Taylor was the runner-up indoors in the shot put. (Erik Palmer/Trackwire) |
1. You've had a great start to your outdoor season which included winning both the shot put and hammer throw at the Penn Relays. What are your goals for the rest of the season and what is your training schedule like from here on out?
As far as the rest of the season goes, my goals are to do good at the Big Ten conference meet as it will be tough in some of the events as there are a lot of other good throwers in the conference. On that note, I'm just going to try and win what I can. After that, I threw well indoors and I'm looking to do the same at the regional and then NCAA Outdoor Championships.
2. You also capped off the indoor season with a runner-up finish in the shot put and third place in the weight throw at the NCAA Championships. What kind of mindset did you have entering into the meet and how confident are you to perform even better at the outdoor meet?
Going into indoor nationals, I was pretty confident in my throwing ability and I think that helped a lot in the shot. For outdoors, I think that the confidence level will be just as high if not higher, because I proved to myself indoors that I can throw in the big meets and who knows what will happen.
3. A few of your rivals in the shot put include Christian Cantwell of Missouri and Carl Myerscough of Nebraska. Do you follow what your competitors are doing every weekend or do you not let that phase you?
Of course everybody in the sport knows who their closest competition is and what they're doing, but you cant let that phase you. That's what's great about track as it all comes down to what you do in the meet that counts not what your best mark during the year was.
4. As the Big Ten, Regional and NCAA Championships approach, will you begin to taper down in any part of your training or do you keep the same level of intensity throughout?
Intensity is an important part of training and in the sport itself, so you always have to keep that as high as possible.
5. How do you and some of your teammates feel about the new regional format, in which the Mid-East Region will actually be hosted on your home field later this season?
I think overall it has been very well accepted as a good format. It's better than the old way of just pick a cut-off point after all the auto marks. This way people won't get left out if it's close. Taking the top 5 ensures that you'll have the best competitors at the NCAA.
6. Out of all your major throwing events, which one do you feel you can most excel at if you wish to compete professionally after college?
I think that for me I'm just a shot-putter who happens to do other events as well.
7. Have you thought much about what your plans are after you graduate or is that too much to think about right now?
Yeah, you have to think about the future, but I've still got another year to compete for Ohio State and we'll see what happens after that. However, I think the goal of any track and field athlete is to make the Olympic team.
8. Do you feel track & field gets enough respect on the campus of Ohio State, since it is primarily known as and driven by football?
At Ohio State there is a huge emphasis on football but there is a lot of respect for all athletes, no matter what sport your in. But that's okay, becaue I don't want all 60,000 people here to know who I am and bother me while I'm walking to class or something.
9. What are some of your personal best max on the Olympic lifts, such as the power clean, squat and bench?
My best hang clean is 451 lbs, my bench is 460 lbs and my squat is 600 lbs.
10. The venue at Ohio State and many others around the country do not have the ring for the throws inside the viewing area of the stadium. Do you think most -- if not all -- facilities should change their structure so more fans are able to see all the athletes who are competing?
Well that's hard to say. I don't think it's a matter of them not being able to see the event take place if a person comes to a track meet to see the shot put, or any other throw, as they know where to find it. If people don't want to take the time and walk an extra couple of hundred feet to see us throw outside the stadium, then that is fine by me.
11. What are some of your favorite movies and music that you listen to?
My favorite movie is Goodfellas, but that's more of a serious movie, so my favorite comedy is Dumb and Dumber. I listen to all kinds of music, such as modern and classic rock.