I'm pushing to be back [for outdoor], but if I'm not 100 percent then I'm not going to because I'd rather be 100 percent and do well than be 95 percent and just be mediocre.

We don't look at her like she's a pro athlete coming in. It's more of a Connie Moore's coming in, we'll see her, and when the track meet's over we'll go hang out with her type of thing.

I think Lena Bettis will step up. I think our team has a good chance of winning Big Tens.

We're just pumped up to be running against them and see where we stand against their caliber. If we can hang with them now, then when nationals time comes around, hopefully we'll place somewhere in there.

They're gonna throw us more in our own events, so we can show off even more of our talent. It's gonna be a good meet.

So people ask, 'But how can you work for a friend?' I say it's because I know that the magazine is called 'O.' The bottom line is somebody has to have the final word. Oprah's not right all the time, but her record is pretty damn good. That's not to say you can't disagree.