Marin Culley has been a member of Mountain Ridge’s Track and Field team since her sophomore year. She tends to focus more on the Shot and Discus aspect of the sport, and I had the pleasure of interviewing her and asking a few questions regarding her recent sporting endeavors.
Athletes always have that special something that makes them good at what they do- it’s what gets them on the team, and they compete in games and competitions. When asked what strengths Marin herself brings to the team, Culley responded, saying that her “determination” and “willingness to improve” were the ones she most often played to.
One thing that Marin really enjoys about playing a sport like this at Ridge is her coaches. She says that her ultimate favorite part of being in Track is that she’s able to practice with productive, willing, and overall lovely coaches who help her to improve on her game.
When playing a sport, athletes often have someone they look up to. Somebody who helped them notably, to not only participate, but to get better. Someone inspiring. Michael Jordan had his brother, Travice Kelce has Taylor Swift- and Taylor Swift had Tim McGraw. In Marin’s case, these people would consist of her friends and fellow athletes, Althea Watkins and Kaila K. Culley claims they are both “helpful and rather great people to hang around.” With a work ethic like theirs, it’s nearly impossible not to do well both on and off the track.
Of course, another thing that comes with participation in the sports field is the stereotypes. On that topic, Marin stated, “The toughest thing about playing for Mountain Ridge is having to deal with the stereotypes from other teams.” And when she was asked to elaborate, she remarked, “At meets, people on the opposite teams would often discuss how bad they think our school Football team is- so we have to deal with that criticism from other teams and try to power our way through it anyway.”
Marin Culley is an astonishing athlete, and it’s her perseverance and willingness to try that really get her there. Her friends and inspirations are a huge reason why she decided to try her hand at Track and Field in the first place- and without them, she wouldn’t be where she is today. In the words of this beloved Mountain Ridge Student, “If you are interested in shot, put, or discus, I really think you should try it out. It can take some getting used to, but it is an extremely enjoyable sport, and it’s definitely worth it to try.” In order to really get anywhere, one has to try. So my advice for anyone who’s been thinking about joining a sport or a club- or even anybody who’s been struggling relentlessly with the seemingly never-ending amounts of schoolwork piled upon us- is to try. If you really try, then everything will work out.
