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Two-sport star Jeomi Maduka '09 narrows her focus Two-sport star Jeomi Maduka '09 narrows her focus For many college athletes, watching the Olympics is a chance to see their idols compete at a level they can only dream of. For Jeomi Maduka '09, it was a wakeup call. Maduka, a biology and society major, just […]

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Two-sport star Jeomi Maduka '09 narrows her focus

Two-sport star Jeomi Maduka '09 narrows her focus

Jeomi Maduka '09For many college athletes, watching the Olympics is a chance to see their idols compete at a level they can only dream of. For Jeomi Maduka '09, it was a wakeup call.

Maduka, a biology and society major, just missed a trip to Beijing last summer— she finished one spot too low in the long-jump finals at the Olympic trials in Eugene, Oregon. But unlike her competitors, she did so shortly after being named Ivy League Player of the Year and an All-American honorable mention on the basketball court.

Maduka's status as a top-rank athlete in two sports was unique at Cornell—and probably in the NCAA. So it came as a surprise when she announced in October that she would no longer play basketball in order to focus on track and field. "It was an eye-opening experience to be considered on the same level as these athletes I admire, when I wasn't even practicing track that often," says Maduka. "Watching the Olympic opening ceremony on television and realizing how close I came—I decided to see how far I can go."

Jeomi Maduka '09

Maduka was not thinking about the Olympics when she first arrived in Ithaca. In fact, the Texas native chose Cornell because it was one of the few schools that would allow her to play basketball while still competing in track. "Even though I came to visit Cornell as a track recruit," she recalls, "the track coaches let me meet with the basketball coaches. Everyone was so accommodating, and I could do both sports freely without having to worry about problems with an athletic scholarship."

For three years Maduka balanced the demands of the two sports, often competing in track meets and basketball games over the same weekend. Along the way, she accumulated a stack of accolades including thirteen Heptagonal championships and a dozen Cornell track and field records, along with her basketball awards. "I had fun doing both sports and never thought it would go beyond that," she says. "But when my coach [Nathan Taylor] told me that I have the potential to jump a certain distance if I do this or that, it made me consider what I was capable of. And to have [current long-jump world record holder] Mike Powell tell my coach that he thinks I'm good was such a 'wow' moment."

Maduka credits her basketball team-mates for being supportive, despite their initial shock. After she told the head coach, Dayna Smith, about her decision, she met with the team to explain her goals. "For the most part everyone was understanding, and I thank them for that. It was really emotional, but it was something I had to do." Maduka is now focusing on the 2012 Olympics, but she has goals beyond the London competition— including medical school. The daughter of Nigerian immigrants, she hopes to one day open clinics in the villages where her parents grew up.

While relieved to have the decision behind her, Maduka says she feels more pressure now that she has focused her efforts on one sport. "I find that not playing basketball makes it harder, because I have no excuses," she says. "Even if I don't achieve my goal, at least I will have the experience of knowing what it's like to devote all my time to one thing and seeing the outcome."

— Liz Sheldon '09

Big Game

hockeyNovember 29, 2008

On the Friday after Thanksgiving, the men's hockey team took on the University of North Dakota on their home ice—and came out on the short end of a wide-open 7-3 game. The next night the Big Red returned to form, playing tight defense and winning 2-1. Cornell took the lead in the first period on a shorthanded goal by Michael Kennedy '09. That score looked as if it might hold up, as goalie Ben Scrivens '10 turned away shot after shot, but the Fighting Sioux finally tallied late in the third period. The tie was broken two minutes later during a Cornell power play, as a onetimer by Evan Barlow '09 deflected off Colin Greening '10 and went into the net.

Sports Shorts

UPS & DOWNS The football season that looked so promising when the Big Red started 3-0 ended with a thud on November 22: a 23-6 loss to Penn on the frozen (plastic) tundra of Schoellkopf Field. It was the final game for 33 seniors on the Cornell squad. One bright spot on an otherwise gloomy day was the play of Bryan Walters '10, who picked up 42 yards on two kickoff returns to become the all-time Ivy League leader in that category. After the season ended, senior safety Tim Bax was named first-team All-Ivy; tackle Steve Valenta '09 and wide receiver Jesse Baker '09 earned spots on the second team while honorable mention went to quarterback Nathan Ford '09, linebacker Graham Rihn '09, tackle Quentin Bernard '10, and Walters.

AIRTIME Recognition of a different sort went to Nathan Ford when his name was mentioned during an episode of the NBC comedy "The Office." The popular show includes a Cornell alumnus named Andy Bernard among its characters. Ford's big moment came when another character—attempting to get under Bernard's skin by announcing plans to attend Cornell himself—said that "Nathan Ford's arm looks pretty strong" as he discussed the Big Red's chances against Penn.

Belen Martinez STICK STARS Belen Martinez '09 capped her illustrious career by being named to the National Field Hockey Coaches Association Division I Senior All-Star team. A four-year starter, Martinez also garnered All-Ivy honors for the fourth time and became the first Big Red player to be named all-region three times when she earned second-team Mideast Region All-America honors. Team-mate Catie De Stio '11 was a first-team All-Mideast selection, only the third Cornell player to be so honored. A unanimous All-Ivy pick, De Stio led the team in scoring with ten goals and six assists and netted four game-winning goals.

Ben ScrivensZERO CHANCE With Cornell's history of strong hockey goaltending, it takes a special performance for a goalie to put his name into the Big Red record book—but that's just what Ben Scrivens '10 did to start the 2008-09 season. Scrivens established a new school shutout record by going 206 minutes and 44 seconds without allowing a goal. His scoreless streak began in the ECAC consolation final last season and extended through a pair of season-opening shutouts that earned him Goalie of the Week honors from Inside College Hockey. He then turned in two more scoreless periods before allowing his first goal of the year in a 4-1 win over Colgate.

LONG RUN Although he was competing at a longer distance than usual, Emory Mort '05 had no problem winning the USA Track and Field East Region 15-kilometer road racing championship. Mort, a volunteer assistant for the Cornell cross-country team, covered the 15k course at the Gazette Stockade-athon in Schenectady in 47:52, nearly a minute ahead of the runner-up. A miler and steeple-chase runner at Cornell, Mort earned a spot in the USATF Nationals in March.

Fall Teams

Final Records

Field Hockey 11-5; 6-1 Ivy (2nd)
Football 4-6; 2-5 Ivy (T-6th)
Sprint Football 5-2; 3-1 CSFL (2nd)
Men's Soccer 1-15; 0-7 Ivy (8th)
Women's Soccer 2-12-1; 1-6 Ivy (8th)
Volleyball 10-15; 9-5 Ivy (T-3rd)
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