California State University Northridge Athletics
Photo by: Matt Monroe
Former CSUN Standout Dirks To Run For Belize In Olympics
7/31/2021 10:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
NORTHRIDGE, Calif.—Former CSUN women's track and field athlete Samantha Dirks will be running for Belize at the 2020 Toyko Games. Her entry in the 400m is scheduled to begin on Monday Aug. 2.
"Sam started as a walk-on at CSUN," said CSUN head track and field coach Justin Johnson. "I coached Sam for two seasons. She is one of the hardest working athletes I have ever coached."
After redshirting the 2011 indoor and outdoor seasons, Dirks reached the 2012 NCAA West Preliminary as part of the Matadors' 4x400m relay, running the anchor leg as the team finished 22nd in the preliminaries in a time of 3:42.53 in 2012. She ran a time of :12.31 in the 100m prelims and :25.00 in the 200m prelims of the Big West Championship but did not qualify for the finals. Dirks ran the anchor leg of the CSUN 4x100m relay that finished second in the conference in a season-best :46.04.
The 2013 indoor season saw Dirks anchor the Matadors 4x400m relay that placed seventh in a season-best 3:45.18 at the MPSF Championships. She was a part of the CSUN 4x400 outdoor relay that advanced to the NCAA West Preliminary Round and ran the anchor of the 4x400 relay that finished fifth at the Big West Championship (3:43.26). She ran a season-best time of :24.35 in the 200m prelims at the Big West Championship but did not qualify for the final by two spots
As a redshirt junior, Dirks ran the fourth-fastest indoor 60m time in school history, :7.52, to place 13th during the MPSF Championship prelims and just miss advancing to the finals. For the third time, she was a member of the Matadors' 4x400m relay that earned a spot in the NCAA West Regionals. Dirks was the anchor of the Big West winning 4x400m team that finished in a time of 3:38.90. After posting a season-best:54.99 during the prelims, Dirks was sixth in the finals of the Big West Championship in the 400m.
Entered as a redshirt senior in 2015, Dirks finished fourth in the 400m during the 2015 MPSF Championships with the fourth-quickest time in school history, :54.04. Her career indoor best of :24.07 earned her eighth during the 2015 MPSF's and is the second-fastest indoor time in school history.
Moving to the outdoor season, she was the anchor of the 4x400m relay that reset the school record in the race (3:37.00) during the NCAA West Regional. She would earn honorable mention All-American honors in the 4x100m relay for CSUN. She helped CSUN win the Big West title in both the 4x100m relay and 4x400m relay. Individually, she placed fifth in the 200m in c career-best:23.89 and third in the 400m.
Dirks' :53.19 the individual 400m that she ran in the finals of the 2015 Big West Championship established Belize's national record in the event and is the fifth-fastest in school history. She matched that time running unattached during the 2016 Steve Scott Invitational that is held at UC Irvine.
"I always strive to be an asset to any team or anything I am a part of, so making the team was exciting but then I started to focus on how I could become a great athlete to help build the team and our Big West influence," Dirks said. "It motivated me to know that Coach Johnson was an athlete at Northridge and the impact he had on the team in his event (decathlon). I wanted to be a part of something I would be proud to look back on. I don't remember too much the types of honors I received; however, I remember working hard to chip away at my goals in the 400m every single year. I know that chasing my best self would overall help the team and our titles. I had to adjust to a new coach that came into CSUN my last year and with him (Johnson) and I made so many great improvements."
"Sam came into my office her freshman year asking to walk on the team," Johnson said. "I told her no the first time we spoke. She came back a few days later. I told her that it wasn't going to be easy and that I was going to challenge her on and off the track. I told her one of two things would happen, she would either quit or get good. She stepped up to the challenge and made an immediate impact on our team. Her presents and work ethic spread throughout the women's sprints group. After I left CSUN for Louisville, Avery Anderson, and Boogie Johnson, took over her training and help Sam get closer to her goal of becoming an Olympian."
"It's crazy because I don't remember Coach Johnson discouraging me from joining!" Dirks said. "All I know is how bad I wanted to be on that team! I started track late, at the end of my senior year in high school, playing basketball before that at Granada Hills Charter High School. It was always something I had wanted to do, and I saw running in college as a chance to develop a skill I thought I always had naturally. So really nothing or no one could have told me no or not to do it. Luckily, I went to tryouts as a walk-on and they never asked me to leave!"
She began her international career in 2017, running for Belize at the IAAF World Championships in the 400m. In 2018, Dirks was awarded 1-of-4 Olympic Solidarity Scholarships by the government of Belize to help train for the 2020 Tokyo Games.
"Pursuing track and field after college is a little tricky as you have to make a living for yourself while training full time," Dirks said. "This is a balance that forces most unsigned athletes to contemplate even continuing."
The pandemic forced Dirks like most elite athletes to adjust their training routines. In addition to finding a place to train, Dirks came down with the virus which slowed her training progress.
"The pandemic made it very difficult at first for me, having no facilities accessible to me and my training group in Orlando, Fla.," said Dirks. "It left us training on the grass at random fields to stay in shape and form. I also caught the virus which slowed my training down at the beginning of this year."
Getting back on track, and making progress towards the games, Dirks won the Gold Medal in the 200m at the 2021 Central American Athletics Championships and earned second place at Mexico's National Athletics Championship. Her best performance in the 400m during the 2020-21 season was a :54.20 that occurred June 11 during the Mexican National Championships. In her final pre-Tokyo race, Dirks ran :55.52 during the July 9 Stars and Stripes Classic that was held in Marietta, Ga.
On July 5, 2021, Dirks was awarded a spot in the Tokyo Games by The International Olympic Committee. IOC policy invites a single male athlete and a single women's athlete into the Olympics to a country if the country did not directly qualify an athlete for the games.
"Because this has been a rocky season, I am just thankful to be here to represent," Dirks said. "I focused on training and competed overseas for my Belize and showed fitness to be the best candidate to represent here in Tokyo. I am grateful for another opportunity to keep chipping away to reveal my best self just like I did in college."
With her fellow track and field athlete, Shaun Gill, Dirks was one of Belize's flag bearers in the July 23 opening ceremony. Training in Japan to get ready for the games, she is entered in the 400m..
"Being the flag bearer was honestly such a HUGE honor," Dirks said. "This year has been tough for me, but it shows that with dedication and hard work it can pay off. This is an experience like no other and I have been waking up every single day here in the village with gratitude and excitement to compete in such an exciting time!"
"Training has been going extremely well too, after getting back from COVID and injury I was able to train down to times I have never seen in training before. I am now the fittest and fastest I have ever been," Dirks continued. "Now I must put it all together in competition at the track!"
Dirks ran :54.16 to finish seventh in her heat of the 400m (won by Alyson Felix of the USA) which was a season-best. She was 39th in the field of 41.
"Sam started as a walk-on at CSUN," said CSUN head track and field coach Justin Johnson. "I coached Sam for two seasons. She is one of the hardest working athletes I have ever coached."
After redshirting the 2011 indoor and outdoor seasons, Dirks reached the 2012 NCAA West Preliminary as part of the Matadors' 4x400m relay, running the anchor leg as the team finished 22nd in the preliminaries in a time of 3:42.53 in 2012. She ran a time of :12.31 in the 100m prelims and :25.00 in the 200m prelims of the Big West Championship but did not qualify for the finals. Dirks ran the anchor leg of the CSUN 4x100m relay that finished second in the conference in a season-best :46.04.
The 2013 indoor season saw Dirks anchor the Matadors 4x400m relay that placed seventh in a season-best 3:45.18 at the MPSF Championships. She was a part of the CSUN 4x400 outdoor relay that advanced to the NCAA West Preliminary Round and ran the anchor of the 4x400 relay that finished fifth at the Big West Championship (3:43.26). She ran a season-best time of :24.35 in the 200m prelims at the Big West Championship but did not qualify for the final by two spots
As a redshirt junior, Dirks ran the fourth-fastest indoor 60m time in school history, :7.52, to place 13th during the MPSF Championship prelims and just miss advancing to the finals. For the third time, she was a member of the Matadors' 4x400m relay that earned a spot in the NCAA West Regionals. Dirks was the anchor of the Big West winning 4x400m team that finished in a time of 3:38.90. After posting a season-best:54.99 during the prelims, Dirks was sixth in the finals of the Big West Championship in the 400m.
Entered as a redshirt senior in 2015, Dirks finished fourth in the 400m during the 2015 MPSF Championships with the fourth-quickest time in school history, :54.04. Her career indoor best of :24.07 earned her eighth during the 2015 MPSF's and is the second-fastest indoor time in school history.
Moving to the outdoor season, she was the anchor of the 4x400m relay that reset the school record in the race (3:37.00) during the NCAA West Regional. She would earn honorable mention All-American honors in the 4x100m relay for CSUN. She helped CSUN win the Big West title in both the 4x100m relay and 4x400m relay. Individually, she placed fifth in the 200m in c career-best:23.89 and third in the 400m.
Dirks' :53.19 the individual 400m that she ran in the finals of the 2015 Big West Championship established Belize's national record in the event and is the fifth-fastest in school history. She matched that time running unattached during the 2016 Steve Scott Invitational that is held at UC Irvine.
"I always strive to be an asset to any team or anything I am a part of, so making the team was exciting but then I started to focus on how I could become a great athlete to help build the team and our Big West influence," Dirks said. "It motivated me to know that Coach Johnson was an athlete at Northridge and the impact he had on the team in his event (decathlon). I wanted to be a part of something I would be proud to look back on. I don't remember too much the types of honors I received; however, I remember working hard to chip away at my goals in the 400m every single year. I know that chasing my best self would overall help the team and our titles. I had to adjust to a new coach that came into CSUN my last year and with him (Johnson) and I made so many great improvements."
"Sam came into my office her freshman year asking to walk on the team," Johnson said. "I told her no the first time we spoke. She came back a few days later. I told her that it wasn't going to be easy and that I was going to challenge her on and off the track. I told her one of two things would happen, she would either quit or get good. She stepped up to the challenge and made an immediate impact on our team. Her presents and work ethic spread throughout the women's sprints group. After I left CSUN for Louisville, Avery Anderson, and Boogie Johnson, took over her training and help Sam get closer to her goal of becoming an Olympian."
"It's crazy because I don't remember Coach Johnson discouraging me from joining!" Dirks said. "All I know is how bad I wanted to be on that team! I started track late, at the end of my senior year in high school, playing basketball before that at Granada Hills Charter High School. It was always something I had wanted to do, and I saw running in college as a chance to develop a skill I thought I always had naturally. So really nothing or no one could have told me no or not to do it. Luckily, I went to tryouts as a walk-on and they never asked me to leave!"
She began her international career in 2017, running for Belize at the IAAF World Championships in the 400m. In 2018, Dirks was awarded 1-of-4 Olympic Solidarity Scholarships by the government of Belize to help train for the 2020 Tokyo Games.
"Pursuing track and field after college is a little tricky as you have to make a living for yourself while training full time," Dirks said. "This is a balance that forces most unsigned athletes to contemplate even continuing."
The pandemic forced Dirks like most elite athletes to adjust their training routines. In addition to finding a place to train, Dirks came down with the virus which slowed her training progress.
"The pandemic made it very difficult at first for me, having no facilities accessible to me and my training group in Orlando, Fla.," said Dirks. "It left us training on the grass at random fields to stay in shape and form. I also caught the virus which slowed my training down at the beginning of this year."
Getting back on track, and making progress towards the games, Dirks won the Gold Medal in the 200m at the 2021 Central American Athletics Championships and earned second place at Mexico's National Athletics Championship. Her best performance in the 400m during the 2020-21 season was a :54.20 that occurred June 11 during the Mexican National Championships. In her final pre-Tokyo race, Dirks ran :55.52 during the July 9 Stars and Stripes Classic that was held in Marietta, Ga.
On July 5, 2021, Dirks was awarded a spot in the Tokyo Games by The International Olympic Committee. IOC policy invites a single male athlete and a single women's athlete into the Olympics to a country if the country did not directly qualify an athlete for the games.
"Because this has been a rocky season, I am just thankful to be here to represent," Dirks said. "I focused on training and competed overseas for my Belize and showed fitness to be the best candidate to represent here in Tokyo. I am grateful for another opportunity to keep chipping away to reveal my best self just like I did in college."
With her fellow track and field athlete, Shaun Gill, Dirks was one of Belize's flag bearers in the July 23 opening ceremony. Training in Japan to get ready for the games, she is entered in the 400m..
"Being the flag bearer was honestly such a HUGE honor," Dirks said. "This year has been tough for me, but it shows that with dedication and hard work it can pay off. This is an experience like no other and I have been waking up every single day here in the village with gratitude and excitement to compete in such an exciting time!"
"Training has been going extremely well too, after getting back from COVID and injury I was able to train down to times I have never seen in training before. I am now the fittest and fastest I have ever been," Dirks continued. "Now I must put it all together in competition at the track!"
Dirks ran :54.16 to finish seventh in her heat of the 400m (won by Alyson Felix of the USA) which was a season-best. She was 39th in the field of 41.
~#UniteTheValley~
2026 CSUN Men's Volleyball Hype Video
Saturday, January 24
2025 CSUN Women's Volleyball Hype Video
Thursday, December 11
2025-26 CSUN Men's Basketball Hype Video
Thursday, December 11
2025-26 CSUN Women's Basketball Hype Video
Thursday, December 11