Ferguson outruns competition

In her first season on the Plains in 2010, Shenqiua Ferguson made quite an impact.

At the 2010 SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championship, Ferguson took first place in both the women's 100- and 200-meter and helped the 4x100-meter relay team place first as well.

This dominating performance helped Ferguson win 2010 SEC Female Runner of the Year, becoming the third Auburn woman to do so after Juliet Campbell (1993) and Kerron Stewart (2006, 2007). Still, the award came as quite a surprise for Ferguson.

"It was shocking because I didn't expect to receive such a great award," Ferguson said. "It's really humbling to know that from all the many people they could have chosen from, they chose me."

Originally from Nassau, the capital city of the Bahamas, Ferguson didn't start running track until she was in high school.

"At first I didn't take it very seriously, but as I started to compete against other kids in the Bahamas, my coach and I noticed that I had a great ability to run track," Ferguson said. "Probably in grade 10 is when I started to take it seriously."

Ferguson planned to run for Auburn coming out of high school, but first spent two years at Southwest Mississippi Community College in Summit, Miss.

Her successes in Mississippi were a prelude to her time at Auburn.

While at SMCC, Ferguson won the 100- and 200- meter at the 2009 NJCAA Outdoor Championships and was a 10-time All-American.

Even after two years at Southwest Mississippi Community College, Ferguson still wanted to run track at Auburn.

"After two years at junior college, I came back on a visit to Auburn, and I still felt like they had the college team that I wanted to be on," Ferguson said. "They had the family that I knew and wanted to be a part of, and that stuck with me the two years I was at junior college."

Auburn women's sprinters coach, Henry Rolle, attributes Ferguson's success to several factors.

"She is very, very competitive and she has experience on many levels, from World Championships, the Olympics, NCAA Championships, SEC Championships," Rolle said. "Her competitiveness, experience and discipline are why she is so successful on the track."

Ferguson's goals for this season are much the same as in years past.

In addition to winning at the SEC and NCAA Championships, Ferguson also said she wants to do well in the World Championships coming up in August in Daegu, South Korea.

But Ferguson's long term goals are a little loftier.

"This is my senior year, so I am trying to see if I could get a contract with Nike to run professionally," Ferguson said. "I'll still stay in Auburn and train with coach Rolle and hopefully reach my No. 1 goal of being an Olympian."