A: I am extremely excited to have qualified. It is an honor to finally make it there. Running the marathon is something to not be really worried about, we are used to it because we run long distances in cross country and track. I would love to be able to do this again as an All-American.
Q: What is the biggest difference between cross country and track preparations?
A: The biggest difference is track is based on individualism because everyone is doing their own event. It is not based on the team so you do not get to spend a lot of time with your teammates like you do when you run cross country.
Q: What is the balance like between track and school?
A: It is something that takes time to get used to. I try to set aside time from maybe three until six or sometime in the morning for track. With school, basically anytime I am not at track practice I am doing homework or reading. It is tough to do, but with doing it in high school, it just comes with ease now.
Q: Do you consider yourself a competitive person?
A: I am an extremely competitive person. No matter what I am doing I will always be fighting to win. It could be intramurals or it could just be walking down the street for me. I always want to compete in something.
Q: You are a history and secondary education major, what do you want to do with that?
A: I would really like to go back to my high school which is Stagg High School in Palos Hills. For some reason with me, I always wanted to give back to the community and to give back to my community in general. I know out of the teachers there, they really helped me through high school and they helped me get to where I am now. I want to be able to do that for other high school students and help them.
Q: What made you come here to Saint Xavier?
A: When I came here, I chose it because the education program here is pretty solid. I know a lot of teachers that I had in school came here for their Master’s Degree and they all said that it was a solid education. I figured that as long as it gets me prepared for the job, it really does not matter where it is. Since the education program is so solid though, I was really excited for this and also the fact that I would be doing athletics as well.
A: I would say my family and if I had to pick someone specifically it would be my dad. In freshman year I had a race in Cincinnati, Ohio, and sure enough he was there. He is always at my races no matter where it is. He travels all over to watch me run and he is very proud of it. He is always talking about it and about me in general.
To view the video interview of this athlete spotlight along with other video interviews please visit sxucougars.com and click on the Cougar Close-Ups link.
Greg Pilafas
Deputy Editor in Chief
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