TEN QUESTIONS WITH...

I pretty much got into track and field because in high school my sister was really good, she was a five-time state champion in the 100-meter hurdles, and I always excelled academically so my mother said, “maybe you should try something more.” So I pretty much got into sports because my sister is really good and I wanted to give it a try.

2. You own multiple school track records. Is breaking records a goal that you set or do you not think about it?

When I broke the pentathlon this year, it was already my record going into this year and when the season started I had some goals and one was to re-break that record. I wasn’t happy with the score that was up there so I wanted to re-break it and I want to do it again at MACs.

Other records, like the hurdles, I don’t really set out to break. I didn’t know that it would happen so when it did that was a big surprise. But the pentathlon I set out to break and I want to break again and, outdoors, the heptathlon is my record and I want to break it again too.

3. Do you have a favorite, or least favorite, event in the pentathlon or heptathlon?

I do have a favorite event, that’s the long jump. It’s not my strongest event but I still enjoy it. But the event that my coach calls my moneymaker is the 800 (meters). I have a love-hate relationship with that event. It’s one of those events that I know that when I am done I’m going to be in a lot of pain, but if I can expect to win one event that would be the event. That’s the event I really work hard to win and I take pride in winning it.

4. Do you have a pre-event routine and if so, what is it?

I really don’t, but there are things that I do to get ready for every meet. I do a lot of visualizing because I have a lot of events to do, so I mentally want to see it first. Another thing that I always do before I run an 800 is, even though we aren’t allowed to talk on our phones, I sneak in the bathroom and I call my mom before every 800. I get so nervous that, for a split second, it’s like I forget how to run it. So I call and say, “mom, how do I run this again?” I do that every single time and the coaches know I do it. Sometimes Coach (Perry) Jenkins will give me the phone and say call your mom. So that is routine and I’ve done it before probably every 800 of my career.

5. What are your goals and expectations for the rest of the season, both indoors and outdoors?

We have MACs coming up, so I want to go out and have five good events. If that happens, hopefully I can win and get 10 points for the team in the pentathlon. I would also like to score in two open events, the open hurdles, the 4x400 (relay) or the long jump. I want to win my event, re-break the school record and put up a better score for nationals and then score in the open events

6. What are the differences for you competing indoors vs. outdoors?

When outdoor season comes around the coaches might have me run the 400-meter hurdles and my sister, who ran here, holds that school record so I told her that I’m going to shoot for it. So the possibility to compete in more events and score more points for the team is really the only difference.

7. Besides being a standout track and field performer, you are also a scholar-athlete as a nursing major. How difficult is it balancing you sport and your demanding major?

It was pretty difficult in the beginning. I remember my first week of nursing, seeing my course load and coming in and saying, “Coach, I’m going to flunk out of school or I can’t do track.” But he just told me that we would take it one day at a time and we’re going to make this work. There are some days when I have practice at 6:30 at night until 9:30 and those days he is here at 8:00 in the morning, so he has been great. Sometimes, if I’ve had a long day, maybe if I am working in the emergency room as a nurse, I will call him and say I just need to take a nap. He’ll say go home, take a nap, take the day off, whatever you need to do. So, it is tough but the coaching staff has been phenomenal. Then I have some professors that have been cool too, so I make it work out.

8. What has been your favorite moment as a student-athlete at UB?

It would definitely be ECACs my sophomore year. Myself, my sister Celestine Coney, Stacy Downer and Vashone Wallace broke the school record in the 4x400 (meter relay) for the first time. We finished fifth at the regionals and beat some huge schools. That was the biggest moment for me.

9. If you could play any other sport at UB, what and why?

Volleyball! Absolutely. I asked my coach last year and this year, “Coach can I please try out for the volleyball team?” He asks why, and I tell him just to see if I could make the team. I think I could, I was All-State in high school, I was so good. I always tell my mom that I wish I were taller because I would definitely be a volleyball player. I love volleyball, I go to all their games, I love it.

10. What do you like to do in your free time?

In my free time, with Todd Joki, who ran track here, we watch reality shows. Our favorite reality show is “Flavor of Love.” When I have free time, even if I have homework or studying to do, it is going to be put aside for an hour on Monday nights to watch “Flavor of Love.”