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North Carolina A&T's Randolph Ross Already A Leader In Father's Program

Published by
DyeStat.com   Mar 9th 2020, 4:05pm
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Family Matters: North Carolina A&T Success Energized By The Relationship Between Father And Son

By Kris Rhim for DyeStat

North Carolina A&T head track coach, Duane Ross, thought he'd planned a hard workout for his 400-meter sprint group.

It was early in the season, so athletes were still getting into racing shape. The workout was six 400s with 90 seconds rest in between each. As he watched the group go through each rep, however, things weren't going as planned.

One of the athletes seemingly wasn't getting tired.

"My assistant coaches (Ron Garner and Bill Dunn) and I were just sitting there watching, and he nudged me and said, 'Hey man, that kid isn't getting tired! I was like, 'I think you're right!,'" Ross said, laughing. "That's when I was like, 'I think this kid is gonna be good.'"

The "kid" who was leading the pack that day is also Ross' son Randolph. The 6-foot-1 freshman currently has the fastest 400-meter time in the NCAA at 45.44 seconds.

Entering the NCAA Division 1 Indoor Championships on Friday and Saturday in Albuquerque, N.M., Ross is actually listed second among the 400 qualifiers behind the 45.51 produced by Texas A&M senior Bryce Deadmon. Ross’ mark is listed as 45.53 to factor the adjusted altitude conversion since the race was run at 3,256 feet elevation in Lubbock, Texas.

It's safe to say the kid has been a lot more than good.

rand

When Randolph Ross was making his college decision, his father says it was one of the most challenging moments in his life. His son was choosing between a bevy of schools, including North Carolina A&T, Ohio State and South Carolina.

While his father being at A&T played some role in Randolph Ross’ decision to consider the school, the Aggies have earned their place among the top sprinting programs in the country.

Since Duane Ross took over as head coach at North Carolina A&T eight years ago, the Aggies have slowly built a program that is producing big talent and competing at the national level.

Last season, Kayla White won the NCAA Indoor title in the 200 meters – becoming the sixth female athlete in Division 1 history from a Historically Black College or University to win a national championship – and Trevor Stewart placed second in the outdoor 400 final.

Even though the Aggies have a proven record of producing talented sprinters, Duane Ross wasn’t sure if his son was going to go to A&T, or if he even wanted to. He did his best, however, to guide him in the decision-making process objectively.

"There were a lot of times where he would call and tell me about a visit, and I'm thinking like 'Aw, man,'" Duane Ross said. "(The recruiting process) was painful, but I did it because I love my son and my kids. I wanted to see him happy wherever he was."

Duane Ross is going through a similar situation this year with his daughter, Jonah. In her senior season at Garner Senior High in North Carolina, she ranks 15th in the U.S. in the 200 meters and 17th in the 60-meter dash.

"He always wanted me to make my own decisions," Randolph Ross said. "He helped with what schools would be good at this or that, but he never pressured me to go to a school, I just made a decision that this was the best option for me to run fast."

Randolph Ross would eventually make his decision in an exciting way. In his high school gymnasium, he had the logos of what he said were his top three schools in front of him: Iowa, South Carolina, and Ohio State. As he flipped the Iowa sign down, followed by the Southern Carolina sign, the crowd applauded as it seemed like Ross was on his way to Ohio State. He then flipped the Ohio State sign down and slowly zipped down his hoodie to show his gray North Carolina A&T shirt and received a loud applause.

To ease his father's stress, Randolph made sure to let him know a few days prior that he would be choosing A&T.

"I didn't know he was going to do his reveal like that," Duane Ross remembered. "Another coach comes up to me at our regional meet and says, 'Hey, come on man, you could have told us he was just gone’ go 'head and come there!'"

While Ross was somewhat unsure of what decision his son would make, Aggie assistant coach Tempest Vance always had a feeling that Randolph would commit to A&T. She's been a part of Duane Ross' coaching staff since he began at A&T in 2012. She remembers Randolph, or “Junior” as she calls him, coming to the track on weekends. She was amazed at how much Randolph developed as a runner during his time in high school.

"I can just remember in the beginning he didn't really take it seriously,'' Vance said. "He was definitely talented. Then it seemed like overnight his sophomore year going into junior year, something just switched, even the way he trained was different."

Growing up in Garner, Duane Ross raised his son on the principles of discipline, hard work and respect. Ross believes that his son's upbringing has contributed to his transition as a leader at A&T.

"He is my leader. He doesn't complain. He just does what's asked, and that's one of the reasons he's good," Duane Ross said. "He's a perfect example for the rest of the team, someone that just gets on the track and gets it done."

Running fast also helps, of course, and Randolph Ross has done a lot of that. Along with his 400 time, his personal-best 20.85 seconds in the 200 ranks 16th in the country, although he is only scheduled to run the 400 and 4x400 relay at the Division 1 championship meet. 

In high school, the fastest Randolph Ross ever ran the 400 was 46.60 seconds and 21.26 seconds in the 200, both of which he did outdoors. Ross never lifted weights in high school, so he and his father knew that once he knew he got the proper strength training in college, he would run faster, but neither expected it to be this soon.

"He did surprise me," Duane Ross said. "I wanted him to focus on his natural ability and grow as a young man, and he didn't do a lot of interval work or weight training, so I knew when he got to college that he would prosper, but I did not know that he would prosper this fast."

A lot of Randolph's success, he says, also comes with trust. There's a level of confidence he has in his father that is different from what he’s had with prior coaches. He understands that his father always has his best interests in mind.

"In high school, we would do the workout, but we wouldn't understand the purpose behind them, so it took away from the workout because we weren't doing it at full capability,” Randolph Ross said. "Now that I've gotten older, I understand everything he is doing is to help. I know there's no reason to complain, just run."

duane 

In his last race before making his NCAA finals debut, Ross won the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference 400 title in 46.20 seconds, breaking the conference championship record.

Stewart finished just behind in 46.80 seconds.

The teammates headline an Aggies 4x400 relay that ranks No. 2 in the country at 3:04.12 behind Texas A&M (3:03.21) and No. 8 in all-time collegiate history.

Heading into the national meet, the freshman feels no pressure. Randolph has more lofty goals to accomplish, especially during outdoor season.

"I wanna go ahead and win the 400 and the 4x400 and then, win the outdoor team title," Ross said, "And this outdoor (season), I want to qualify for Olympic Trials."

There's only one thing that really makes one of the elite 400 runners in the NCAA nervous these days, and it's trying not to call his coach, 'Dad' too loud.

"Sometimes I say, ‘Dad,’ but it's always an accident," he said, laughing. "I just don't think it sounds professional at the track, so usually I'll just walk up to him and say something."

For Duane Ross, he doesn't mind it, because he's always wearing the figurative Dad hat as a coach.

"He calls me, ‘Dad,’ but that's OK because some of the other guys do too," he said with a laugh. "I am wearing the dad hat all the time, because dad is tougher than the coach, especially on my own."



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