When Da’Mon Merkerson arrived on the Syracuse campus for his freshman year, he intently focused on football. In the fourth game of the season Merkerson helped defeat a nationally ranked Louisville team with a 42-yard touchdown reception. Merkerson played in 10 games and broke the 100-yard mark for the season.

Yet after the final seconds ticked off the clock in the Orange’s last game of the season, the work for Merkerson was just beginning. The track and field season was finally getting started, which means it was conditioning time, much to Merkerson’s dismay.

‘I don’t like track,’ Merkerson said. ‘In track I didn’t really understand because you’re just running. It’s different, and football is more fun to play. I’m more into the physical contact of it.’

There’s not much contact now, as Merkerson is currently a sprinter on the Syracuse track and field team and started the season just one week after the conclusion of football. The decision to join the track team was not spontaneous. The sport has been a part of Merkerson’s life for a significant period of time.

Merkerson’s father, Amod Field, encouraged him to join the team and knows what it takes to play at the highest level. Field played briefly in the NFL and later spent multiple years in the AFL.

Field was also the first athlete to win an individual national title at Montclair State University – and it wasn’t in football. In 1987, Field won the title in the 400-meter hurdles, a feat he would accomplish again two years later.

‘It was something that me and my father always talked about,’ Merkerson said. ‘It was good timing, and we thought it would be helpful at my position. I want to go out and represent my school and compete against the best.’

Merkerson understands the differences between the two sports and has found a spot for himself on the track and field team. On the second day of the Syracuse Invitational, Merkerson posted a first-place finish in the 400-meter dash with a 48.99 time. The victory qualified Merkerson for both the Big East Championship and IC4A Championship.

Juggling two collegiate sports is not the easiest of tasks for a freshman. Along with adjusting to typical freshman changes, like a new living environment, Merkerson focuses on his jam-packed schedule. While attending classes and track and field practices Merkerson diligently keeps up with all of his offseason football workouts.

‘Not much sleep, not a lot of free time and no life,’ Merkerson said.

As for the rest of the season, Merkerson will keep training to lower his 400 time to his goal of 46 seconds. The time just happens to be fast enough to be eligible for the NCAA Championships. Although that may seem like a lofty goal for a rookie, Merkerson is no stranger to competition. His ambitious goals do not seem so unbelievable – he won the New Jersey state championship in the event two straight times in high school.

However, there have still been some adjustments Merkerson needed to make at the collegiate level. The competition is not only much better, but so are the teammates that Merkerson is surrounded by. At Saint Mary’s (N.J.) Merkerson always felt like he had reached the top.

‘Our school didn’t offer indoor track so I had to get used to that,’ Merkerson said. ‘I usually ran outdoors. At my school I was always the fastest and always leading. But here there are people better than me, and I now I’m following. I wasn’t used to that.’

Despite Merkerson’s track and field success he said his favorite sport to play is the one Syracuse recruited him for, which is football. No surprise there, but track and field still takes a backseat to Merkerson’s third high school sport – basketball.

As of right now Merkerson’s future with the team is uncertain. The freshman is still deciding if he wants to return to compete again next season, something he said will be finalized as the season continues.

Although Merkerson competed in three sports in high school, won the track championships and has experienced Big East rivalries, one moment sticks out in his mind. And it wasn’t track-related.

The personal accomplishment of his first touchdown wasn’t what drove Merkerson’s elation, instead it was the intimidating reaction of the opposing fans.

‘When all of those Louisville fans were booing me after the touchdown it just sounded so lovely,’ Merkerson said. ‘It was amazing.’

hscrowle@syr.edu

Published on February 14, 2008 at 12:00 pm