The Hustler sat down with sophomore ace Sonny Gray and junior runner Rita Jorgensen for this Friday's edition of "He Said/She Said." The Tennessee natives talked about the impact of last week's rare snowfall, their exciting fall seasons, and the hype surrounding their teams this spring.
Vanderbilt Hustler: How would you describe your training regiment so far this semester?
Rita Jorgensen: I am just coming off a foot injury that I got over winter break. I have been doing a lot of cross training, but I just began doing track workouts last week, and I am planning to start competing in indoor track next week.
Sonny Gray: Training has been long and tiring so far this spring, but a lot of this is because of our trip to Japan. We didn’t get to do a lot of conditioning in the fall, so we just finished making up for it. Now we start practice, which everyone is looking forward to.
VH: Did the snow change any of your practice plans?
RJ: The snow was awesome; however, it did change my practice plans. I couldn't run outside for a few days because I didn't want to slip, so I ran inside on the treadmills instead.
SG: Being from Tennessee, this is the most snow I have ever seen. At first I was excited to see all of the snow, but then we missed our first day of practice on the field. We had to spend the whole time shoveling the snow off of the infield tarp, so I was tired of it after a day.
VH: How would your teammates describe you?
RJ: My teammates would probably describe me as pretty easygoing, but serious when it matters. Also they would describe me as a leader and a team player.
SG: I think my teammates would describe me as an energetic person (who) gets along with everyone.
VH: What are your pre-game/pre-meet routines?
RJ: I talk to Coach about my race goals and then visualize my races the night before, focusing on time, place and attitude goals. Then I wake up, eat breakfast, drink some coffee and race.
SG: Before I pitch, I like to kind of try and clear my head. I go about my normal day in school and all, but then I get to the field and listen to some music. Everything stays normal until about an hour before the game, when I feel like I turn into a different person.
VH: Highlight of your career with the team so far?
RJ: This past cross-country season was a breakthrough season for our team. Everyone came together as a team to realize and achieve our goals. By working together and pushing each other, we were able to achieve fifth place in (the Southeastern Conference meet) and Regionals, tying Vanderbilt's best-ever places in both meets.
SG: I would have to say the trip to Japan by far. Hopefully we can make some more memories this year by making it to Omaha.
VH: Hype for the 2010 season?
RJ: We are in the midst of indoor track season where we have already set many personal records. Outdoor track in the spring should be exciting because if we continue to see the same improvement and teamwork that we had during cross country, we will set lots of personal records and be a strong competitor in the SEC meet.
SG: I think we have a very legit team that can have a lot of success. We have to stay together and just win one game at a time.
