Phiri ready to run at NCAAs

If confidence is a byproduct of winning, then Texas A&M senior sprinter Gerald Phiri has plenty.

Phiri and the Aggies are entering the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships looking for the first men's and women's double-title threepeat in history, and Phiri's role on the men's side is huge. But he's not sweating it.

"I don't feel any pressure," he said.

Although the A&M men and women each have won back-to-back national championships, the men's sprint relay squad has had its fair share of disappointment.

Phiri runs the second leg of the Aggies' 400-meter relay team, and head coach Pat Henry described him as a mainstay of the group. He's joined by senior utility sprinter Tran Howell, 400 standout Demetrius Pinder and freshman Prezel "P.J." Hardy Jr.

In 2009, a disqualification cost the team points in the event. In 2010, a botched baton transfer between the usually dependable Phiri and Howell forced another disqualification. Now they've got one thing on their mind.

"We need to get the stick around," Howell said. "We dropped the baton between the third and fourth leg [in 2010]. We want this weight lifted off our shoulders, and that means we've got to get it around."

In a sport largely characterized by its individualism, relays provide a sense of teamwork, of reliance on one another.

"This is a team a lot like a basketball team," Henry said. "Together, they set a tone, and those guys get excited about winning as a group."

Only a freshman, Hardy anchors the team and feeds off the performance of the three runners before him, relishing the opportunity to be part of a cohesive group.

"Me being the anchor, I'm looking around the track," Hardy said. "I see Tran getting off the blocks and handing to Gerald, and I see him coming in and getting it to Demetrius and I start getting amped. I get down and ready to go, locked and loaded, just full of energy."

In a race that can be won or lost by fractions of a second, every motion by each sprinter counts. None is more pressing nor more dramatic than the passing of the baton, which can make or break a race -- and a national championship for that matter. One gaffe, one misstep and a team finishes last. Perfecting the timing involved in the handoff takes some work.

"We don't leave the track until we've had a good day by [Henry's] standards as far as handoffs are concerned," Hardy said.

And Henry's standards are the highest. Having won 31 national championships -- including four at A&M -- he recruits athletes that can get the job done. But once they arrive on campus, Henry and his staff make sure their athletes' mental abilities match the physical.

"Track is a mental game," Henry said. "It's not just about running down the track and turning left. You've got to be ready and prepared mentally, and a lot of that has to do with being confident in what we do."

Confidence can only get a relay team so far. Once the gun sounds and those world-class athletes push off the blocks, execution is paramount.

"If you're going to win the short relay, you've got to be perfect at what you do," Henry said. "And we're trying not to be second. I don't want to be second and neither do they. We want to win it. The goal is to win."

Phiri and Howell have had the opportunity to hoist the team trophy, but that 400 relay crown has been elusive. Still, Phiri exudes coolness.

"I'm more confident about the relay than I have been in recent years. We just work so well together," he said.

The team will begin its quest Wednesday at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa.

For Howell, Phiri and Pinder, it's an opportunity to earn some more jewelry. For Hardy, it's will be the chance to start his own collection.

"I've stolen [the championship ring] from them, worn it a couple times," Hardy joked.