them.
"You are concerned as a coach if there isn't a competitive edge there," Anderson said. " As coaches, we encourage them that when they race against each other on the track that they are not your teammate, they are another competitor and if you don't get that then you are not going to last in this sport."
In the races they do compete against each other in, they have an outlook they agree on.
"We will say 'don't say who will come in first,'" Mayo said. "We don't say who will come in second. We just say we will get top two."
Lucas and Mayo comprise two legs of a strong 4x100-meter relay team, which Mayo anchors as the last leg, and Lucas the second leg.
"I think they run very, very well, which of course is required," Anderson said. "If they did not, one of them would not be on the team, because there has to be an understanding and a chemistry and a sort of meeting in the middle of all persons in a relay."
Lucas and Mayo have aspirations to go to the Olympics when their college track careers end, but Lucas said there could be other possibilities.
"I definitely want to go professional in track and then I also want to go to nurse school," Lucas said. "I went to trials last year and I made it to the third round, so in 2012 I will hopefully make the team in the 200-meter. I got sixth in the third round, and you have to be top three to make it to the next round."
Mayo shares Lucas' drive to make the Olympic team.
"I don't feel pressured, but if I get there I'll be happy," Mayo said. "It's my dream. I have three events to choose from. I can do the 100-meter, 200-meter or the hurdles. I like all the events the same. "
Anderson said Lucas and Mayo have a good shot at making the Olympic team, but they have work ahead of them.
"I think both have a chance to go to the Olympic games if they continue to get better," Anderson said. "I think right now, today, neither one is good enough to make our Olympic team. You have to be incredibly good, indescribably good, to make our Olympic team.
"Three women make it in the United States in a nation of 300 million people. The average age is 28 years old. You not only have to be talented, you have to be experienced, razor-sharp, and good. So, if both of them manage their careers and their development in a continued way, both can definitely have the Olympic experience if they keep getting better."
Lucas and Mayo have their work cut out for them to achieve their dream of the Olympics, but right now they are focusing on bringing the Aggie women their first NCAA Outdoor Championship.
"I think this year we will be unstoppable," Mayo said. "We have so much depth on our team it's ridiculous. I think if we all get it together by nationals we will come out on top."
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