Often found winning the 4×1 relay, 100 H, and 300 H, sophomore Rachel Berntsen is incredible on and off the track (and field). She consistently scores points in her three main events and has started long jump as well, where she already has a win with a PR (personal record) jump of 16’3” in the dual meet against Christopher on March 7. Rachel’s best event is the 300 hurdles, where she recently PRed with a time of 48.26 (that’s fast!) and will likely head to CCS this year once again for one if not more of her events. If her regular event’s aren’t enough, she also participates in the heptathlon (7 events over two days), where in the past weekend she won third place with 2959 points in freezing and rainy conditions.
Interview with Rachel:
What’s your favorite event and why?
I don’t really have a favorite even because they are all so different. But my top two are probably 4×100 and the 300 hurdles. 4×1 is really fun because of the team work that comes with it. I enjoy getting to know my team and helping us find the steps that work best and what not. I think that it is always so rewarding to be able to see our improvement as a group. The 300 hurdles is not a very fun event to run but I like to do it because it is probably the event I’m strongest at.
What’s the hardest part about track?
I think the hardest part about track is staying mentally tough, especially towards the end of longer races. A lot of it is all mental and learning to deal with that is definitely something that I have gotten better at. You have to trust yourself and in some cases your teammates in order to run your best race. For the longer sprints like the 300 hurdles or the 400 it can be hard to keep going at the end but you need to push yourself to finish and stay strong.
What do you enjoy about track?
I love a lot about track but I think my favorite things are the community and Saturday invitationals. The community in the sport is so amazing and everyone is always so supportive and willing to help. Coming in last year as a freshman was really scary, but everyone there was so willing to help me and teach me that it made it so much easier to adjust. Invitationals are always a lot of fun because it is really cool to compete against schools that you otherwise wouldn’t see. I think they’re great experiences to get more practice in the sport as well.
Any other notes?
I think that track is such a diverse sport and there’s so much people can do. I also love the coaches. Personally I think more people should join!
