Madison Simpson Interview

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This podcast is being brought to you by WXA V88.3 FM and WXA V.com. WXA V bringing the best podcasts to you. Salutations listeners and welcome back to the Player Profiles Podcast. I'm your host, Dotham Isra, and if you're looking for a place to find all the great stories of all the athletes we have here at St.

Xavier University, then I must say you have stepped into the right circle. And speaking of circles, our guest for today's episode is none other than Madison Simpson. Hailing from Burbank, Illinois, she is a thrower on the S-XU women's track and field team. You can go ahead and take a listen to the interview, but don't cross the line while you're at it, because that would be a foul.

Madison, thank you so much for taking the time out to come and do this interview. Thank you for having me. You are a student athlete in college. That is not an easy thing to do at this point of your life.

How do you manage to balance school with sport? It's really about prioritizing my time. You really have to make sure that you set aside a lot of time for work and studying, and that means turning down plans with friends or even just not doing the things you always want to do. So you really just want to make sure that you just got to prioritize your time.

It's hard, but you do it. Yeah, time management is right up there with how do you experience for being a student athlete can go? Would you say you're well enough at this point or is it still kind of a struggle or how's it feeling right now? Every semester is different just because the workload is unique every semester.

So I think this semester so far, I've definitely done a really good job with that. It's the whole time management thing. Nice. So obviously it's track and field.

It's a very interesting sport. Obviously it's not talked about enough in my opinion, but I want to emphasize that you pick up heavy things and heat them as far as you possibly can for fun. Yeah, no, it's pretty fun. A lot more fun than people actually think it is.

Yeah, usually when people think of track and field, they think of running, running, running, running, running, running, running, running, running, running, running. And then I see this. And I see just people just grabbing heavy balls of steel and just chucking them like 20 meters far. And I'm like, yo, this looks really cool.

And what's crazy about it is that it's not as easy as people think it is. Those things are heavy. How do you get so accustomed to throwing objects as heavy as those things? Honestly, it's taken me seven years to get to where I am now.

So it's not just something you can pick up and start doing. It's a lot of, I always say mental work. It's very mentally exhausting because it's technique in film and more technique and more film. And then the lifting, I think, is also really important, but you don't have to be the strongest person in a room to throw far if you have a really good technique.

Did you just say film? Yes. Yes. We record ourselves during practice to make sure that we're doing our steps correctly and then say for a technique you're stepping too wide or you're not going fast enough.

You can see that on your bill. Oh, so I'll get technical with this. Yes. It's very technical, very technical.

Okay. So for the people out there, it's not just your casual football throw. It's not like throwing a baseball at all. No, definitely.

I always describe it as like an inclined bench press for a shot put specifically. If you were to throw it like a baseball, you would probably tear half the muscles in your shoulder. Yeah, that doesn't sound pleasant at all. But you do it at such a high level though.

And obviously, you know, it takes, like you said, it took you seven years to get a custom to it. Like throughout high school, like how did you get into, you know, really into, you know, throwing? So I had a really good high school coach and I had broken my foot fresh in your high school during basketball season. So he was really scoping me out for track season because I was really in between softball and track and he kind of dispersuaded me.

He's like, oh, it's fun and to me. You can potentially go to college for it and he just kind of really hyped it up. So I stuck with it. So you mentioned basketball and softball?

Yeah. What roles did those sports play in your life and how did it lead to you being a thrower in a track and field? So one of the big things that was so great about my coaches, he did really incorporate when he was teaching the movements for shot put in discus about hip drive. And a lot of times when you're turning in basketball or you're going to swing a bat in softball, it really involves that hip drive, which is how you really incorporate into your throw.

So it was really nice to blend all three of those sports so I can improve in my own field. And you did this at Revis High School, right? Correct. What was that experience like doing what you did in high school?

It was definitely a struggle just because they do not have the facilities, especially in the winter time when it's super, super cold. We were a lot of times doing technique in the hallway and in the cafeteria after hours. So a lot of times it was just kind of finding a space that was open. Towards my senior year, they did allow us to use the wrestling gym to throw and the back gym, which was nice.

But it's like when we first saw it off, it's in the hallways. The hallways. The hallways. That's really inconvenient.

It's actually, it's fun because you really get to know your teammates very well because you're such in such a small space. So it was like we really bonded as a team that way. That's a big two check. That completely changes my perception of that.

But obviously, once you got through with Revis, you came here. What drew you here to San Xavier? So I really wanted to stay close to home just because at the time I don't think I was prepared to stay away at school. So I just, I like the campus.

I like how close it was to home. It was really affordable for me. So it kind of was just what I needed at the time. And you were a class of 2020 in high school, right?

Correct. Yeah. And I'm sure that, you know, that was a decision that a lot of people were thinking about in your class. Do I stay or do I go afar?

Yeah. And I feel like that COVID really made a lot of people kind of rethink about going far, far away. Were you initially thinking about like going far away or did you, or are you always like sitting on staying close to home? So I had another school in mind.

It was the Milwaukee School of Engineering. They have a really good nursing program there. So I was on the fence between the two of the schools, but I ended up staying with San Xavier just because it was more within my price range. And luckily I signed with San Xavier in February, which was right before COVID.

So I got lucky that way. So it was a little bit of an early commitment. Yeah, no, it was definitely early. Wow.

Well, so that happens and you're, you know, two and a half years deep into your, you know, career here at SxU. How would you assess it so far? It's been pretty good. I've definitely had a lot of ups and downs on my sports aspect of it, just because every year is different.

There's a different group of people. So evolving in that group is sometimes can be difficult, but we've always seemed to have made it so where if we fight as a group, it gets better. Like we're a family. And so it's been really nice because when I struggle with school, I always have my friends and my team to fall back on.

And you stress the importance of your teammates. How have they made the process easier and more fun for you here at San Xavier? We definitely push each other. It's really nice when, you know, we all have a good throwing day because it's very loud at our practice.

There's always just a lot of movement, a lot of chattering. So it's like we're friends first and we're teammates, you know, so it's like you really have that close bond. We're very close with Nick with each other. So coming to practice when you're having a bad day, they just are always so uplifting.

And I can actually speak from experience on that because there are there are times where at least last semester, I would go into Jim and you know, jack up some shots in basketball. And I would see you guys just throwing. And I'm like, they look like a really tight knit group. Yeah.

And it's just like, that's a nice team to have around there. And I know quite a few throwers when we are, you know, at the same place at the same time, I say what's up to Layla and Isaac and all of them. Yeah, they're definitely a big, big part of that group. I feel like those two are really good with making sure we stay together, even like when we're there's fights, you know, because we're together for a lot of time.

So I mean, fights are bound to happen. But those two are really the ones are like, okay guys, like we're family let's fix this. Let's find a way to come back together. So it's all about being, you know, teammates, right?

Yeah. Definitely. Definitely what comes with it. And I mean, I guess that's what's the exciting thing about it is that you have all these ups and downs.

It's like a roller coaster. And speaking of roller coasters, when you get and dive into what you do in the actual meets, this season you've progressed. I'm going to say that straight up over the last nine months, you have definitely progressed. You said three different PRs and nine months.

Yes. That has to feel good, right? It really does. It really feels good to see how far I've come.

I always think that I have to earn it. I have to earn it. I mean, there's no other thing, no other way to break records like that. I was in the first class of female throwers.

So starting those records weren't very hard. So every year I really try to push myself to beat those records. They're even farther to show that I've earned a spot on this team. And I like, you know, I deserve to be here and that that comes with like lifting on my own a lot, lifting with the team, stretching and just all the way around keeping myself healthy.

Yeah. And it also comes with, you know, performance when it matters the most thing. You've proven it. You've proven it.

And back to the CCAC outdoor championships last season, you PR in your hammer throw, a 49 of the 49, a 4198. Yes. And you placed third. Yes.

What was taking me through the process of, you know, that PR and how you, you know, set your personal best in that hammer throw at that moment is such a big stake. I if you ask my coach, I'm always the type of person that will PR on my very last throw. And it's always out of nowhere. Throwing like I said, is very like mentally tiring.

And at that moment, I was just exhausted. I was so ready to just kind of like sit down, relax, get onto my next event. But I was like, you know what? It's like last throw, like I have to give my everything and hopefully it'll keep me in that third split spot.

And so I kind of just, I kind of just did it, you know, like put everything I had into that last throw and sometimes you get lucky and sometimes you don't. Yeah, everything you had it because it was the last meet of the year, right? Yes. So it was, it was almost like you had to put everything you had to.

I had to, yeah. And everything you had was a 49 40. Oh my God. I wish it was a 49.

That'd be insane. I don't know why I keep thinking of San Francisco 49ers. For whatever reason, I don't know why. I guess I just have them rambling in my head all the time.

My friends are like, like really, really like controversial about 49ers, but a 41 98. That was how you ended your season. And obviously very impressive. But to begin your season, there was no such thing as third place.

You came out, Windy City Classic, you won the weight throw. Yes. How did it feel to start your season off like that? It really was exciting.

It was really exciting. And then when we, because that was right before winter break. So I had like a full break to really like set my mind towards my goal, which is qualifying for nationals. So I really, I was in the gym all the time.

I didn't practice with the team as much because I wanted to take that time to really just focus on resetting my brain to focus on this season. So it was a lot of gym time, a lot of stretching, a lot of getting myself ready for the season. And since then, it's been just, I feel like a goal that I've had and it's something I try to work for every meet and I unfortunately haven't PR'd since then. But you know, it's something I'm really looking forward to.

And if it happens at this next meet, then it happens. Yeah. I mean, you got to take one beat at a time, right? You can't let it, you can't let it get to you if you don't throw good at one meet.

And that's the one thing that I've personally had to learn. So when you talk about things that you've had to learn as a thrower, what are some of the ones that, you know, pop up the most? What do you mean? Like, like what are some of the most valuable lessons that you've learned as a thrower?

You definitely can't let one bad throw gets you. Especially in meets where the ring is good, the environment's like very good. You have to make sure you let every throw count and you really can't let that one get to you. Because there's been meets where I've had one bad throw and I just crash and I'm done.

You know, so it's like you really need to remember to keep your head up, remember to support your teammates and just get the fire going. Because a lot of times I've noticed where our energy is at a higher level, we all perform better, not just one person. Very interesting take right there. I do want to ask this though, because obviously with throws, it's more of a two step process than it is a one step process.

Yeah, the goal is to throw it as far as you can, but there's a boundary that you literally cannot cross. Yeah. How do you build up and develop the self-awareness to not cross that line while focusing on trying to throw something as far as you can? It's definitely a lot of muscle memory.

A lot of times, so the ring stays the same all throughout high school, all throughout college, and even into the masters and diamond lakes. So it's a lot of muscle memory and knowing where you are in the ring. A lot of times I've had coaches set up cones or tape on certain parts where you're not supposed to be. So it's a lot of just really studying your technique, really studying.

Even looking at athletes who are at the highest level, it's really just making sure you are aware of what you're doing. Yeah, awareness is always, I feel like it's an underrated trait to have in track because obviously the two things that people think the most when it comes to track and field is strength and speed. Yeah. But I don't know.

The awareness to know where you are, it almost feels like it matters the most because if you throw something as far as you can and you cross the line, then it doesn't matter. Yeah, it doesn't count. And those are like always, you'll notice a lot of times those throws are always the best throws. And that's what hurts the most.

It's like, oh, I should have saved it. I should have caught myself, but sometimes you just can't. Has that ever happened to you? No.

So one thing I really kind of pat myself on the back for is that I tend not to step out. I try to save as much as I can just because you never know what throw will be your best or not. But that definitely sometimes starting out really shows you how much power you potentially can have. So I also think that is a kind of a flaw sometimes.

Yeah, I know for some people it can be hard because like you stressed earlier, it is mental. Like there is a mental aspect to this. But last time you were out and the Walter Crane invitation, you also PR in your shot putt. Yes.

A 1232, which plays third but yet another PR in the last span of the nine months that we've had so far. And this was very recent too. Yeah. How are you assessing your performance so far in the middle of this season?

So for specifically for shop, I've definitely seen a lot of improvement in myself in terms of just technique and power and the way I'm able to put that all together, especially when I'm facing diversity when it comes to just not throwing good or something just is not clicking that day. But with this last meeting, I just don't know what it was. You could tell I don't know if there's videos, but like the energy between the throwers, especially the other side at that specific time was just so electric. Like KDPR and then Jamie PR, then Leila PR, then IPR, did I just kept going and going and going?

So it was just like everybody was like yelling and screaming and you're cheering with each other. So it definitely was a good meet to be on. A domino effect. Yes.

Yes. Yeah. That's exactly what it sounded like. And knowing the energy of those girls, I had to imagine that it felt like a power trip.

Oh my gosh. It is honestly, there's a video of me hitting that PR and I'm just like screaming in that video and it's the funniest thing to watch because you hear my coach scream, you hear my teammates screaming and it's just such like a like it gives you such a light feeling. So, I always wondered how like when do you figure out that you just you did what you just did? Like how do you figure out how far you just threw something and when like when do you officially find out?

Do you find out as soon as it lands to somebody just yell out the number or do you look up at a board? Like what's the process like to finding out, you know, what you just did and how far you just threw something? So a lot of times meets will have markings on the floor, especially on indoor. They'll have markings.

So you can kind of see, okay, that looks to be 10 meters, you know, so and plus as the meet progresses, you get your three throws, but you'll kind of start realizing that, okay, that throw is kind of in the 10 meter area. Normally after you have to walk out of the back of the ring and that's how they like give you the green flag and then they'll mark it with like tape. So they'll like grab like a measuring tape and then put the stick down and that's how they mark it. A lot of times they use lasers too for discus and hammer just because it is such a far event.

So say you PR like like you just did with shot put. Do you like immediately like does it immediately click in your head that oh I should be hard or do you just like does it take a moment to like settle in? Sometimes it clicks a lot faster just because like going from an 1155 where I was to that 12 it was instant whereas sometimes where it's like you go from like for wait it was you know like a 14 something and then it went to 15, you know. So sometimes when the numbers are like so close together, it's like okay yeah whatever like it's just a number until like my coach called check he comes up he's like hey like that's a season PR and I'm like oh my god that's great you know.

So sometimes it's like you react better than others. Wow. So what happens if somebody finds out that you PR before you do? I mean it's definitely a lot more exciting especially if it is my teammates like Precious last week she PR over I believe three meters qualified for nationals she broke my record and I'm so proud of her.

You know I wish I could have PR but I'm still always going to support my teammates first. Team first environment yes the healthiest kind of environment is yeah. Yeah I just think that you know the chemistry is very important and I have to say how much of an impact do the men's throwers have on you because I know you kind of practice at the same time at the same place so and it's kind of an aspect that you don't get very often you don't see basketball teams practice the same time you don't see baseball and softball really you know do what they do at the same time but men's track and field and women's track and field it's almost like they combine forces. So what is the experience like with the men also having your back?

It's really nice just because they always push they seem to push us farther a lot of times where coaches will talk about will raise to our competition level so like when you see the guys there I mean yeah their implements are a lot heavier than our own but they're still throwing just as far so it's always nice to see like oh Nick had a really good weight practice let me throw as far as he was hitting the middle of the pad that's what I want to do tomorrow you know so it's like really good that we can compare to each other when we want to throw farther it's almost like a competition but like in a friendly fun way. That's not an easy thing to do healthy competition amongst like collegiate sports is not easy that is not easy and I think it's more of a mental aspect I mean you can't really get jealous of your teammates like I said with Precious I was so proud of her yeah I was disappointed in myself but I always am gonna make sure that I make her feel like hey I'm proud of you we're all gonna support you you're going at like nationals she's the first woman on our in our history of our program to do that in the terms of throws and I mean that's something everybody should be proud of. Yeah it's very impressive and knowing Precious I know that you know everybody's proud of her and everybody for her. I'm so excited to see your throw and I was a section of the other day I was like hey like just wait I'm gonna come with you I'm gonna come with.

Yeah I will be keeping tabs on that is a very impressive feat. However you do have some more competition ahead of you you have the indoor track championships for conference and then if we get there you have the national track and field championships so going forward and you know this is like crunch time this is kind of like what you work for you know all season long how are you feeling going into you know these conference championships. So right now I really am just trying to focus on getting all the kinks in my technique. So now I really want to make sure that I'm ready and I'm focused for this meet.

Day of I'm definitely a nervous wreck I'm always a nervous wreck I'm tend to be the nervous snacker so like I'm always just kind of like oh I have green pepper I'm just eat them so yeah so it's definitely something that you really just got to keep focus for I'm definitely the type that just needs it to be quiet and I need it to just relax because if I get too worked up then I throw my throws won't be that good. That's actually a good lead in because I want to know you personally like when you actually stepping into the ring and you're actually about to you know enter the process into you know throwing like do you have any like rituals that you do or do you just you know like take a deep breath or what do you do before you step into the ring and it's your turn. So normally for like for weight and shot put I just try to get as hyped as I can you know gonna get the adrenaline running because ultimately I feel like the more pumped you are the more ready you are to throw with weight I personally believe that you can't just muscle it the technique is so so important and so I step in I tighten my weight belt and then I just take a deep breath and I just get comfortable with the weight in my hand before I start because if I'm just not comfortable in the environment then it just is gonna fall apart. Again that mental part it like there's really a lot more mental than most people would think for track and field.

Yeah. It's really oh that's a lot of mental. How do you how do you sustain that mental strength throughout the course of a season and having to you know throw so many things so many times how do you sustain that mental strength? It's difficult and there's been times where I've talked with Coach Kewalchak and I'm just like you know what I'm so burnt out because especially with outdoor season the years previous it's so cold and it's always raining you know and you're out there for six seven eight hours you know so it can get very tough when in terms of okay I'm just here to throw and I'll be done you know so you really have to make sure that you take time also for that self care and then you need to be able to take time to step back and look at what you've done and be proud of yourself you know because there's a lot of times I'm like you know what I should have done better I should have done this this and this and Kewalchak will text me be like hey you're doing great these are your stats from last year and these are your stats this year you're at where you're supposed to be you know so it's a lot of just making sure that you're not too hard on yourself and you take that time to really be ready for your next competition.

And obviously your next competition is as this business is gonna get for the most part. Yes. Hopefully we can see you go further. Yes I'm moving.

And I mean I believe in you I believe you can do it clearly because you know you're here and you just PR in another category so obviously you have the ability to do it but like you said it's about you know it's about the mental strength a lot of mental. Yes yes. That won't be easy but we have faith that you can do it. Now I want to get into a little bit of academics so there's one thing to have the wrong to make it through college.

There's another thing if you have the brain. So let me get this straight you mean to tell me that you eat all these heavy things and you're a nursing major. It's it's rough it's definitely I'm not gonna say it's easy but I get through it. Oh my god.

Like age O.W. How do you go had do this stuff. How have you been doing this for three years now? So it's it's definitely not been easy.

I've definitely had to learn that I need to prioritize my time better. So like over this weekend Superball like it I didn't have a meet this weekend so it was like an extended weekend but I have an exam today. So like I had all these people like hey let's go out. Hey let's do this let's do this.

I'm like I'm sorry guys like I need Friday Saturday Sunday to study. I cannot go out and I didn't go out you know. So it kind of sucks when you're sitting at your house on a Saturday night like okay I'm bored I'm tired of studying but then it's like okay if I go out that means I'm gonna be up late which means I won't get off my day will start later on Sunday which means I won't have as much time to study. So it's just kind of like you really have to make sure you have to have the ability to say no and it kills me sometimes but I'm like you know what I'd rather have a good grade on this test than have a bad grade and be stressed about the next one.

You're killing me right now. You're killing me right now Maddie that was way too relatable. That was way too relatable because I'm sitting here watching the Superball and I'm like I haven't examined through the next day too and I'm like I don't want to. It's a lot of parallels with track and field the time prioritization is crucial right?

Yeah you definitely like a lot of times when we're going to far away meets you need to be willing to like study on the bus, study in the whole tower room, study when you're done competing like it's it's a lot of making sure you have the time to study and get your homework done. I mean personally right now I don't have a lot of homework assignments so it's a lot more studying but I catch myself sometimes like oh I just I'll study later I'll study later you know so you really got to make sure like hey I have to study right now. Be on the bus on the way to a meet. Yes.

Oh my gosh. Oh boy I don't know how y'all do it. But what what got you in the nursing is obviously you know it's a very you know important profession in our world obviously especially now so what makes you want to go into nursing? Um I don't know personally it was just something I had always wanted to do I never really had like oh this is what I this is what happened that caused me to want to be a nurse.

It was just kind of like okay I'm a do nursing you know and I mean my dad's um a first responder my aunts my cousins a lot of them work within the health care system but I personally believe that really never swayed my decision it was just always something I wanted. Uh were there any were there any other options? Oh yeah no there was definitely my parents have always been very supportive in terms of like careers I mean my mom she pushes for the trades and you know I'm like you know what I can respect that because my siblings you know school's not for everyone so you know she really pushed them to the trades and now my brother is in trade school you know so it's always something that's very important is to have that support from your family and my parents have definitely supported me throughout this. I can definitely relate to that because um obviously I want to be a sports broadcaster I want to be one of those people that you see on TV talk about sports because everybody says oh Joplin you got the voice I'm like okay yeah no you definitely do I definitely do.

Thank you. But my mom I remember I will never forget this she told me once I'm Joplin you know growing up I thought you were going to be a pharmacist I said what I'm like yeah I was like yeah Joplin I just I kind of want you to be a pharmacist I said whoa mom where did I come from? Well Joplin you're very smart you get good grades and I'm like well yeah I know I can pull some good grades here and there but it doesn't mean I have the passion to be a pharmacist I guess like me personally I don't know if I want to have the fate of somebody else's life in my hands or somebody or the fate of somebody else's well being in the palm of my hand. It's scary it's definitely a very scary thing to think about and my mom has always been like hey like this is what you have to make sure you're ready for even my first job I was a lifeguard and my mom sat me and my sister down and she's like you guys know that in this situation in this job you could potentially have to actually save someone's life.

And that same summer at 15 years old I actually did you know so it's really scary that in a year and a half instead of going to tell my patient oh I'll go get your nurse I will be the nurse you know so it's definitely something you have to be ready for and it's definitely not for everyone. It's not. No that's you hit it right on a nail like it is definitely not for everyone I mean it may sound like an easy thing on the surface like step by step and when you actually have to put those things into action and remember them and do it efficiently that that right there is where we draw the line. Yeah and then of course you know some of the hours you're working 12 hour shifts and depending on where you work you could be you know understaffed or just have a lot of patience and you just have to be able to put a smile on your face and treat every patient like you're the only patient so I mean it's definitely like mental definitely a mental thing.

So as obviously as a nursing major I feel oddly as I ask this how much of an impact did COVID have on your perception of like the nursing profession and health in general like how did COVID kind of what did it teach you about health? It definitely showed me that nurses are hardcore and it's not like something that the leg apart can actually fulfill just because in the hospitals now we're told to have our masks on and working with the masks on aren't too bad but there's been some times where I've had to go into patients rooms who have COVID or have like contact or droplet isolation so you're gounding up you have your PPE got the visor on you got the little shoe booties on and working in some of those rooms I walked out drenched in sweat drenched in sweat and so it's like you never like realized I was like dang I'm only doing this for six, eight hours these you know these men and women are doing it for 12 hours some days working in a double shift like you know I definitely caught me off guard when I was finally able to get into the hospital like oh wow like this is definitely a lot worse than I personally imagine it just because it's really hard to put yourself in someone's shoes when you don't understand what they do. Yeah that's uh that's almost like it sounds so dangerous a lack of knowledge it sounds so dangerous especially in that profession. Yeah no definitely you definitely have to understand what you're doing because they teach us they're very my professors are very good with the look a lot look like sounded like medications you give the wrong medication you could potentially kill your patient you know so you really have to make sure you're on top of your game when you're getting medications or caring for a patient.

Just so many ramifications so many things that are writing on your decision oh my gosh that's a lot of pressure like how do you think people like thrive in those situations how do you think like the nurses that get it done when they need it to the most how do you think they you know have the mentality to be able to provide for these people. You definitely have to look at the upsides of a lot of it because if you keep seeing the negative within the hospital say like oh all my patients are sick that will only bring you down I worked on the cardiac unit with my clinical cohort and so there was a lot of patients they're waiting for a heart transplant not everybody can get them you know so a lot of those patients were waiting for months and so there was patients where it's like oh my god we would all talk about how much we like them because they're so nice and they're just so easy to talk to and relate to and then when they finally get that heart it was like the most satisfying thing ever even though personally I've only seen them once or twice it was still such a good feeling you know because it's like oh I only brought him a cup of water or I only checked his vitals but in a way I feel like I'm doing something to make his day better. It's again it's a reoccurring thing that meant the mental yeah that's gonna be the word of the day yes that's the word of the mental that is that is our word of the day but I do have one final question for you Madison before I put you go so ultimately when you you graduate and you get your degree and you're off to the real world to do whatever it is you want to do what do you think you want your legacy to be after you graduate like what do you want to be known for when you when you ultimately go out into the real world. In terms of track I definitely want to be known as one of the girls or women who helped pave the way because I mean there was four of us who were the original class and I feel like just all of us in general we really want to be remembered as the ones who started this and helped build this program because I really want future athletes who do track to like hear about me or hear about meets that I competed in like wow you know they had so much energy they you know they all through so well that's what I want to do or I want co-wall check to bring up like that practice a funny story or something funny film or just something you know I want them to see the good times that we've had and know that track isn't all about just the hard work it's also about making the memories that you can look back on after you graduate college.

In terms of academics I've definitely struggled so I want people to realize that just because you aren't a straight A student doesn't mean you can't learn and you can't succeed. So very valid word of advice right there but yeah overall I mean on the track side it's got to feel like really really cool to be part of something original. Yeah yeah definitely when we set those first row of records it felt really satisfying it felt really good. Like you're writing history just by doing what you do.

Yeah I try to make the most of it because I mean one day those records are going to be broken and I know one day they're going to forget that I threw here but you know what I'm going to remember and my classmates and my teammates are going to remember and that's all that's important. And that's going to do it for this episode of the player profiles podcast. Special thanks to Madison Simpson for taking the time out of her day to come and do this interview with me. Until next time so long everybody oh wait forget again can I get a raw raw raw raw.

Go Cougs baby. Thank you very much for listening to this WXAV 88.3 FM podcast. Be sure to visit our website WXAV.com for more information on your escape from ordinary radio.