Last month, a day of celebration erupted as the Ithaca College Woman’s Track and Field team dominated the Empire 8 Championship by a whopping 176 points. For freshman teammates, Britney Swarthout (left) and Catherine Larkin (right) it has already been a memorable first year of Ithaca College track.
Her Campus Ithaca College: How has your freshman year at IC been going?
Britney Swarthout: I’ve been really loving it here! I think the campus is great since its small enough to get everywhere, with a 5-minute walk at the most. Everyone has been really welcoming and the professors are very helpful. I like how they go out of their way and want you to succeed.
Catherine Larkin: I feel the same way. I was really nervous about how I was going to like Ithaca, but the campus is really pretty and everything you need is in one spot. We’re also lucky to have the Ithaca Commons and Cornell, which is really the best of both worlds. Everyone here is so nice and unique which is great!
HCIC: What is it like being a student athlete?
BS: I like it because you get to see both parts of the school. You have the sports team who are your friends but you also have your roommate and different groups of people as well. You also have a huge support system that you wouldn’t necessarily have if you weren’t on the team. Everyone is in the same boat as you and it’s great having people on the team in the same major who can help you out when you need it.
CL: I was worried about balancing the workload of academics and athletics, but I have found that being in season I’ve done better in school since I only have a certain amount of time to get my work done. If I wasn’t on the team, I probably wouldn’t be close with as many upperclassmen and they give great advice about school and the future.
HCIC: What event(s) do you run and is there a reason why?
BS: I’m a long sprinter and I specialize in the 400 hurdles. I’ve always been a mid-distance/long sprint runner because when my brother joined track, that’s what he did. I decided to try hurdles because my mom hurdled in college and thought I would give it a try!
CL: I’m classified as a multi, meaning I do the pentathlon in the winter. The pentathlon consists of hurdles, high jump, long jump, shot put and the 800 meter. In the spring I add in the javelin and the 200 meter to make it a heptathlon. In high school I did hurdles and high jump and people who do those two events would be good at penthathletes. My mom also did pentathlon in high school. Coming into college I wasn’t a thrower or distance runner so I’ve been learning to do those events along the way.
HCIC: Why and when did you decide you wanted to continue your running career at the collegiate level?
BS: I love the sport so much and by senior year I knew track was the one, having played multiple sports throughout high school. I also really love the atmosphere of track. At first I wasn’t sure if I could run in college but getting interest letters from a bunch of schools made me think that maybe I could do it. I don’t know what I would do with myself if I didn’t have a sport like track to do at school.
CL: I wasn’t really sure when I was applying if I wanted to run or not. Half of the schools I applied to I wouldn’t be able to run at, which made college decisions difficult. It was a big deciding factor for me and that’s why I ended up choosing Ithaca. I realized I was going to miss track if I didn’t continue on with it.
HCIC: What was it like winning a conference title?
BS: It was exciting and a very real moment. It truly brought everyone together, and having worked individually throughout the season, it was great to see the whole team unite. Looking around and seeing everyone so eager was the moment when I realized I was on such an amazing team. It was so rewarding because we’ve worked so hard. There were days when I wondered why I was doing this but having it all pay off is amazing.
CL: I feel the same way because track is often seen as an individual sport, but it’s about trying to do your best and routing for your teammates as well; this way you’ll get a good team score. I felt like the whole team came together and it was so surreal to hear that we had won and how many points we had won by. I really felt like this is what we worked for, and getting the win was incredible.
HCIC: What comes now that Empire Eights are over?
BS: We’re still in our post-season. States is all of the Division III schools (not including SUNY schools). After that anyone that has qualified for ECAC’s will go to Staten Island and run there. We also have a couple girls that have qualified for nationals, which is in Iowa.
CL: Right now we’re a post-season team and we really focus on these last meets so everyone is really starting to run faster and jump farther. You really see lots of results and PRs in these last few meets.
HCIC: Do you have any suggestions for people looking to start running or are too nervous to start?
BS: I think you have to just start because it’s going to be nerve wracking and it’s easy to talk yourself out of it. I’m horrible at distance but I love going on distance runs because it’s so rewarding. You feel so good after a run and you really have to just go for it. Don’t worry about anyone judging you when you get out and run.
CL: I really love that running is a lifetime sport and even when we’re done competing in college you can always just go out and run. It’s great exercise and a stress reliever. Even though it isn’t fun while it’s happening you’ll be proud of yourself at the end.