By Kieran Rock & Kelly Burns, Editors
Kathy Cadet was named MAAC performer of the week for her performance at the USF Bulls Invitational. Cadet ran a 1:02.81, a time that qualified her for the ECAC Championships in just her first meet of the season. A junior and two-year captain of the Women’s Track and Field team, Cadet’s outdoor prospects look bright for the Jaspers this season. Coming off a tough indoor track season Cadet was unsure of how the outdoor season would play out, but her run in the opening meet of the season positions her well for the rest of the year. Cadet, whose main event is the 400 hurdles, also runs the 200 and 400 as well as the 4×1 and 4×4 relays for the team.
Quadrangle: Why did you choose Manhattan College?
Kathy Cadet: I chose Manhattan College because it was kind of far from home. I’m from Upstate New York, Binghamton, and I wanted to be closer to the city because I have family around the city. It’s perfect, because it’s three hours away, so it wasn’t too close and it wasn’t too far.
Q: “Were you recruited in high school by a Manhattan coach?”
KC: “Yes, I was recruited by Coach Ryan. My main event is 400 hurdles, and I actually filled out a questionnaire to a bunch of schools around the city and he answered me and said he was interested in recruiting me.
Q: “You were MAAC performer of the week?”
KC: “Yes and that was my first time getting MAAC performer of the week so I was really excited. That happened during our meet over spring break in Florida. I also qualified for ECAC in my first time running this year, I was really shocked. I didn’t even know I qualified and I asked my coach and he said ‘Oh yeah, you qualified’.”
Q: “What do you attribute this accomplishment to?”
KC: “I had a pretty rough indoor season. I didn’t PR, I didn’t qualify, which I I did last year, so indoor was pretty rough. I thought maybe my training was messed up, but then I qualified in my first outdoor meet so I started to think maybe I’m ok.”
Q: “What are your goals for this season?”
KC: “My first goal was to qualify for ECAC which I did. And my second goal is to break the school for the 400 hurdles.”
Q: “Do you have a specific moment in your track career that stands out to you?”
KC: “I think with Track and Field, it’s such a mental sport that if you overthink something it can actually ruin your race. The best times I’ve ever run are the times I’ve gone into the race not stressing about it. For the 400 hundred indoor, for me, it was a big deal to break into 56 seconds. We were doing the 4×4 and my coach was giving me my split and he said I broke 56 and it was so weird because I didn’t put a ton of effort into thinking about it. Since then I’ve felt like if you want to do really well you have to just not stress about it and just race.”
Q: “What was it like running in high school versus running in college?”
KC: “In high school it was a lot easier and a lot less stressful, because it was easier to win honestly. You can ask anyone on our team, everyone was really good in high school and then you come to college and everyone is either just like you or better than you. The competition is so much more intense. That’s one of the main things that freshman need to get used to transitioning from high school to college: you’re not going to be the best and you have to work very very hard to get where you want to be.”
Q: “If you could give advice to a high school student trying to run at a Division I school, or any college, what would you say?”
KC: “I would probably tell them not to give up and not to beat down on themselves. I know, for me, coming from high school its very hard to get used to, but once you get over it and get comfortable, it’s not that bad.”
Q: “Do you have plans to continue running after college?”
KC: “I don’t know. It depends on how the rest of this year goes and how the rest of my senior year goes. Track is a double season, so it takes up the whole school year. A lot of times you get sick of it, but then once track ends and the summer starts I’m like ‘I wish I could compete again.’ So it depends.”