QU Indoor Track & Field Competes with a 'Calm Mind and Psyched Body'
3/1/2018 12:30:00 PM | Women's Indoor Track & Field
By Matt McAuliffe, Special to QuinnipiacBobcats.com
The date is February 18, it is the day of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships. The Quinnipiac Women's Indoor Track and Field team is huddled together. The huddle consists of competitors from all different events: runners, jumpers, and throwers; but in this moment, they are one team. In the huddle they are not separated by events, they are one. The message is clear in the huddle before an afternoon of pure competition: have a clear mind and a psyched body.
The sport of track can be seen as a very individual sport. After all, when an athlete runs, jumps, or throws it is them and only them who is performing on the track or field. The Bobcats have a different mindset. They come into each meet knowing their individual goals, but also understand in order for each individual to achieve those goals they have to have each other.
"We have to be together," junior jumper and thrower Carly Timpson said, "When you see your teammates you want to do it for them, so you have to have that atmosphere all throughout the season in order to push us to jump higher, and throw further. We are a team, we're family, and we're doing this for each other."
Timpson placed first at the MAAC Championships in the high jump with a jump of 1.7 meters. She is a focused athlete and is one who is always pushing to be better after each and every jump. In order for her to keep that focus she relies on her teammates support.
"You don't want to let your team down," Timpson explains. "So seeing them all around the side of the track, it makes me push myself because they are there, you're doing it for them and they are doing it for you."
For such an individual sport, Quinnipiac recognizes that in order to truly succeed and climb the rankings in the MAAC every person on the roster has to be there for one another no matter what event is competing. This message was delivered right before the championship meet.
"We sat down with them and said everyone needs to find a way," head coach Carolyn Martin said. "Your goal on this team is to find a way to support the team, find a way to score, find a way to do your job, and be a part of this program. Even if you're not running, find a way to support your teammates."
The message was clear before the events, and the messages and support continued to pour into the athlete's ears even as they were competing.
During races assistant coach Christopher Dickerson's spot is on the opposite side of the start and finish line. This is where coach Dickerson stands…at every race…every time.
"I try and pick a spot where if they need to hear me, I can yell something to them," Dickerson said. "Either its encouragement or having something to adjust during the race, I usually pick the same spot so they know where to listen."
Coach Dickerson is another perfect example of the entire Quinnipiac Track and Field program where everyone buys into the "all for one" mentality when they compete. His message to his team before meets is clear as well.
"It's just to be relaxed, try to do the same thing in a meet as you're going to do in practice, you don't want to do anything different," Dickerson explained. "Its building confidence in them, and it's getting them to build a confidence in themselves. I they see that I have faith in what they are doing, they'll have a little bit more confidence in themselves."
A student-athlete who hears this message often is sophomore middle Meghan Curtin. Curtin placed sixth during the MAAC Championships in the 800 meter, and placed fourth during the 4 x 800 meter relay while teamed with Jillian DiGiacinto, Ahmetra Davies, and Alyson Caron. As a distance runner, there are points in a race where Curtain will begin to wear down, so she really relies on her teammates support throughout the entire race as a way to fuel her through the finish line.
"Everybody gets to that point in the race where things get very hard," Curtin said, "Your legs hurt, everything's aching, things are starting to fall apart, and one the best things that I find to tell others and I enjoy hearing is 'you can do this' and 'you're stronger than this'."
Through all of the sounds of other events, heavy breathing, and feet hitting the track, Curtin can only hear one thing: her teammates voices, honing in on the encouragement to keep her on pace to do her part.
"Your teammates are voices you recognize. You always know where coach is standing you can always hear his voice, and you always know where those teammates are and where they're standing."
At the MAAC Championship, Quinnipiac was the only team to score at least one point in every single event. For Martin, that is a successful weekend. She wants to see her team each putting forth an effort towards the overall goal of winning a MAAC title. As much as track is physical, it is also mental, and coach Martin has seen a lot of mental focus and toughness from her team so far this year.
"You need to have inner arrogance," Martin said. "You need to be able to step on that line and in your head say, 'there's no way you're going to beat me', but you're not going to tell them that you're just going to be thinking that."
The chemistry and support that surrounds the team is like no other. This year, the team finished second overall at the MAAC tournament, and have been showered with individual awards and records. Jess Lee came in first in the 60 meter dash, 60 meter hurdles, and 200 meter dash. Lee also broke her own school record in the 60 meter dash with a time of 7.52 seconds. Emily Wolff came in first in the 5000 meter run. Wolff has also moved into fourth place in school history in the 3000 meter, taking off 5 seconds from her top time. This type of success happens comes from each and every player on the roster mentally buying-in to supporting one another, and physically executing each event.
"You can't be a successful team without a whole team," Dickerson said. "You have to have a lot of athletes that are pushing people forward, so it is very important to have that whole team behind you."
The date is February 18, it is the day of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships. The Quinnipiac Women's Indoor Track and Field team is huddled together. The huddle consists of competitors from all different events: runners, jumpers, and throwers; but in this moment, they are one team. In the huddle they are not separated by events, they are one. The message is clear in the huddle before an afternoon of pure competition: have a clear mind and a psyched body.
The sport of track can be seen as a very individual sport. After all, when an athlete runs, jumps, or throws it is them and only them who is performing on the track or field. The Bobcats have a different mindset. They come into each meet knowing their individual goals, but also understand in order for each individual to achieve those goals they have to have each other.
"We have to be together," junior jumper and thrower Carly Timpson said, "When you see your teammates you want to do it for them, so you have to have that atmosphere all throughout the season in order to push us to jump higher, and throw further. We are a team, we're family, and we're doing this for each other."
Timpson placed first at the MAAC Championships in the high jump with a jump of 1.7 meters. She is a focused athlete and is one who is always pushing to be better after each and every jump. In order for her to keep that focus she relies on her teammates support.
"You don't want to let your team down," Timpson explains. "So seeing them all around the side of the track, it makes me push myself because they are there, you're doing it for them and they are doing it for you."
For such an individual sport, Quinnipiac recognizes that in order to truly succeed and climb the rankings in the MAAC every person on the roster has to be there for one another no matter what event is competing. This message was delivered right before the championship meet.
"We sat down with them and said everyone needs to find a way," head coach Carolyn Martin said. "Your goal on this team is to find a way to support the team, find a way to score, find a way to do your job, and be a part of this program. Even if you're not running, find a way to support your teammates."
The message was clear before the events, and the messages and support continued to pour into the athlete's ears even as they were competing.
During races assistant coach Christopher Dickerson's spot is on the opposite side of the start and finish line. This is where coach Dickerson stands…at every race…every time.
"I try and pick a spot where if they need to hear me, I can yell something to them," Dickerson said. "Either its encouragement or having something to adjust during the race, I usually pick the same spot so they know where to listen."
Coach Dickerson is another perfect example of the entire Quinnipiac Track and Field program where everyone buys into the "all for one" mentality when they compete. His message to his team before meets is clear as well.
"It's just to be relaxed, try to do the same thing in a meet as you're going to do in practice, you don't want to do anything different," Dickerson explained. "Its building confidence in them, and it's getting them to build a confidence in themselves. I they see that I have faith in what they are doing, they'll have a little bit more confidence in themselves."
A student-athlete who hears this message often is sophomore middle Meghan Curtin. Curtin placed sixth during the MAAC Championships in the 800 meter, and placed fourth during the 4 x 800 meter relay while teamed with Jillian DiGiacinto, Ahmetra Davies, and Alyson Caron. As a distance runner, there are points in a race where Curtain will begin to wear down, so she really relies on her teammates support throughout the entire race as a way to fuel her through the finish line.
"Everybody gets to that point in the race where things get very hard," Curtin said, "Your legs hurt, everything's aching, things are starting to fall apart, and one the best things that I find to tell others and I enjoy hearing is 'you can do this' and 'you're stronger than this'."
Through all of the sounds of other events, heavy breathing, and feet hitting the track, Curtin can only hear one thing: her teammates voices, honing in on the encouragement to keep her on pace to do her part.
"Your teammates are voices you recognize. You always know where coach is standing you can always hear his voice, and you always know where those teammates are and where they're standing."
At the MAAC Championship, Quinnipiac was the only team to score at least one point in every single event. For Martin, that is a successful weekend. She wants to see her team each putting forth an effort towards the overall goal of winning a MAAC title. As much as track is physical, it is also mental, and coach Martin has seen a lot of mental focus and toughness from her team so far this year.
"You need to have inner arrogance," Martin said. "You need to be able to step on that line and in your head say, 'there's no way you're going to beat me', but you're not going to tell them that you're just going to be thinking that."
The chemistry and support that surrounds the team is like no other. This year, the team finished second overall at the MAAC tournament, and have been showered with individual awards and records. Jess Lee came in first in the 60 meter dash, 60 meter hurdles, and 200 meter dash. Lee also broke her own school record in the 60 meter dash with a time of 7.52 seconds. Emily Wolff came in first in the 5000 meter run. Wolff has also moved into fourth place in school history in the 3000 meter, taking off 5 seconds from her top time. This type of success happens comes from each and every player on the roster mentally buying-in to supporting one another, and physically executing each event.
"You can't be a successful team without a whole team," Dickerson said. "You have to have a lot of athletes that are pushing people forward, so it is very important to have that whole team behind you."
Players Mentioned
Middle
/ Women's Indoor Track & Field
Middle
/ Women's Indoor Track & Field
Middle
/ Women's Indoor Track & Field
Sprint/Hurdles
/ Women's Indoor Track & Field
Jumper/Thrower
/ Women's Indoor Track & Field
Distance
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