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GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED OLUME 26, ISSUE 5 85 in the outdoor season. But Thomas was hurting, too. An old hamstring injury — Greene suspected that she tore it at some point during her career at Wayne High School — wouldn't go away. Scar tissue had built up, and the explosion needed for her short sprints, the 100 and 200, wasn't there, at least not without the risk of re-injury. So Purdue tried something: It put Thomas in the 400, not really on a whim but close to it. "And she was outstanding," Greene said. "When I tell you she was outstanding, she was outstanding. I walked over to (assistant coach Angela Elliott) and was like, 'What did you split her at?' Because at the quarter mile, she blew them out of the water, so I was like, 'That's your new home. You are going to be on the mile relay.' "But she kept getting better and better, and I said, '(Bri), sometimes in our sport, your best event is the next one up. I believe you can be an effective 100 and 200 sprinter for us in the Big Ten, but I think you can be a great one in the 400,' and it's proving to be true." But Thomas hates it. Don't misunderstand, she loves winning, but the 400 is a different beast, particularly when one is accustomed to sprinting shorter distances. It's a grind. "I don't really like doing that," she said. "It's like, 'Ugh, I've got to run this whole lap.' I don't know if it's more of a lazy thing or that it's like, 'This is going to be painful.'" Maybe she'll learn to love it. The winning helps, and Thomas is do- ing that, taking silver in the Big Ten indoors in February while setting a school record by crossing the line in 52.48. "That's me, just doing it because I'm good and want to beat everyone else that likes it," she said. "But I don't know who would like that. The 400, it's crazy." COMING TOGETHER When Thomas takes the baton for the final leg of the 4x400 relay at Feb- ruary's Big Ten indoor championships, she is right where she wants to be. In the third-leg, Black had raced the Boilermakers from third to first, but only barely, sprinting just ahead of Ohio State's Franklin in the final turn. But Buckeye anchor Kar- rington Winters shot out of her exchange, taking advan- tage of her inside position to immediately regain a three- stride edge. But Thomas, a slow starter — in relative terms — thinks she is positioned well. "I don't like to lead," she said. "That's a lot of pressure, because you don't know how fast to go. I prefer to trail them, then go past them." And she does. About halfway through the final turn — responding after Greene shouts "Brionna, now, take the lead" — Thomas starts to make her move, gliding to the outside of Winters and accelerating, pushing into first place on the home stretch. After she crosses the line, in a Big Ten-record 3:32.07, she collapses into the arms of teammate Aarin Jones. Thomas is a great anchor for at least a couple reasons: No. 1, she's fast, but not only that, she also has an extra gear, something she can find late to kick past competitors. "It's cool to fight for it, fight at the end," she said. "But Tom Campbell Laughter is at the forefront of Black and Thomas' relationship. The two are long- time friends, and now roommates at Purdue.