The Stride Report will be running a series of articles consisting of interviews and op-eds from athletes across the nation. Our aim is to bring you a variety of perspectives from multiple collegiates in the running community who have been impacted by the recent competition cancellations. More conversations are on the way!
Addy Townsend was the best of the best when it came to the D2 middle distances. She finished the season with a 4:40 mile PR and a 2:07 seasonal best in the 800 meters. The Simon Fraser veteran was a favorite to win the national title in the 800 meters this season before the national meet was cancelled. Many thanks to Addy for sharing her thoughts on the recent developments!
The Stride Report: Could you give us a rundown of what the last week has looked like for you? The excitement heading into Nationals, traveling, how you were feeling when schools started scratching athletes, and the eventual cancellation?
Addy Townsend: My team left Wednesday to go to Alabama and the whole team was beyond excited for the upcoming competition. The concerns regarding the virus were not as high in Canada as it was in the US. For me, traveling is part of the fun. It creates nerves, teaches you how to prepare well and enjoy time with your teammates.
When we started to hear about the exclusion of the fans, family, and friends and also the banquet being cancelled, we were disappointed. However, we were staying hopeful that the race would happen. We went to do our race prep at the track and I felt calm and so ready to start the weekend.
Hearing the news about the meet being cancelled was absolutely devastating in the moment and it took some time to get my head around it. The whole team was fairly down, but we had to keep our heads up and work towards the next goal.
TSR: What were your goals for outdoor season? Addy: I was extremely excited for outdoor season, it was going to be where I left my mark as a collegiate athlete. I was so beyond happy to compete at my last championships and make myself and my whole university proud. Of course, I don’t know what it would have held as I try to focus on one day at a time, but I truly believe I was ready and in the best shape of my life. TSR: What are your plans now and what’s your mindset for this spring? Addy: Even with the meet and outdoor season being cancelled, my mindset doesn’t change. I will continue to be a better athlete everyday and keep my head up and my aspirations the same. I know feeling depressed and angry will only make it more difficult to reach my goals for myself. My team will continue to practice and work hard until the we know what the next opportunity will be.
TSR: If Division Two follows Division One and gives athletes another outdoor season, will you return next year?* Addy: That’s a hard question to answer right now as I am just trying to deal with the news. Of course I would love to complete my senior year and see what I could have accomplished, but some things will need to be talked about with my coach. However, I do agree that this is the best decision for these athletes that have had the opportunity taken away from them.
*Note: It has since been reported that all divisions are expected to receive additional spring eligibility. Recent reports suggest that it is "unlikely" that the NCAA will offer additional eligibility to winter athletes.
Kaylee Bogina and Haleigh Hunter-Galvan are two long distance veterans who have been staple names of the elite Adams State program for years now. Both women were set to run in the 3000 meters and the 5000 meters at the Indoor National Championships. Thank you to both women for their openness and insight!
Kaylee Bogina
The Stride Report: Could you give a rundown of what the past week has looked like for you? The excitement heading into Nationals, traveling, how you were feeling when schools started scratching athletes, and the eventual cancellation?
Kaylee Bogina: My team left Tuesday afternoon and I didn't think much other than normal, it was just the normal travel routine. The Denver airport was pretty crazy because lines were super short, but considering it’s usually packed, it was actually really nice.
We got to Alabama and I saw that the Harvard athletes had been scratched [from the D1 national meet). Of course that was sad to see, but I knew that would never be the case for us. Our program is greatly supported by the whole university, so I was confident we wouldn’t do the same.
Coach made a statement about us needing to focus on our goals while in the midst of all these distractions. I really agreed with that because I thought there would be a lot of upsets at the championships due to athletes being distracted by the news and media.
Thursday came around and we got to the Crossplex for pre meet and strides and everything was normal. Athletes were just gearing up for the next day competition. The banquet was already cancelled, but that wasn’t that surprising. We found out on Thursday afternoon around 3 or 4 pm that our seasons were finished, and for myself, that meant my career at Adams.
Days later and it still doesn’t feel real.
TSR: What were your goals for outdoor season?
Kaylee: In terms of outdoor season, I received my first All-American honor last year in the 10k and so since then, I had the dream of winning the race this year. It was suppose to be back in Kingsville, Texas and so I knew the heat was going to be a huge factor again. Many athletes don’t compete well in the heat, but I knew with myself being from Kansas that I have spent a lot of my life in hot conditions and I felt like that made the field more evenly matched.
TSR: What are your plans now and what’s your mindset for this spring?
Kaylee: I think things are being discussed for our conference. As of now, I will take some time off before preparing for a summer season and hopefully trying to get in some track races and possibly start competing on the roads.
TSR: If Division Two follows Division One and gives athletes another outdoor season, will you return next year?*
Kaylee: As of now I don’t know if I will come back for another spring season in 2021 for Adams, but I still plan to keep training and racing and looking for grad schools. If i was to receive indoors as well as outdoors, I would probably be more likely to come back to compete.
As of now, I have planned to get my masters degree away from Adams, so these are all things that will have to be taken into consideration when I make my decision. I received a scholarship through the NCAA for post-graduation that I am allowed to use anywhere for my masters and I’m not allowed to use it if I have eligibility remaining.
My original plan was for me to get a master's through another university, but now I will have to halt that process if I want to use my eligibility. This decision changes so many things other than just cancelling a track meet.
It changes our lives.
*Note: It has since been reported that all divisions are expected to receive additional spring eligibility. Recent reports suggest that it is "unlikely" that the NCAA will offer additional eligibility to winter athletes.
In lieu of questions, Haleigh opted to write about her experience as a whole.
Haleigh Hunter-Galvan
When I heard that Harvard had scratched [from the D1 national meet], I was surprised and felt awful for the student athletes while being grateful that my school didn’t follow suit.
Still, I was super excited for the journey to Birmingham, we had a two day travel schedule with a lovely group of people. While resting in my hotel room, I saw updates indicating potential restrictions on spectators. Eventually, we were told it would be limited to family members. I was relieved to hear this.
A couple of hours later, we were told that no spectators would be allowed. I had to break the news to my family to cancel hotel and car rental reservations because they weren’t allowing any spectators. I called my Mum and she was speechless and in disbelief, but after some processing, she told me not to worry about them and that they would be screaming for me into their phone screens.
I felt these measures were too harsh and felt sad because my Nanna had traveled from New Zealand to watch me compete along with my three siblings and parents. Nothing could have prepared me for what came next. I never thought they would go take such extreme measures as we’d already been exposed while traveling and had been at the Crossplex, with other athletes, on two occasions already.
So when I saw the notification of our national meet cancelation, I had trouble processing it. I felt betrayed, lost and confused. I went into a state of panic trying to process while the implications slushed around in my head. My roommate Kaylee and I lost control of our emotions after our coach confirmed everything. All we could do was hold each other while we both wept.
Shortly after, we had a team meeting and Coach Martin helped put everything into perspective for us. As difficult as this was for us, it felt awful for our coaching staff, family and supporters.
My goal was to run my final season with the people I started this journey with. I was looking to improve my 5,000 PB, post a 10,000 time and focus on steeple. Just last week, I got in a few jumps doing steeple drills and I experienced a craving sensation that comes when you want and feel something special. My plan now is to take my transition and wait for further updates. My mindset would definitely be a more go with the flow and play it by ear outlook. Perhaps there will be some “pop up” meets to help ease the loss and keep us focused with an opportunity to set new goals.
We don’t know what is happening with practice, I can’t even imagine how stressful this is for coaches too. I will be returning to campus and continue to run with my teammates if and while I can.
I’ve been working on plans for next year. Right now I’m pretty lost. There are too many unknowns at the moment. I’m not making plans until all the stipulations are ironed out and I know how things such as credit hours and scholarships are going to be dealt with.
My life is in limbo, I'm a super senior, so it’s more complicated.