CSUSM Team Captains Preview Spring Season on Website
As the spring season opens, a few Cal State San Marcos athletes are putting in a bit of extra time behind the desk.
This year, the captains of each squad have been asked to write a preview of their season’s schedule, looking forward to upcoming events and key players. These previews have been aptly titled “Captain’s Corner,” and are available on the Cougar athletics website, csusmcougars.com.
According to Sports Information Director Kyle Trembley, the brains behind the project belong to men’s track and field captain Brett Campfield. The track star, a junior transfer from Princeton, approached the athletic department over the winter break with the idea that since captains were designated by their respective teams as representatives, they should to be the ones telling their fans what to expect.
Campfield shows off his Ivy League mind in his entry, explaining the importance of teamwork in an individual sport like track and field. “Watching a teammate battle and compete at their very best is contagious, and makes one also willing to put everything on the line for the team,” he said.
Four short essays were up on the website as of Saturday, including those by women’s golf captain Stephanie Cole, men’s golf captain Adam Loran, women’s track and field captain Jessica Sandoval.
Cole, a junior, shared some particularly insightful information about the time athletes spend in preparation. “Every Friday, we all attend a yoga class at 6:30 a.m. and then have an 18-hole qualifier,” she said. “This year, coach made a new rule: we have to run a mile for every 3-putt we have during qualifying.”
Cole also said the women’s golf team arrives at Lake San Marcos Country Club at 6:30 a.m. daily, running drills and playing as many holes as possible until class begins around 10 a.m.
Sophomore Loran shared his hopes for the senior-less men’s golf team. “Comprised of eight men, we rely on team unity and consistency to make it to the top,” he said.
Sandoval had quite a bit more to cover, due to the massive size of the women’s track team. There are currently 54 athletes on the official roster. The junior from Oceanside offered plenty of inside information on the squad’s organization, and explained to fans unfamiliar to the sport what some events are comprised of. For example, “Coach Scott is also composing a relay team that will either run the 4×800 meters or the distance medley relay in which every person runs a different distance, beginning with 1200 meters, then 400 meters, 800 meters, and the last leg runs 1600 meters,” she said.
A few weeks into the season, the baseball and softball teams are currently unrepresented in the Captain’s Corner. Still, Campfield and the athletic department have received positive feedback from the project, and they are hopeful to feature previews from the two remaining captains, Trembley said. For now, the four “Corners” make up a group of fascinating essays that are worth a read, written by CSUSM athletes who are anything but square.