Women's Track & Field Senior: Joy Kessler

Joy Kessler

By Tegan Ellis

What is your major and how did you end up at ONU?
I am a double major in both social studies and history. I came here because I was undecided and my sis was a pharmacy major here. I really liked the campus and the people seemed nice.

Any plans to continue running after college?
I want to do 5k’s and a half marathon, possibly one coming up in Cleveland. I want to run recreationally, not competitively.

What are your plans, as far as your major is concerned, after graduation?
I would like to get a job as a teacher and be a track coach eventually.

How have you seen yourself grow as a runner over the last four years?
I would say my freshman year I came in and realized its just a whole new level. Running at the college level is so much different than high school. In college it’s times that count instead of places. It takes time to adjust. It took till this year to feel like I was in control or like I knew what was going on. I am no longer scared when I step up to the line.

What are your strengths on the track?
I am a motivator and continue to perform week after week. I am the anchor in our relay, and I know people feel I am reliable. They don’t have to worry about what is going to happen when I get the baton. I know they trust me because it takes a lot to put someone in that position.

What advice can you leave for the underclassmen?
Work hard and don’t get frustrated. After your career is over you will really feel it was all worth it. Don’t forget to have fun and enjoy your teammates because you will miss them.

What are your individual goals for the remainder of your track year?
Last week was my last meet. I would have liked to continue but with student teaching I had to stop running early. I met 90% of the goals I made for myself this year. I feel for the other 10% I would have also been met if I had gotten to finish running this season. I ran my personal best in almost all of my events. It’s a tough thing to do to go out on top.

What are your goals for the team?
Our goal was to win conference. We had never done that as a team. We did win in both indoor and outdoor so that was an exciting note to end on. In addition to that we were the first team to win cross country, and both indoor and outdoor for both men and women this year.

So far this year you have managed to be named champion in the indoor 500, 2nd in the indoor 4x400 , 2nd in the outdoor 400, and 3rd in the outdoor 4x800. How does it feel to have accomplished all this in such a short period of time?
It feels great. The 500 was a surprise. I won that my freshman year but this year it was a toss up between three of our girls. Until about 20 seconds in the race it could have been anyone’s race. The others were relay event and I couldn’t have done it without them.

Just recently your team placed 1st out of 10 in this year’s OAC’s at Wilmington. How do you feel about this accomplishment?
It’s hard for people that aren’t in the sport to see how big of an accomplishment this really was for our team. I think that last year we were third. I remember coming in as a freshman and wondering if we could ever win. It was tied this year and in the last 2 events we pulled ahead. People made sacrifices and every point counted. It was totally worth it and totally came together in one day. I couldn’t be happier.

What do you think/feel has made you so successful both on the track and in the classroom?
I think time management is really important. You have to get everything done, no acceptions. It takes a lot of time, but I also think you have to have a passion for it. If your heart isn’t in it, it is hard to be at your best every day, especially in both places.

This being your final year at ONU, what will you miss most about the program?
I will definitely miss my team the most. Practice is really your time to relax and have fun in your day. I’ll miss competing too. As nervous as you get it’s so worth it.

What memory sticks out to you the most from your four years as a track runner for Northern?
Wow, there are so many to choose from. One would be nationally qualifying as a freshman. I got to run anchor on the relay and we qualified. I would also say my sophomore year running the 4x800. We broke the school record in indoor and outdoor. My sister handed me the baton. Also, the 500 this year, I got to run it with two of my teammates, and it was awesome. I got to break the school record so I felt like it was quite an accomplishment for myself especially. Having both teams win in indoor and outdoor overall was an experience I will never forget.

Freshman year your 4x4 team nationally qualified. What was that like just coming into college?
We had a really good relay. We had tried to qualify for a couple weeks and we just put it together in one day. I feel like this year, if we would have had more weeks, we could have done more. Unfortunately we just got cut short.

You also won conference twice in the 500 both freshman and senior year. Was this expected or was this a surprise?
My freshman year I had the incoming first seed. I prelimed out for seed and I won the race. That was expected of me. The next year I got second and the following year third. Needless to say I was very familiar with the race and senior year it just came together. It was very unexpected, but I’m glad to have won.

You and your teammates also won 2 relays in the 4x4 at conference indoor in 2006 and outdoor in 2008. How did it feel to accomplish this two times in your career?
Freshman year we literally won by .04 and that was at the line. I ran last so we had the lead and the other girl passed me. I think I put my arm over the line first. It was a pretty intense race. Junior year again was a very close race. We weren’t expecting to win. We put it together and inched out the competition. With relays it really just depends on the year.