Junior cross-country runner Sarah Pressley recently placed 30th overall at the Southland Conference Cross-Country Championships. She took some time to answer some questions for the Nicholls Worth.
Q: How was your season?
A: It was good because freshman year I was useless. I did nothing. I redshirted both seasons because I was always injured, so my sophomore year was more like running. This past year, I actually had to do stuff, like excel. And I have. I got my 5K down to 19.16, and it was 19.49 at the beginning of the season. It was good overall because I did not get injured.
Q: Did you have a favorite moment from the season?
A: We raced in Lafayette, and it was pouring rain on us the entire time. It was just disgusting, sloshy mud. At the end of the race, it was just the proudest moment of the season. It was hard.
Q: In most sports, the upperclassmen are usually considered to generally be better than freshmen or sophomores. Is that true in track and cross country?
A: Well no, because Tessni (Carruthers) is our sophomore, and she is just killing it for us. She is a rock star. But besides her, it pretty much goes that way because you grow so much as a runner. Especially, females do not develop as runners until later in life, like mid-20s, so typically older is better.
Q: Are you guys competitive on the team amongst each other?
A: For me, no. I do not care. Some people are, but I just look at every race as my own race. You are working as a team, but you are kind of solo out there.
Q: Do you guys really throw up after meets, or is that a myth?
A: My goal this season was to run so hard that I vomit, but I never did. I have not in my life. But for track, I will have to do it.
Q: What are you majoring in?
A: I am doing mass communications in public relations. It is hard.
Q: Do you like it?
A: It is okay. I am making it.
Q: Most of your meets are away. How is it not being able to compete at home much?
A: It is definitely frustrating. We do not have a fan base that is traveling four or five hours away. So it would be nice to have fans with us. But for track we have close meets, like LSU sometimes, where we can get some people.
Q: Do you like traveling?
A: No, not at all. I always haven’t. Emily Charlesworth is my roomie every time, which is great. We have fun, and we watch Animal Planet as our pre-race ritual. But otherwise, it just takes a lot of my time, and I do not like it.
Q: Since you are at a meet all day, what do you do when you are not running?
A: I do a lot of people watching. Track athletes are a very good looking group of people. So I usually race first thing in the morning and then have eight or nine hours to do nothing but wander.
Q: Do you have a favorite sports movie?
A: I would say “Remember the Titans.” It is so cliché, but I love it to death.
Q: What do you like about running?
A: I like that if you are mad, and you go running, then you are too tired to be mad. That is the biggest stress reliever ever.