USU men's cross-country and track share a few of their athletes

USU men’s cross-country is training a few track runners hoping to lengthen their distance

By Weslie Hatch

Men’s cross-country has a few members on its team that are using the fall season to train for the track season in the spring.

In track, middle-distance running events are races longer than sprints ranging from the 800-meter to the 3000-meter.

A few of the athletes on the men’s track team also compete with the cross-country team in the fall to better prepare themselves for the track seasons.

“Being on the xc team has helped me prepare for the track season 100 percent,” said Brett McAdams, a senior distance runner. “It’s a nice aspect to be able to train while racing. It’s good because it’s giving me new and different ways to train as opposed to the way we train for track.”

McAdams said for him “it’s like putting money in a bank”. He said during the cross-country season he is able to get in a lot of mileage so when track comes he’ll be able to use those miles to his advantage. He said he wants to “put in as many miles now so come January I can withdraw those miles and not empty my bank.”

Just like McAdams, Justin Sheets, a sophomore distance runner, said being on the cross-country team helps keep the athletes in shape year round so they will already have a good base of mileage going into the track season.

Sheets competes in the 3000-meter steeplechase, the 5k and the 1500-meter events which are all middle-distance events. He said because he does participate in the longer events in track, training on the cross-country team in the fall helps give him the strength to continue through both seasons.

“I think most of the athletes work year round because of their dedication,” Sheets said.

As a middle-distance runner who usually competes in the 800-meter event, McAdams said this coming season in track he will be including the mile in his repertoire.

“It’s been a long season,” McAdams said. “I’m not really a cross-country runner, but I’ve been training hard and running my best. You just have to keep things in perspective and move forward. All of the athletes have been training hard and preparing for the next season."

Improved schedule for men's track and field

USU men’s track & field schedule has changed to create a better competition

By Weslie Hatch

USU's track & field head coach, Gregg Gensel, tweaked the spring schedule with hopes to make a better competition for the athletes.

Last year the track & field team only took the throwers and the distance runners to Irvine, Calif., for one of the team’s competitions in March.

According to Gensel, the reason he made the switch was because in the past if the sprinters and jumpers had gone they would have done two weekends of big competitions in a row. He said changing the schedule will help the team better prepare for future competitions where the whole team can attend.

The track & field team is in its winter indoor season, which started in Oct and will end in March, while preparing for the outdoor spring season that will run until June.

“We’re trying to make the competition more quality,” Gensel said.

Each season the team builds upon each cycle of practice to prepare for the next season. Gensel said a lot of what the coaches do prepares the each athlete for the meets.

“I think having the whole team go down to Irvine will be a great experience,” said Devin Wright, a junior thrower. “If the entire team is there cheering for each other it makes it that much easier for the competitor to reach their potential.”

Wright said track is interesting because it is both an individual and a team sport and its unique dynamic makes it enjoyable.

 “This is the first year I know of that the whole team will be going to the meet in UCLA,” Wright said. “Being able to face high-level competition at each meet will help us be prepared both mentally and physically to perform well at conference.”

Wright said he thinks going to meets like UCLA and Irvine and watching tough competition will motivate the athletes to work for better marks and times. He said the combination of seeing quality competition early on and being pushed to improve will only result in an overall stronger team performance come time for the conference.

USU men's tennis making significant lifestyle changes

USU men’s tennis has incorporated new lifestyle habits hoping for better performance results  

By Weslie Hatch

From the way it eats, to the way it sleeps, to the way it trains and competes, the USU men’s tennis team has decided to create a standard of excellence that goes far beyond the tennis court.

It began with Clancy Shields, the head coach, figuring out he needed to start practicing what he was preaching.

“I was telling the team to eat healthy, get enough sleep, be fully present in practices, etc.,” Shields said. “However, I was fat and out of shape.”

Shields said he was still eating like an athlete and “putting whatever junk I could get my hands on” into his body.

He said getting the team to change its everyday lifestyle was going to have to start with himself so he needed to actually live what he was preaching.

According to Shields the result of this was inconsistent energy levels, erratic mental clarity, and the inability to get on the court and practice with the team. He said he was not being the best coach he could be. 

“I want the team to live a lifestyle of being the best in everything it does,” Shields said.

He decided to start a weeklong juice cleanse. Shields said the team thought it was just a mental challenge Ben Mullis, the assistant coach, had put forth and he wouldn’t stick with it. But the athletes soon started asking questions.

After becoming educated about juicing, the team decided to add it into its training table and loved it. Coach Shields started seeing the benefits on the court as well as seeing them during training days. 

According to Shields there have been players who have been resistant to the new approach and others who have jumped on board “full steam ahead”.

“I like trying new things,” said Jaime Barajas, a sophomore on the team. “I felt like changing how we eat was going to be something different but I knew it was going to help us in the long run.”

According to Barajas, the team has been eating healthy for a little over one month. He said while traveling for fall tournaments no one ate bread and the team tries to only have one cheat meal a week.

“Before we started our juice cleanse, and decided to eat healthy, we took a body fat test,” said Barajas. “Personally I’ve noticed the benefits of changing my habits because after the first month we took another test and I lost body fat.”

Shields said because the team found success in making this small change, it soon started to think about other areas it could explore to get a competitive advantage. He said the athletes started challenging each other to focus on getting eight hours of sleep and to hold each other accountable.

“What started out as us demanding self improvements and being the best we can in everything we do, changed to demanding it out of each other,” said Shields.

Shields said the team ferociously competed against each other in practice to propel each other’s games and they have challenged each other to become a little bit better each day in all areas of their lives. 

“The team has to commit to this standard of excellence everyday,” said Shields. “At times the athletes may falter, but the great thing is they are not doing this alone and they have a caring team to help them through.”

USU men's golf is bringing back yoga

USU men’s golf is bringing back team yoga to improve their flexibility

By Weslie Hatch

USU men’s golf is bringing back team yoga after a few years break to keep its flexibility and improve overall performance.

“We had tried it years ago and we feel like we play our very best when we’re in our best shape,” Dean Johansen, the head coach, said. “We played really well in the fall and want that to continue so we thought we’d try bringing yoga back.”

Johansen said there are a few teammates who are older and have been doing the same things over and over so they’re excited to switch up the normal workout routine.

According to Johansen the team usually works out in the winter by doing core training to stay in shape. But he said while the team plays in the summer it lifts weights because the two compliment each other. Johansen said if the athletes were to lift weights in the off-season they would become less flexible.

“More important than anything, in golf, is flexibility,” Johansen said. “There are a few men on the team who are not flexible at all so this should really help them as well as the whole team.”

Johansen said Coach Skinner, the assistant coach, has connections to the Sports Academy. This made it easy for him to schedule yoga sessions there. The team plans to attend the sessions at 7:30 a.m. twice a week, starting in January.

“Most of our tournaments are 7:30 a.m. shotguns,” Johansen said. “This is another thing we battle because most of the athletes are in school from 7:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. so we rarely do anything in the morning. The team usually performs better in the afternoon.”

Johansen thinks by going to yoga in the morning it will help the team perform better in its early morning tournaments as well as the afternoon.

“Flexibility really isn't my strength,” Tanner Jenson, a junior on the team, said. “It's something that I think if I work at, will help me quite a bit during competition.”

Jenson said before Tiger Woods there wasn't really any working out or fitness incorporated into golf. He said now almost all D1 schools have incorporated some sort of work out to keep up their stamina and strength.

Jenson thinks doing yoga will help bring the whole team together during the off-season.

“We already have a close group of guys on the team that hang out with each other a lot,” Jenson said. “But having more time together can create confidence between each one of us which will transfer to the course.”

USU men’s track & field looking to send multiple athletes to the Olympic trials this summer

USU men’s track & field looking to send multiple athletes to the Olympic Trials this summer

By Weslie Hatch

For some making it to the Olympics has always been a dream. For others, like a few of the male sprinters on the USU track team, that wasn’t always the case.

The USA Olympic Trials for track & field will take place this summer in Eugene, Ore., starting at the beginning of July.

“My main goal is to make it to the Trials this year,” Cole Lambourne, a senior sprinter, said. “I’ve always had the dream to go to the Trials and then the Olympics, but it became more realistic when I had a really good season last year and ended up competing in the World University Games in Korea last summer.”

Lambourne was named the America First Credit Union Utah State Student-Athlete of the Week last June and earned Second-Team All-American Honors at the end of the season.

“Track isn’t one of those skill sports like basketball where you need to practice specific things over and over to get it right,” Lambourne said. “Something I do on my own, though, is extra weight training. Upper body work, core strengthening, just some really basic supplemental things.”

Lambourne said although the majority of the training is done as a team, he does a few things on his own while making sure he has his goals in mind.

“During the off-season it’s more of just building a lot of base fitness. Weight lifting 3 times a week, doing a lot of long runs (putting in mileage), less speed training,” Lambourne said. “I’m just getting fit and preparing my body for the long haul.”

In-season training is a bit different. He said since there is a lot more racing going on, training is a little less intense. During the season Lambourne has to work on speed more than strength and work on the technical things like block starts and race strategy.

Just like Lambourne, Nic Bowens, another senior sprinter, didn’t always have the Olympics in mind.

“I first realized this goal around the 2012 Trials when I noticed the times that some of these professionals were running weren’t too far from what I was running,” Bowens said. “It gave me motivation to keep training and improve in order to have a chance to compete for the Olympic team.”

In preparation for the Trials, Bowens also puts in some extra work outside of team training. He said although he does extra, he isn’t doing too much because he doesn’t want to overdue it and get himself hurt. He said he has faith in the coaches and their training style.

Bowens was also named the America First Credit Union Utah State Student-Athlete of the Week in March and the Mountain West Men's Indoor Track Athlete of the Week in February.

Alongside training, both Bowens and Lambourne know if they want to be the best athletes they can be and make it to the Trials, they have to keep strict diets.

“My off-season diet isn’t as strict but I still try to eat as healthy as I can. I’m more lenient,” Lambourne said. “I’ll eat fast food or canned food here and there, but when it comes time for the season I try to stick to a strict and routine diet.”  

Besides putting in extensive hours of training on and off the track, the support groups of these athletes are what, at times, keep them motivated to keep their goals and make it to the Trials.

Lambourne said sometimes he feels as though goals and aspirations as big as something like the Olympic Trials seem to be unrealistic to most people. But he said his friends and family have always supported his goal.

“When I went to the Games over the summer I became friends with a few other athletes that have the same goals as I do,” Lambourne said. “I know if I went [to the Trials] they’d support me and I’d do the same for them."

Even Stevens Sandwiches coming to Logan with a cause

City of Logan to welcome new sandwich shop come December

Even Stevens Sandwiches is coming to Logan this December and it’s bringing a different idea of how to do business.

The buy-one-give-one business is a restaurant based out of downtown Salt Lake City and along with two other locations, Sugarhouse and Draper, it is preparing to open two more; one in St. George opening within the next month and the other on Main Street in Logan opening in December.

The thing that makes Even Stevens different from most sandwich shops is it donates a sandwich to local non-profit partners for every sandwich purchased. Along with Even Stevens, BOGO Sandwiches in Farmington, Missouri, also uses the buy-one-give-one business plan. One of the first help organizations that benefits from BOGO’s business plan is St. Vincent DePaul Food Pantry. In Logan, Even Stevens will partner with the Cache Valley Food Pantry and the Citizens Against Physical and Sexual Abuse organizations.

“We're just very grateful to Even Stevens. We're grateful they reached out to us,” said Katie Feinauer, a marketing intern at CAPSA. “We're grateful for the service they provide to us and we're looking forward to working with them.”

Since opening in 2014, Even Stevens has donated more than 170,000 sandwiches to non-profit organizations in the Salt Lake Community alone. Last month the brand donated a total of 25,671 sandwiches between the three locations.

“Whether or not a business provides financial support to CAPSA, we are always grateful for their help and support,” Feinauer said. “With Even Stevens, it's fun because it's sandwiches and it just puts a smile on people's faces. Food can provide a great sense of community and it can remind you of home. Even something as seemingly small as a sandwich can also just let someone know you care.”

The Even Stevens’ creative director, Jamie Coates, said while the company supports local non-profits, it also embraces and activates local culture.

According to the Even Stevens website, together with the customers the company is expanding relationships with national and local brands to further its mission.

“Food connects everyone and community is our recipe book,” Coates said. “Every Even Stevens upholds the character of the surrounding city and engages with local artists, crafters and businesses to make their guest experience unique.”

According to the Even Stevens website, one in every six Americans is food insecure.

“It's very gratifying to see how much the Cache Valley community is willing to help us in any way they can,” Feinauer said. “We could not do nearly as much without the donations and volunteer efforts of community members and local businesses.”

25th Annual Clothesline Project

25^th Annual Clothesline Project

By Weslie Hatch

            From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. today, SAAVY and the Center for Women and Gender held the 25^th Annual Clothesline Project in the Sunburst Lounge of the Taggart Student Center to raise awareness for domestic violence and abuse.

            In previous years, the Clothesline Project was staffed well, had big displays and saw large crowds. This year the Clothesline Project hasn’t seen those same numbers yet and it’s been a smaller event. That could be due to USU getting rid of Wednesday’s common hour. Each year, different groups and organizations have been involved. This year there were a few different groups such as CAPSA (Community Abuse Prevention Services Agency), AAEO (Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity), SAAVY (Sexual Assault and Anti-Violence Information), and the Center for Women and Gender. One other organization was The Family Place Utah.

            “SAAVY contacted us to set up a table so we can get our face out there and let people know what we offer and how we are there to help,” said the community liason or volunteer coordinator for The Family Place Utah (name disclosed). “SAAVY has such a great mission and it’s easy to work with them to reach out to those in need and to let people know that there is help out there.”

The event goes for three days and each day has a different theme. Today’s theme was Awareness Day. During the event, a student played the guitar while people walked around looking at the vendor’s tables and the clothesline of t-shirts. While guests walked around learning how to raise awareness, a gong, whistle, and cowbell were periodically being played over a loud speaker representing each time someone in the United States was being assaulted (gong), sexually assaulted (whistle), or murdered due to domestic violence (cowbell).

            The t-shirts were made by victims of domestic violence and abuse themselves or by friends and family of victims. The t-shirts display images and words that are representative of each victim and their abuse.

            “I am a big advocate for women,” said Stephanie Bagnell, the program coordinator for the Center for Women and Gender. “I believe in making a difference. I love seeing women get out of these abusive cycles and become empowered.”

            Bagnell said she hopes the next two days of the event will see more traffic and she hopes the event will help raise more awareness as well as get more people to become involved.

            The event will continue with tomorrow being Prevention Day and Survivor Day on Thursday where there will be a panel of domestic violence and abuse survivors ready to answer questions at 4 p.m. in the sunburst lounge.

            More information can be found by contacting Stephanie Bagnell at Stephanie.bagnell@usu.edu or (435) – 797 – 3703.