HC: When and why did you start track?
I initially only ran track to do something in the offseason of volleyball. I knew I liked to run, but I thought I was going to be a volleyball player during high school. I was actually pretty decent, much to my and everyone else’s surprise. I made varsity my freshman year and I instantly fell in love with running. Plus, the track team was very welcoming my freshman year, in contrast to my highly competitive and catty volleyball team. In California (I’m not sure if its the same in Nebraska) volleyball and cross country were in the fall, and track was in the spring. So during the fall of my sophomore year, I quit volleyball to do cross country, and made varsity my first year in the sport. Being varsity at a young age made me feel so capable and drove me to take my sport as far as I could, and thats how I wound up here at Nebraska
When did UNL recognize you?
I was recognized by UNL during my senior season of Cross Country. I had, in a round about way, reached out to the Distance coach at the time, who was Jay Dirksen. My mom’s friend’s son was being recruited for pole vaulting at the same time I was looking at schools, and his dad talked to the distance coach for me. I wasn’t the classic hot shot out of high school type, nor was I fast enough to be looked at, but Jay liked my attitude and work ethic so he invited me on a recruiting visit. Long story short, our friends introduced us to Jay, and I somehow wound up here!
Do you have any collegiate personal records?
I have a couple! Haha.
3k indoor; 10:40
5k indoor; 19:14
3k outdoor: 10:41
5k outdoor: 18:40
10k outdoor: 39:32
Have you won any awards in college track and field?
I am a cross country letter winner, and I’m working towards earning more awards! Just working at getting better and better!
What is your favorite part of doing track at UNL? I have a lot! My favorite part about doing track here at UNL is competing with girls and guys I love on the distance squad, and being able to have an opportunity to meet and compete with a very awesome team. I love the track team as a whole, but I seriously couldn’t survive without the people I practice with day in, and day out. Especially the girls; we see each other on a daily basis. We know WAY too much about each other, swap disgusting habits each other, seen everyone cry, and shared our struggles. They accept me for who I am and I’m honored to be surrounded by such amazing people. I don’t know what I would do without my team.
What are your goals for this year?
My biggest goal is to have fun. This past school year I have been putting way too much pressure on myself to perform my best each and every single day, and it became unhealthy for me. I would get so stressed out before meets that I would almost go into a panic attack. I don’t want to look back on my collegiate career and be like “wow, why was I uptight all the time? Where did my passion for the sport go?”. I ultimately run because of the joy I get when I work out. I can’t take myself too seriously, so I’m going to have fun instead!
When do the seasons for indoor and outdoor track start?
The indoor season starts the week we get back from Christmas Break until the end of February/ beginning of March (depending on how far you go into the post season). Outdoor starts right up the week of Spring Break and until the last week of school. Anyone who moves past Big Tens might go until early June.
What do you want to do once you graduate?
I’m hoping to move on to a graduate school of some sort when I graduate. I need to figure out what profession I want to go into first. I would like to be a researcher of some kind, maybe for the pathology of autism. Something like that.