COPY FROM AP VIA WWW.ESPN.COM
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Walter Dix may be quick, but his speed couldn’t save him from getting soaked.
The Florida State junior sprinter extraordinaire was doused by a bucket of water by teammates after the Seminoles won their second straight men’s NCAA track and field championship on Saturday afternoon.
Bob Braman, the coach of the Seminoles, tried to warn his star of the water attack, but wasn’t fast enough, either.
He shook his head as Dix dried off, even playfully admonishing his team.
“You don’t dump water on the man (who scored) 30 points,” Braman said.
Braman has already started giving thought to a third title. But it could be made a whole lot more difficult if Dix decides to turn pro.
“Could you blame him?” Braman said.
Yet Braman is trying to think up a creative way to keep him at Florida State for a final season. Dix won the 100 (9.93 seconds) and 200 (20.32) at the outdoor championships over the weekend and also helped the 400 relay to a crown. He’s the first man to win three events since John Carlos of San Jose State in 1969.
“I’ve got to find some records for him to chase,” Braman said. “It’s the only reason he’d come back.”
Records may not be enough. Dix recently broke a 19-year-old collegiate record in the 200 with a time of 19.69 at the NCAA East Region championships. The mark had been held by Joe DeLoach of Houston since 1988. DeLoach won a gold medal in the 200 at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul.
Dix’s 200 time is the fastest in the world this year.
As the week in Sacramento, Calif., wore on, Dix’s answers to whether he was staying in school became more and more vague. On Thursday, he said, “I’m coming back.” But by Saturday it was, “We’ll see.”
Braman doesn’t have a read one way or another.
“It’s up to him,” Braman said. “It’s completely up to him.”
But he admits that defending the title again will be a difficult task without Dix.
“We’re going to be behind the eight ball,” Braman said. “We have a lot of good kids, though.”
Like junior Ricardo Chambers, who won the 400 title on Saturday, and freshman Charles Clark and sophomore Michael Ray Garvin, who were both on the winning 400 relay.
“We’re establishing something at Florida State,” Dix said. “I think two championships back-to-back says enough. I’m glad I was able to be a part of both of them.”
For now, Dix isn’t contemplating the future. He’s not even sure if he’ll run at the U.S. outdoor track and field championships June 20-24 in Indianapolis.
“I’m going to go home and relax and see how I feel,” Dix said.
Asked if he expected to lose Dix, Braman stared over at him. Braman smiled as Dix’s teammates laughed and joked with the drenched sprinter.
“Don’t know,” Braman said. “He’s done everything that he needs to do.”