Duncan, Sr. Reflects On Completing The SWAC Trifecta

Four days after Texas Southern University men’s track & field completed the SWAC trifecta, head coach Clyde Duncan, Sr. is back on the track preparing several individuals for a shot at regionals. After a busy week, Duncan found time to reflect back on his history-making season.
 
For the first time since 2011, a SWAC team completed the rare trifecta which is winning cross country, indoor and outdoor track & field championships in the same calendar year. Ironically, Duncan had a small hand in the success of the prior school’s trifecta as the coach of the winning school was a former student-athlete of his.
 
Duncan kicked off the 2023-24 academic year with a dramatic win at the SWAC Cross Country Championships followed by a dominant win during indoor season. During last week’s outdoor championship, it was close but Duncan’s team pulled it out on day three after several dominant performances. He was quick to thank his coaching staff and student-athletes for their hard work.
 
“I want to thank the young men and my staff,” he said. “This is something that we knew after our second (indoor) win that we had a chance at going for three. I’m very blessed that we did this and this means that we’ve made another part of history with the three wins.”
 
While everyone else was penciling in TSU for the SWAC title entering the outdoor championships, Duncan admitted he wasn’t thinking about the feat as much until it hit him in the middle of the SWAC meet as TSU was locked in a tight battle with several schools.
 
“Being very honest, I didn’t have any thoughts about the record but I think it hit me the second day of the meet on Friday,” he said. “I looked at the results and it hit me that we have a chance to win three but it wasn’t looking good at the time. So that’s when it really hit me. I want to thank God that we were able to win with some outstanding schools there and I’m just so thankful that we made history at TSU.”
 
In order to make history, Duncan spent a considerable amount of time in the offseason retooling his rosters to ensure he had the athletes in place. With the new era of roster management due to the NCAA transfer portal, he was able to attract several newcomers who were impact performers at their past institution and mix them in with the returning nucleus. In some cases, one never knows what’ll happen when you mix old and new but in Duncan’s case, the mix was seamless.
 
“It was actually very easy,” he said. “This is the first year, and I’ve been here since 1995, that I had the most mature group of young men and that really helped. The jumps, throws, vault, hurdles and distance all gelled at the right time. I’m very thankful for them and the coaches as they were always on point.”
 
With the NCAA Preliminary round in Fayetteville, Ark., around the corner, Duncan and his coaching staff are trying to qualify as many athletes as they can. The team is currently in New York preparing for a last chance meet which marks the final time student-athletes on the regional qualification bubble will have a chance to move up.
 
“I’m just thankful that my boss, Dr. Kevin Granger, has allowed this to happen,” he said. “All of my praise goes out to him and his staff for what they have done for us and what they have done for me. I’m very grateful for our staff as I want to thank them also.”