April 10, 2009

By Larry Watts
Contributor, BigTen.org

Kiwan Lawson is like a weed in the Big Ten track garden. Just when you think you have gotten ridden of it, it sprouts again the following spring.

Opposing track teams thought they had seen the last of the fifth-year senior last year when the Indiana University standout won his second straight Big Ten outdoor long jump title. But thanks to a successful appeal to the NCAA for a sixth year, Lawson is ready to bloom again for the Hoosiers.

Lawson's appeal stemmed from missing the 2005 and 2006 outdoor campaigns due to a strained/torn deltoid ligament in his ankle. He first suffered the injury at the end of the 2005 indoor season and then re-injured the same ankle at the end of the 2006 indoor campaign, when he took second in the long jump at the Big Ten Championships and 15th at the NCAA meet.

"This wasn't something that was planned out or a hoax," says Lawson, who is now a graduate student at Indiana. "It was a severe injury. It was like someone had taken a rubber band, stretched it as far as it would go and it just dangled there.

"The NCAA did its job. They asked for documentation, trainer's information and doctors' information. It was rough at first and I think the odds against me getting another year were something like 4 to 1. So I feel like I have won the lottery."

Since receiving clearance from the NCAA, the 24-year-old says he has received his share of good-natured ribbing from everyone associated with the Indiana track program.

"The equipment room guys call me '12th year' and the coaches call me 'old man,"' he says. "There are people around here saying I have been at Indiana since there were cinder tracks. There's quite a bit of verbal hazing going on, but I love it. I certainly don't mind the attention.

"But when it comes time to go on the track, I'm ready to take care of business. I'm here for the best interests of Indiana track and field."

And his business isn't just the long jump. He is also one of the Hoosiers' top sprinters, usually competing in the 200 and running a leg on the 4x100 relay team. There is also the possibility he may land a berth on the 4x400 relay squad as well this spring.

Since he had already exhausted his indoor eligibility two years ago and has been running unattached during the winter, Lawson couldn't be retained on a full scholarship. His funding was reduced to a 70 percent scholarship.

"The good news was I was able to qualify as an instate student," says the Columbus, Ohio native. "I was able to meet three criteria -- living here for over four years, voting here and paying taxes here. Pretty much everything was here except for the registration of my automobile."

The opportunity to compete for Indiana one more time isn't something Lawson takes lightly. Having jumped a wind-aided personal best of 26-1 at last year's NCAA Championships, where he earned all-America accolades, he is determined to leave his mark in Bloomington. In Indiana's first outdoor meet this season, at the Alabama Relays, he qualified for the Mideast Regional with a leap of 25-0.75.

"Putting on that Indiana uniform is both humbling and honoring at the same time," he says. "I grew up seeing a lot of Assembly Hall on TV. There have been a lot of greats come through here and there are times when I don't feel like I am deserved of wearing this uniform because of so many great athletes who have been here before me.

"To try and live up to those standards is both entertaining and very difficult to do because I put a lot of pressure on myself to be one of those great athletes. I would like people to be able to say they ran with Kiwan, they knew Kiwan or they saw Kiwan jump on YouTube or the Big Ten Network."

At one point, Lawson, who has career bests of 7.11 in the 60 meters, 10.94 in the 100 and 21.39 in the 200, was drawing comparisons to the legendary Jesse Owens, who also happens to be one of Lawson's idols.

"Owens was the only person to win three consecutive Ohio state high school titles in the long jump," he says. "I won the state titles as a sophomore and junior, but an injury kept me from having the kind of senior year I would have liked.

"I never compared myself to Jesse Owens, but there were people in the media who were making negative comments because of that. We may share some of the same characteristics and I'm trying to incorporate that into what I do, but the fact he did all of that on a cinder track is amazing. I really respect what Jesse Owens did, especially in the area of civil rights."

Lawson, who received his bachelor's degree in sociology with a minor in gender studies, may draw comparisons to Owens if he is able to follow through his own dream away from the track.

"My ultimate goal is to open up a creative arts institute of higher learning for inner city/public school children who had their arts programs stripped away because of our current economic status," says Lawson, who is earning his graduate degree in human development and family studies. "What that program would set out to do is raise the GPA of the students by giving them a studio/workplace where they can express their artistic views, whether they be in music, dance, acting, automotive, interior design, fashion or photography."

But first the 6-foot-1 Lawson wants to see how far his athletic career will take him. He has even toyed with the idea of going to a couple of pro football camps despite the fact he hasn't played the sport since early in his high school career.

"I thought about trying out early in my career at Indiana, but the previous track coaches wouldn't allow me to do it," he says. "They told me I was brought here for track, not football, and our track team had the chance of doing some great things.

"I certainly have the speed and agility to play the game. I have a lot of great resources here at Indiana through the facilities and weight room, so why not give it a shot? It wouldn't take that long to get my body weight back up. I'm not picky about a position; I can take a hit and I can hit back."

But for now, Lawson is just happy to be back on the track and wearing that Indiana uniform one more time.

"To be part of all this, you can't compare it to anything else," he says. "I've created some great friendships here through my teammates and coaches. I just want to enjoy every moment in the short time I have left here."