BALTIMORE, Md., May 3, 2008 – A North Carolina A&T track and field event without N.C. A&T director of track and field programs Roy “Spaceman” Thompson is like cups with the cakes. Blue Cross without the Blue Shield. Or Aggie without the Pride. One doesn’t exist without the other.

But during the 2008 MEAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships held at Morgan State’s Hughes Stadium, the unthinkable occurred. Thompson, the Aggies 29-year leader of the Aggies program, was not there. Thompson was in Greensboro caring for his wife Linda Thompson who has recently fell ill.

His absence was never felt more than when junior women’s hurdler Loreal Smith was injured during the 100 meter hurdles event. Smith, who had an excellent chance to win four events on Saturday, didn’t score in the 100 hurdles and missed her final two events. Her absence severely hurt the Aggie women’s chances to win the team title.

“I was so hurt,’’ said 2008 women’s triple and long jump conference champion Kimona Smith as she recalls Loreal Smith’s fall to the track surface. “I was thinking this couldn’t be happening. “My heart was broken. We really wanted to do this for Spaceman. We wanted to give him something that would cheer him up. We wanted to get him a championship ring.”

The Aggie men did bring back something to Greensboro for Thompson. The men finished second at the conference championships. Therefore, Thompson will receive the runner-up trophy as the men recorded their highest finish in three years.

“I’ve surrounded myself with a great assistant coach and great athletes,’’ Thompson said over the phone on Saturday. Thompson, who is also a N.C. A&T alumnus kept up with his teams through numerous phone calls. “I’ve been following what has been happening this weekend and couldn’t be happier with my teams,’’ he added. “They work hard and they compete hard for me and as a coach that’s all you can ask.”

No one was hurt for the Aggies more than Loreal Smith herself. She said she felt helpless watching the Aggies chances of winning a title go by as she nursed an ankle injury.

“It felt like my whole world was crashing around me,’’ Loreal Smith said. “Spaceman works us hard every day, so you couldn’t tell me we weren’t going to win this one for him. We were supposed to win this championship for him.”

It didn’t work out this season, but both of Thompson’s teams have a strong nucleus returning in 2009. Next season the MEAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships will be held in Thompson’s domain – N.C. A&T’s Irwin Belk Track. Therefore, the Aggie teams could win two for Space with him and hopefully his wife in the facility.  

“I tell the kids all the time to know and understand why you are where you are,’’ said Thompson’s assistant James Daniels. “None of us would be at this great institution without Spaceman. “He is what Aggie Pride is all about because he lives it. He makes it easy for us to live it because he puts everything he has into the programs. So we want to dedicate this performance to Linda.”