Collective Wisdom of Sooner Seniors, Part 1

As the last days of the semester are upon us and exam week is ongoing, the Sooner track and field teams are taking final exams and preparing for the Big 12 Championship to be held in Fort Worth this weekend. For the seniors, they are also preparing to start a new chapter in their lives. The 13 seniors who will be competing this weekend took some time from their busier than usual schedule to answer some questions about their time at OU.

Q: What was your favorite road trip with the Sooners?
A: Penn Relays. I've never been to a meet quite like that and I may never again. It was exciting to be able to run and make memories on two relay teams, which is always a fun way to compete. Plus, it was also great to see and experience a small bit of another famous city.

Q: What are your plans after graduation?
A: I'll be returning to the U.K. this summer. I'll be done with school and looking for work. I'll still be running and training hard, hopefully building on what I've learned at OU on the track and in the classroom.

Q: What was your favorite class from your time at OU? What made it your favorite?
A: A class called World Economic Development. I love that subject, we had a lot of freedom and there were only six of us. I probably learned more in that class than any other I've ever taken (In 19 long years of education.)

Q: What is your favorite competition memory?
A: The Big 12 Outdoor Championships last year. Everyone on the team knows how important the Big 12 is to us. I had some good competitors in my prelim and had been sick in the build up to the race. Qualifying for the final was a huge relief and a real reflection of hard work done in practice.

Q: What piece of advice would you share with the incoming freshmen if you had a chance to speak with them before they started their OU careers?
A: I would probably encourage them to relish the whole process of practice and competition. Try not to get too caught up in the daily grind of practice or the nerves of competition and end up wishing those moments away.

Q: What are your plans after graduation?
A: After graduation, I plan on attending nursing school somewhere in the country to become a nurse. I have always had a strong desire to help people and love the medical field. I am excited to move my passion from athletics to nursing.

Q: What was your favorite road trip with the Sooners?
A: I would have to say the favorite trip is our spring break trip that we have taken the past three years to Arizona. It's nice to get away and have a few days of nice weather and training somewhere other than Norman. Plus, I PR'd there the past two years so that helps.

Q: Who is the teammate who has made the most difference in your time at OU?
A: It is hard to choose just one teammate who has made a difference because each and every one of my teammates has had a huge impact in making my experience here great. From my freshmen year, being on a team with Brittany Borman, Tia Brooks, Karen Shump, and Luke Bryant to my current teammates Julia Reedy, Jess Woodard, Kate Foster and many more, have all shaped me into the athlete I am today. One great thing about my teammates is we all come from different backgrounds and parts of the country and world. We can each teach and learn from one another that something special to make us better athletes and better people.

Q: What person - coach, teammate, professor, classmate or other person - has had the biggest positive impact on you? What was it that they did?
A: The person who made the biggest positive impact on me in my time here would would have to be Amy Backel. She was Coach Blu's assistant my first year here as a redshirt freshman. She really helped me get a grasp on what hard work is. Amy pushed me and made me believe in myself and to have confidence that everything would work out in the end. It was nice to have someone older just be real with me, to tell me how it is and to learn from their personal experiences with collegiate athletics first hand. She also always had a positive attitude which is hard to do at times but somehow she pulled it off. Today, I still owe much of who I am as an athlete to Amy.

Q: What piece of advice would you share with the incoming freshmen if you had a chance to speak with them before they started their OU careers?
A: My advice to an incoming freshman would be to take every moment in because it really does go by quick. Take advantage of all the opportunities that are available for you because they really do help make your time here more enjoyable and fun. One more thing would be balance! It's hard to find balance in your life as a college student and especially as a college athlete, but once you find balance it makes everything easier.

Q: What was your favorite road trip with the Sooners?
A: My favorite road trip was when we went to NYC for an indoor meet. It was great to go out to the east coast with my team. It was my favorite because it was close to home and my parents got to see me run.

Q: What is your favorite competition memory?
My favorite competition memory has to be winning the DMR at Big 12 my sophomore year. It was exciting because we fell short of making nationals that year. It was great to go into that race with a little bit of fire and pull out the win.

Q: Who is the teammate who has made the most difference in your time at OU?
A: Malcolm Wankel made a pretty big impact on me and my time here at OU. He was here when I was visiting the school for the first time and really had a big role on me committing here. He made my time and transition at OU very smooth and enjoyable. For that, I thank him.

Q: If you could change something about your Sooner career, what would that be?
A: I would not change anything about my career. As a freshman, of course, I had a different mentality than I do now. I think going through rough times as a freshman and not running as well gave me passion and drive to do better, not just on the track but off it as well.

Q: What is your best memory, out of all the things you have experienced, while at OU?
A: There are way too many memories that I have experienced here at OU. If I had to pick one, it would be it would be going to Seattle Wash., with the distance team. It was such a cool city and I have never been there being from the east coast.

Q: What person - coach, teammate, professor, classmate or other person - has had the biggest positive impact on you? What was it that they did?
A: All of my coaches and Bobby (Trujillo), my academic adviser, had a great impact on me as a person. They all believed in me which was key to my success.

Q: What piece of advice would you share with the incoming freshmen if you had a chance to speak with them before they started their OU careers?
A: Know what you are at OU for and keep looking forward because there will come hard days. There may even be days you want to quit whether it is on the track or off. You have to have faith because better days will always come.

Q: What was the most exciting thing you experienced during your Sooner career?
A: Most exciting was seeing Blake Griffin at a football game, but before I was about to take a picture, my friend called me and he had to go. I never got a picture.

Q: What do you want your legacy/how you are remembered at OU to be?
A: I haven't done a whole a lot to really be remembered as a great runner so I don't know if I will have much of a legacy. I want to be remembered as a person and teammate who genuinely cares for the team and our success. A person who was always fun to be around and got along with everyone. A friend that you can go to and talk to. I want to be remembered as a good teammate, that's all.

Q: What are your plans after graduation?
A: I'm considering grad school or the Navy.

Q: What was your favorite class from your time at OU? What made it your favorite?
A: Intro to sociology. Dr. D (Kelly Damphousse) made the class really fun and I learned a ton.

Q: What was your favorite road trip with the Sooners?
A: Our trip to UCLA my junior year.

Q: What is your best memory, out of all the things you have experienced while at OU?
A: Having the opportunity to be here at OU and having the privilege of wearing the crimson and cream. I thank the good Lord everyday for His abundant blessings that He has given me.

Q: What person - coach, teammate, professor, classmate or other person - has had the biggest positive impact on you? What was it that they did?
A: The person who had the biggest positive impact on me that I met here at OU was Luke Bryant. I loved his passion and intensity. He was a little undersized for a thrower. He didn't use that as an excuse and would tear your head off!

Q: What piece of advice would you share with the incoming freshmen if you had a chance to speak with them before they started their OU careers?
A: Don't ever take for granted the privilege of wearing that jersey with OKLAHOMA stamped across it. Being a Sooner is something you have to work at everyday and you have to give it everything you have everyday. Never become complacent and never stop striving to climb new mountains. Don't whine or make excuses when things don't go your way. Cowards do that-not Sooners!

Q: What do you want your legacy/how you are remembered at OU to be?
A: I want to be remembered as a man who brought positivity, energy, and intensity everyday when I came to the track. It is my earnest hope that I did that and I hope it spilled over into my teammates.

Editor's Note - This is the first of a series of three Q&A sessions with the 13 seniors who are competing in their final Big 12 this weekend in Fort Worth, Texas.