What made you ultimately decide Virginia over the other schools that you were considering?
The
University of Virginia is the perfect balance between academic prowess
and athletic competition. It is one of the highest ranking schools in
the nation academically, and the ACC is a first rate conference.
Competing in the ACC will allow for development that is hard to find
elsewhere. The coaching staff is young, enthusiastic, and very
knowledgeable. The chemistry between all the team members, men’s and
women’s, is amazing. The athletes at UVA are great people to be around
on and off the track. The climate at the University of Virginia also
played a role in my decision. Being able to train outdoors longer in
preferable weather and compete mostly in the south is an advantage that
many schools cannot provide. The support that is provided to the
athletes with the trainers, nutritionists, academic advisors, and
equipment is better than any school that I visited. The impressive
facilities were a step above all of the schools that I visited as well.
How many visits did you take and what did you enjoy about each visit?
I
took a total of three official visits to Harvard, Princeton, and the
University of Virginia. On my Harvard visit, I really enjoyed the
coaching staff. Their men’s sprints and hurdles coach Marc Mangiacotti
is doing great things at Harvard. The atmosphere of Boston was also
exciting and fun. One thing that really stood out to me at the Princeton
visit was the team chemistry among the whole men’s track and field
team. All the guys at Princeton are great guys who are fun to be with.
My visit to the University of Virginia was a compilation of many great
things. The team chemistry, coaching staff, facilities, and climate are
top notch at Virginia.
What
are things that stood out the most to you about the coaches and program
at Virginia that felt like it would be a good fit for you?
Coach
Fetzer came on board at the University of Virginia a few years ago and
has since built the staff with coaches who have all coached at national
and Olympic levels. Coach Fetzer spent a good amount of time setting a
plan involved with my years of development at UVA, and he has some very
exciting goals for me. What stands out the most to me about the coaching
staff at the University of Virginia is how young and enthusiastic they
are. The care that they exhibit for their athletes on and off the track
is unique, and the training programs they have developed incorporate
techniques that are innovative. In addition, an emphasis is placed on
the 4x400m at Virginia, and I would be able to train with Payton Hazzard
who is currently training to represent Grenada on their Olympic 4x400m
team.
You won the Class A State Championship in 200m indoors a year ago, what are your goals for the upcoming indoor season?
I
hope to win both the 400m and 200m this indoor season at the Class A
State Championship and try to take some of the state records. I also
hope to have a podium finish at the New England Championship and to run
at the New Balance Nationals. I ran at the New Balance Nationals last
year at the Armory in New York City and had a great experience. I would
love to be able to see and compete with friends that I had made last
year.
Outdoor’s
you ran 48.96 for 400m, and your best indoors is a 50.45, with the
state meet record being 49.93 is that something you will be focused on this
winter?
Yes,
of course. I focused my training this summer and fall on improving my
speed and power, and I hope that my hard work will pay off in this
upcoming season. Alex Nichols was a very fast sprinter so it will be no
easy task.
You’ve
been a part of a very successful program at Cheverus over the last few
years & now it is your turn to be the leader of the team, what is
one thing you learned from the past leaders of the team?
One
thing that I learned from the past leaders of the team is to share my
knowledge with the underclassmen in the hopes that they will be able to
develop as I did. One of the most prominent factors in my development
was the opportunity to work with Isaac and Elijah Yeboah, Jackson
McMann, Jimmy Campbell, Brady Foshay, Michael Orne, and Joe Slattery.
The knowledge that they provided for me on and off the track developed
me greatly as a person.
What was the best part of the recruiting process for you and the toughest part?
The
best part of the recruiting process for me was being able to meet
athletes from all across the nation as I traveled to new places. I look
forward to competing and seeing these athletes at meets all across the
nation in the future. Also, it was very rewarding to see that my hard
work had paid off when all of the schools originally contacted me. The
toughest part was narrowing down my official visit list to the required
five schools ( I had two more scheduled visits, but decided to cancel
them and choose UVA) and letting all of the coaches that I had been in
contact with know that I would not be attending their school was also
tough.
What
are you hoping to gain from your next 4 or more years at Virgina? What
do you hope to achieve in your running/jumping at the next level?
Apart
from a strong academic base to build upon my future studies at graduate
school, I hope to attain a greater knowledge of the sport that I love. A
dream of mine is to become an All American, whether it be on an
individual or relay team level. I hope to become a strong member of the
Virginia team and that my contributions to the team can help it win
championships at varying levels. I also hope to experience
progressively lower times for each year that I compete - running to the
best of my ability.
