As the season is soon coming to an end, the Wolverine track team is putting in the work to end the season on a good note. At the distirct track meet held at the Standridge stadium on April 4, 2024, the Wolverines faced the tremendous heat and were still able to show how their hard work and dedication paid off.
Our two highlights for this week are: senior Ashdyn Kahouch, two-time all American in the 400 hurdles, and junior Tristan Lawyer.
Track meets take a lot of hard work, mental strength, and preparation. These two amazing athletes have very specific routines they follow the morning of their races.
Kahouch states that he wakes up, does a light stretch and takes a cold shower to relax all his muscles and prepare for the impact he will endure during the meet. Kahouch also eats a light breakfast because if he eats too much “I will have weird bowel movements that will mess up my race,” he said.
Lawyer’s pre-race preparation is fairly similar. He makes sure he gets a good night’s sleep so he is ready for the long day. As well as drinking lots of water and liquid IV so he can “stay hydrated and ready to be out in the heat exerting that much energy.”
Being a track runner you endure many ups and downs during the season, but how do you overcome these challenges?
Kahouch explains how his biggest obstacle was being injured in the previous season, setting him back in his abilities. This caused a lot of mental and physical stress. He holds himself to high standards and wants to be able to perform to the best of his ability. However he was able to change his outlook on this challenge and used it as motivation to get better, and it worked. He has sacrificed lots of time and put forth a lot of effort to be where he is today. Because he stayed dedicated through this struggle, he is now better than ever.
“You just gotta stay dedicated and I used that injury to help myself get better,” Kahouch said.
Along with those ups and downs also comes a lot of self doubt. This can be very hard to overcome if you let it control you. It also can have a very negative impact on your athletic ability. Lawyer said that when he doubts himself, he looks back on all of his accomplishments and great things he has done to motivate him.
“If I did it once I know I can do it again and probably even better,” Lawyer said.
Both of these dedicated athletes have had their fair share of wins and losses, but winning makes them feel so proud and happy for themselves. It is a great feeling seeing that all the hard work has finally paid off.
“[Losing] is definitely a hard feeling, knowing I could have done better,” Kahouch said.
With all the time they spend practicing and working hard, losing is definitely not easy. They put a lot of pressure on themselves to do well, so not doing your best leads to disappointment.
However as these athletes reflect on their losses, they use this feeling to grow and perform better in their upcoming races.
“It makes you not want to do it again so you work harder,” Lawyer said. This is such a powerful and strong mindset to use these setbacks as motivation to be the best next time.
We are so proud of all of our Wolverine track runners and their dedication to the team does not go unnoticed. Good job on a great season Wolverines and keep up the hard work!