SUMMER OF SUCCESS WORLD JUNIOR RECORD CAPS DEMUS' HUGE FRESHMAN SEASON.

Byline: Kirby Lee Special to the Daily News

Lashinda Demus is finally home for summer vacation after an extended freshman track season at South Carolina. The Palmdale resident boarded a flight directly to California from the IAAF World junior track and field championships in Jamaica this week.

Demus will have less than a month off before returning to the East Coast for fall classes. However, she will have plenty of memories from this summer after her showing in the world junior meet.

Demus broke her world junior record in the 400 hurdles, timing 54.70 seconds in the final to win by more than a second. Demus also anchored the United States to a come-from-behind victory in the 1,600 relay for an American junior national record of 3:29.95 in the six-day competition at National Stadium in Kingston.

``It was a relief feeling (to win the 400 hurdles) because that was a lot of stress on one person. I was relieved and the tension went away,'' Demus said. ``I can't ask for more than a gold medal with this relay. I couldn't have written it better. This week was perfect. This is a meet that will be set in stone in my mind for a long time.''

So will her entire freshman season, in which Demus was selected as the Southeastern Conference Freshman and Athlete of the Year, indoors and out.

In the NCAA outdoor championships in June, Demus clocked a then-world junior record of 54.85 in the 400 hurdles to break the previous standard of 55.20 set in 1984 by Leslie Maxie, a former USC standout who also resides in the Antelope Valley.

Demus also finished third in the 400 and anchored South Carolina's 1,600 relay to a collegiate record to help the Gamecocks to their first national team title in any sport.

``I had a long season and I'm kind of tired, but everything came into place on the track and I was ready at the right time,'' said Demus, who squeezed only two short visits home during the school year - during Christmas and after classes ended in late May. ``I rarely get home. It's hard, but you get used to it and deal with it. There's nothing you can do it about it.''

Demus figures to be competing even later into the summer next year - in the 2003 senior world championships and European track circuit - with her progression in the 400 hurdles. Her time of 54.70 ranks as the fastest open mark by an American this year and ranks her as the sixth-fastest performer in the world.

``We try to take things in perspective,'' said South Carolina coach Curtis Frye, who coached 11 athletes to the 2001 world championships in Edmonton. ``We have always set goals and there's something for her to do. The junior meet was just a step toward the world championship team and Olympics. It's a part of a way of life to say it's up to me rather than to leave it to circumstance to determine it.''

World records are nothing new in the Demus family. Her mother Yolanda is a former world record holder in the sprint medley and a two-time AIAW national collegiate 400 champion.

It was the first full season for Lashinda Demus in the 400 hurdles, an event she didn't run in high school. Additional breakthroughs would appear to be forthcoming when Demus learns to alternate lead legs to improve her approach to the barriers.

Demus uses only her right leg as her lead leg, a disadvantage on the curves. A runner who leads with her left leg can run closer to the inside- lane line.

``She has the potential to run faster, but we're not thinking about time,'' Frye said. ``She is strong enough and fast enough and hopefully, we'll have the total package with mechanics. There's a lot of technical things she lacks, but Lashinda is a steady student and is quick to understand.''

Demus entered South Carolina with notable credentials as a national record holder in the 300 hurdles and a two-time Track & Field News female high school Athlete of the Year - a distinction achieved before her only by Olympic gold medalists Marion Jones and Maciel Malone.

But at South Carolina, Demus was merely the latest standout on a list of big-name athletes associated with the program.

For example, the Gamecocks assistant coaches include three-time world 110-meter high hurdle champion Allen Johnson, 2001 Olympic 100 hurdle bronze medalist Melissa Morrison, 2001 world indoor 60 hurdle champion Terrence Trammel and 2000 Olympic 1,600 relay gold medalist Monique Hennagan.

Her teammates include freshman Tiffany Ross, who teamed with Demus in the 1,600 relay in Jamaica and finished second to Demus in the 400 hurdles in the NCAA championships and USATF junior nationals, and 2001 World University Games champion Demetria Washington.

``The big difference is the people that I train with this year,'' Demus said. ``The training from junior high school to high school was a lot harder. Going from high school to college was a jump to another level. I think that's why I got better, because I am training with high-caliber people.''

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Lashinda Demus, a Palmdale resident, broke her own junior world record in the 400 hurdles this week in Kingston, Jamaica.

Kirby Lee/Special to the Daily News