Sophomore Kryshell Rolle recently broke a school record winning gold in the 60 meter hurdles at the 2013 Southland Conference Indoor Championships. Rolle was one of the first two female athletes to get gold in an individual event at a conference meet. Rolle took some time to talk about the accomplishment.
Q: How did it feel when you crossed the finish line to win the gold?

A: It felt good. I didn’t really get the time I intended to run, but a win is a win, so I was happy with it. I was improving my time all season, so I was happy with the progress.

Q: Did you have a feeling during the race that you were doing well?

A: Going into the race, I knew I had the fastest time, but I just wanted to stay focused on my race and not get sidetracked because I knew anything could happen in a race. So I just stayed focused.

Q: You won by .06 seconds. How do you work to get better by such small amounts?

A: That is really technical. You just work on your technique.  I know if I perfect my technique, I can run a whole lot faster. That’s all it really is: speed and technique, more so technique than speed.

Q: How did you celebrate after you won gold?

A:  The whole team was happy because it was a fun time for Nicholls. We never really had anyone win indoor, so everyone was just really happy. My coach was happy, too.

Q: What was it like to be able to share it with someone?

A: Yeah, the team was just really happy for both of us.

Q: How important are wins like this to building the track program at Nicholls?

A: Like Jackie said, it just put Nicholls on the map because we never really had hurdlers. And the distance girls are always good, so it just really put us out there for other schools to watch out for.

Q: Did things speed up or slow down when you were about to win?

A: It really picked up.

Q: It was a two-day event, so were you anxious to get back out there on the second day?

A: I was anxious, but I tried to stay patient and let it come to me.

Q: Did it kind of make it all worth it coming to Nicholls from the Bahamas?

A: It does pay off training-wise. There are more opportunities here, but you still have a lot of talented athletes back home. It does feel good, but I know I have a lot of competition there waiting me. It just pushes me to work hard and achieve my goals.