LORMAN &045; Like that annoying little brother, Greg Carter can’t get rid of a nagging hamstring injury.

Too bad, really, because here is a huge opportunity for the Alcorn State sprinter to do something really impressive when he is among the group of ASU qualifiers for the NCAA Mid-East regional track meet this weekend at LSU. Carter qualified in the 100-meter dash and is in his third straight postseason meet.

Now Carter, the former Natchez High standout, can’t worry about an injury now.

&uot;I thought I was all right, but I don’t know,&uot; said Carter, who qualified last year in the 200. &uot;Basically (it’s been a problem) the whole season. But I have to suck it up and get tough. I didn’t do too well (at conference) because it was hurting a lot. I’ll have to go harder than I ever have. It’s my last meet.&uot;

Unfortunately, hamstring pulls and Carter go back a ways, like last year’s regional meet at Columbus, Ohio. He was part of an Alcorn track squad cramped in a van that drove 14 hours to get to the meet just in time due to budget restraints.

Carter, who also is a key leg on the mile relay team, pulled that hamstring in the individual race and didn’t get to run on relays.

Which, consequently, likely made for a quiet drive back to Lorman.

&uot;He’s really not that bad &045; it’s a matter of keeping him healthy,&uot; ASU head coach Alecia Shields-Gadson said. &uot;He’s had some hamstring problems this year. I had held him out for some of the season. Our of (our) guys, he’s the most experienced. He’s been the leader all year, even when he was hurt. He was there cheering the guys on and trying to keep their spirits up.&uot;

How he’ll react when the action begins Friday is anyone’s guess. Shields-Gadson pointed out her concern of how Carter &045; and no one else on the roster, for that matter &045; was unable to stay on campus and train once the spring semester ended earlier this month.

But to put a positive spin on a negative, Carter and the Braves won’t have to drive several hours cramped in a van to run in weather they’re not used to in the regional.

&uot;We haven’t had him 100 percent this year,&uot; Shields-Gadson said. &uot;(But) I know he can run with these guys. This is his chance to shine. I’m looking for him to come on. He’s going to continue track and train, and hopefully one day you’ll see him in the Olympics. He has that kind of talent. He’s just tapped the surface of what he can do.&uot;

Carter comes into the meet ranked 16th in the region in the 100 with a time of 10.45 seconds. That was the time he ran at the SWAC Championships, a meet where the Braves really have to buckle down and compete in as many events as possible to shoot for a conference crown.

There Carter lost to Mississippi Valley sprinter Le’Tra Lewis, whose time of 10.30 seconds won the conference title and is good for sixth place in the region. The top time in the region belongs to Middle Tennessee’s Mardy Scales at 10.12 seconds.

&uot;I wanted the 200, but I’ll take the 100,&uot; Carter said. &uot;We’ve been running against each other since high school and junior college. He’s still my best friend. This is the first year he beat me in the 200, but it’s all good. I’m trying to run a 10.2. I probably could do it &045; that’s if everything goes good.&uot;

Carter will also return to the mile relay team this weekend, a foursome that’s sitting 12th in the region. He stayed off the mile relay to nurse the hamstring, and the team of Todd Parker, Nate Hughes, Justin Hunt and Chris Williams posted a time of 3:10.64.

That time came during the middle of the season. Hunt, Parker, Williams and David Butler finished conference runner-up at 3:11.34.

&uot;We’ll actually run much faster,&uot; Shields-Gadson said. &uot;When we ran that, we didn’t have Greg on that team and won. I know we’re going to run faster. We ran a couple of freshmen in there and tried to play with it, trying to see how we’re going to look. Now that he’s better, he’ll do well.&uot;

The group is part of eight Braves and Lady Braves competing in the regional meet. Hunt enters as the highest-ranked in a single event as his time of 51.45 seconds in the 400 hurdles is 11th-best in the region.

Hunt is also competing in the 110 hurdles as his time of 14.23 seconds is 23rd-best in the region.

Hunt was also one of those who competed in a number of events at the SWAC meet to keep everything together. Carter was in that same situation, playing that cat-and-mouse game with Lewis there in the finals of the 100.

But now there’s only two events to worry about.

&uot;(Hunt) is the same way,&uot; Shields-Gadson said. &uot;He sacrificed a lot during the year. We use him in relays, and he has to run the 400 hurdles, 110 hurdles, the 4×4 and the open quarter. We try to get our qualifying times in early.&uot;

Louie Dixon is 11th in the long jump at 7.52 meters with teammate Ryan McKenzie in 23rd at 7.36. On the women’s side, there will be junior Joyce Ballard in the 100 hurdles in 29th place at 13.93 seconds and freshman Gwenn Jackson in 19th in the javelin at 40.98 meters.

Rushetta Baker will go in both the long and the triple jump.