Tolbert runs like those winds back home. In addition to clocking an NCAA-record
54.54 seconds in winning the 400-meter hurdles title, Tolbert also finished
third in the 400-meter run at the NCAA meet. Each of the races ranks as
one of the most grueling in track. Together, they rank as the most taxing
double.
Vanderbilt head track coach Paul Arceneaux said Tolbert, extremely laid
back off the track, was totally focused for her hurdles race.
"Ryan was charging the whole way," he said. "Usually, she
just runs fast enough to win, but today she left no doubt. With three hurdles
to go, you knew she was going to win."
Her parents, Greg and Gail Tolbert, watched their daughter at the NCAA meet
in Bloomington, Ind. Greg is retired from the Air Force. Her mother works
at the Air Force base commissary in Clovis but arranged her schedule to
be on hand.
"It was the first time she had seen me run collegiately," said
Tolbert, who hopes to run track professionally after graduation and later
plans to attend law school. "I was glad they were there."
It's safe to say that Vanderbilt assistant coach Lori Shepherd was almost
as happy to see Tolbert win as were her parents. Shepherd coaches the Vanderbilt
hurdlers and had vowed about 18 months ago that she would abstain from burgers
and fries until Tolbert won an NCAA title in either the 400-meter hurdles
or 400-meter run.
"I had the biggest hamburger in Bloomington Friday night," said
Shepherd with a laugh.
Tolbert also anchors Vanderbilt's 4x400-meter relay team and is an outstanding
long jumper and high jumper with personal bests of 18-0 and 5-8, respectively.
In fact, she was recruited by Vanderbilt for her abilities in the heptathlon,
a difficult regimen that includes the 200-meter dash, 100-meter hurdles,
800-meter run, long jump, high jump, shot put and javelin.
Tolbert's demanding academic schedule at Vanderbilt made training for the
heptathlon difficult because of the long hours necessary to excel in seven
different events. An injury her freshman year forced her to drop the heptathlon
for the time being. Arceneaux and Shepherd suggested she try the 400-meter
hurdles as a complement to her 400-meter run training. By her third race,
she had already qualified for the Olympic trials.
Tolbert picked Vanderbilt over a number of other schools which pursued her
after she had won the 100-meter high hurdles and the 300-meter intermediate
hurdles in the New Mexico state meet four straight years. She was the state
meet high point scorer from 1991 to 1994. She was also president of the
National Honor Society and a Student Council senior representative at Clovis
High School.
"I came to visit and I liked the school, the academics, the area and
the weather," she said. "I liked being part of a program that
was starting, beginning from the ground up."
A human and organizational development major, she has done more than her
part in building Vanderbilt's track program. The Commodores finished with
17 points in NCAA Outdoor Championships, good enough for 14th place in the
team standings. In 1996, the team recorded top 25 finishes at both the NCAA
Indoor (22nd) and NCAA Outdoor (25th) Championships.
Her excellence helped attract other top athletes to the Vanderbilt program.
Freshman Amanda Helberg, who finished second to Tolbert in the 400-meter
hurdles at the SEC meet and eighth in the NCAA meet, was aware of Tolbert
when she chose Vanderbilt and relished the opportunity to train with her.
The week after winning the NCAA title, Tolbert finished third in the 400-meter
hurdles at the USA Track and Field Championships in Indianapolis. She ran
a personal best of 54.21 in finishing behind two American legends, Kim Batten
and Tayna Buford-Bailey. Batten won the event for the fourth straight year.
She and Buford-Bailey own the top two times ever recorded in the women's
400-meter hurdles.
Tolbert's third-place finish qualified her for the World Track and Field
Championships to be held in Athens, Greece, Aug. 2-10.
"Ryan can be as good as she wants to get," Arceneaux said. "She's
got enough potential to win an Olympic gold medal and set new world standards."