Written by Kaelyn Spickler
For many of us, this past week’s break was a time where we caught up on sleep, visited with family, filled our plates with stuffing, and then hit the mall on Black Friday. For the athletes in season, however, their break was not as relaxing or carb-filled. Instead, they hit the gym and weight room to stay in shape, but they still indulged in some good food.
The swimmers were encouraged to workout every day over break as the team did not want to risk losing their undefeated status. “Our coach made a Google Doc with what was expected of us over break like cross-over symmetries, and getting in the pool and weight room every day,” sophomore Sarah Virginia Scott said. This meant that unlike many of us who spent the days sleeping in, Scott and her teammates did not join us, and instead were up and doing their exercises. “Obviously, it affected sleeping in or taking naps, but I think this is what makes us a successful team and reminds us what we are working towards.”
With the track team’s season opener this weekend, it was, especially, crucial the team did not let themselves go over the break. The team was able to go home on Tuesday, but that does not mean they were not working hard. “We were to continue with our workouts and our running schedule, which consisted of lifting in the weight room and running every day, even on Thanksgiving. The workouts ended up being an hour to two hours. Hopefully doing this pays off this weekend during our meet and shows in the points we accumulate,” said freshman pole vaulter Jackson Smith. Because he was keeping up with his workouts, Smith enjoyed all of the Thanksgiving food. “I ate just as much as I normally would on Thanksgiving. I probably ate way too much.”
In order to prepare for their game this past Sunday, the Women’s Basketball team was to be back and ready for practice at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 24. Sophomore Guard Kristina Harrel, along with sophomore Guard Megan Wheeler, was not able to make it to practice due to a mix up with their flights. “I had a flight out of Philadelphia that was supposed to arrive in Roanoke at 12:30 that day, but there was a misapproach for the runway in Roanoke, so they flew us into Tennessee. We were sitting in the airport for a few hours, and then they finally cancelled our flight. At this point it was 4:00 p.m., and the airport was two and half hours away, so I had to call my coach and let her know what was happening,” Harrel said. The two girls made up for missing practice by hitting the gym extra early on Sunday. “We had a walk through planned for 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, and Megan and I went in an hour early because we wanted to get some shots up before the game that night.”
For those of you who stayed wrapped in bed until late afternoon, or ate half of the pumpkin pie, make sure not to rub it into the athlete’s faces. Do make sure to catch these teams in action, though, to see how their hard work paid off.
