NCAA sprint champion Remona Burchell targets faster times and more trophies

“I want to defend my titles, I want to PR again in all my events… I want to run faster, everybody wants to run faster. I just want to be the best,” said Remona Burchell (RB), the reigning NCAA indoor 60m and outdoor 100m champion. Remona, a senior at the University of Alabama, who has personal best times of 11.03 seconds in the 100m and a school record 7.11 seconds in the indoor 60m, is poised to again dominate the NCAA this upcoming season. The Westmoreland, Jamaica-born sprinter, has outlined her goals for the 2014-15 track season. The goals are to defend her titles, to run faster times and to make the 2015 Jamaican World Championship team.  TrackLedger.com (TL) caught up with the Herbert Morrison High (Jamaica) graduate and her current coach at the University of Alabama, Matt Kane (MK). TL: Did you participate at the Boys and Girls Champs? RB:Yes, but for only 2 years. I competed two years for Herbert Morrison in 2010 and 2011 TL: How was the Champs experience for you? RB: Overall it was good; my first year wasn’t good. I compete but I really didn’t compete and perform as well as I wanted to. But 2011 was a better year; I competed more and performed better. I finished 2nd in both the 100m and the 200m Finals for Class 1 girls. TL: After leaving Herbert Morrison [coached by Claude Grant], you came up to the United States; where did you go to school? RB: I went to Butler Community College in Kansas. TL: How was that adjustment for you coming from Jamaica? RB: At first, I was a little off, but after a while, I got used to it. It was really different from home; the weather, the food and everything else was different. TL: As far as track and field is concerned, how did you do at Butler [coached by James White & Jeff Becker]? RB: I would say I did pretty good. In my first indoor season, I PR with a time of 7.52 seconds in the 60m. For the 100m outdoor I also PR; I ran 11.73 seconds at Herbert Morrison and I ran 11.42 in my first year at Butler. So it wasn’t a bad experience. TL: Did you win at the NJCAA championship? RB: In my second year at Butler, I won the indoor 200m and at the outdoors, I won the 100m and came 2nd in the 200m. TL: What influenced your decision to attend the University of Alabama? RB: The atmosphere was great and the coaches were really interested in me. They showed a lot of interest in getting me here. And the athletes who were already here, let me feel welcome so I am very happy with my decision. TL: In your first year at Alabama, you won the indoor 60m and the outdoor 100m NCAA titles. How do you feel about that? RB: I feel really, really good and I am happy with my accomplishments. I didn’t really come here with the expectation that I would be national [NCAA] champion twice in one year, but I am very happy about that. TL: How do you feel about your 100m performance at the 2014 NCAA where you dominated the field? RB: Well, after winning the 60m indoor title, my confidence level rose, and I became very confident in myself… I knew I could do it. At first I was very nervous, but I got over that [nervousness] and just focused on what my coach was telling me, to just go out there and compete, as I know I could. TL: You now have a bull’s eye on your back, so the other ladies will be gunning for you this season, how is training going for you? RB: Training is going ok, I am working hard. TL: Your coach Matt Kane and the rest of the Alabama coaching staff must be doing a good job with you. What is training like for you? RB: Training is intense; we are working on techniques and the little stuff that will get us ready to compete. TL: Will you be ready this season? RB: Yes, I will be ready to compete. TL: What are your expectations this upcoming season? RB: I want to defend my titles. I want to PR again in all my events. I want to run faster; everybody wants to run faster. I just want to be the best. TL: With your impressive time of 11.03 seconds in the 100m, do you have your sights set on the 2015 World Championship? RB: Yes I have that in mind; that’s one of my goals for next season, so I am looking forward to competing at Trials [Jamaican Trials] and hope that I can make the team. Coach Matt Kane (MK) discusses Remona’s  progress: TL: What is it like coaching the reigning 100m champion, the fastest woman on the collegiate circuit last year? MK: It’s always good. To be honest with you; I kinda just enjoy watching her growth over the year. I think when she won the 60m indoor title, she kinda surprised herself, but you can absolutely tell that she was excited and a little shocked with the time[7.11 seconds]. But by the time she got to the outdoor season, she kinda matured a lot and kinda expected to win.  So coming back this year, she is different; she is not complacent at all and we can tell that she can do even more and she is working really really hard,  so it’s being good and she is doing fantastic. TL: Remona is going into the season with a PR of 11.03 seconds; is sub-11.00 seconds in the 100m a reality this season? MK: It’s interesting to see what’s going to happen. She is actually ahead this year in training and preparation compared to where she was last year at this time.  Her 11.03 second is a world-class time, and we gotta believe that there is more there. She is excited about seeing things this year that she struggled with last year; she is seeing things a lot easier and is picking things up a lot faster this year, so we are definitely excited. TL: When will she open up her season? The plan is to have her open up individually at the end of January [2015], depending on how things go. She will be opening up in the 60m. She will compete in about 4-5 indoor meets. For the outdoor season, she will likely open up at the Florida Relays. We also plan on keeping things low key so that she can have the summer that we want her to have. We want her to run fast for Alabama, but we also want her to run faster during the summer time [Jamaican Trials], so that’s our goal.   O'Neil A. Reid can be contacted at oreid@trackledger.com  and is the author of "Banned for Life, The Steve Mullings Story".  O'Neil is also the host of  the weekly sports show "The Sports Zone with the Professor" streaming live at www.Jamminzradio.com  from 12.00 noon to 2.00pm EST every Saturday. Edited by Raymond Byfield, RaymondByfield@hotmail.com   Like us on  Facebook Follow us on Twitter