Wesley Thomas

February 2, 2004

So here it was, our first full-squad meet. It was just a little dual meet with Sewanee, so it wasn't that big a deal. I always like these scrawny Sewanee meets because there's not a lot of pressure and you can still do well.

The bus trips aren't bad, either. I've been in worse. The week before, when we went to East Tennessee State, we got lost somewhere in North Carolina. Whoever drove that van was definitely lost in some other train of thought, but that's another story.

Meanwhile, bus trips are fun because they give you a chance to bond with people you may have never seen before, like freshmen. As a senior, I want to know everybody just in case I want to talk about somebody. But I digress.

The meet was pretty interesting. Emory completely dominated it; it seemed like Sewanee had about 10 folks competing against our many more. All of our people did well, as a matter of fact.

For the first full-squad meet, I was impressed with the freshmen's performances. They did much better than I did when I started out three years ago.

Our track team is like one big family. We get along great and although doing well is a big priority on everyone's list, so is getting along.

In an effort to not sound sappy, I think it's our trust and comfort with each other that allows us to do well. That's probably why we do so well for a Division III team. Overall, I thought Sewanee was a good place for us to start off the year.

Personally, I was impressed with my own beginning marks, even though it seems like I'm always in somebody's shadow. But I figure that with a little more time and work, I'll be the one who people look at and pay attention to. Until then...

Wesley Thomas is a senior from Dallas, Texas. He would love to answer e-mail questions from Emory recruits and fans.