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This week’s athlete of the week is junior in communication Emerson Tice.
Tice has been on the track and field team at Pitt State for three years but began her track and field career in middle school.
Tice earned All-MIAA honors by helping the Gorilla’s 1,600 meters relay to third place at the 2018 MIAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Tice is a two-time Kansas Class 3A state champion in the 400 meters. Tice is also an MIAA Scholar Athlete and a member of the MIAA Academic Honor Roll. She maintains a 3.78 GPA.
“I love how like physically and mentally demanding the sport is,” Tice said. “… It really just like makes you push yourself to the max.”
Tice’s biggest accomplishment came during her first year on the Pitt State track and field team.
“I think my greatest accomplish… (is that) I was on the 4×4 my freshman year at indoor nationals and we got All-American Honors, so we got eighth place,” Tice said.
Although she is unsure of her plans pertaining to track and field after she graduates, Tice is sure she wants to continue her friendships with her teammates.
“… It depends on how I feel after college,” Tice said. “But I’d like to just stay connected with the team and support them.”
Time management is a useful skill for student athletes.
“Balancing track and school can be really tough since it is nearly a year-round sport,” Tice said. “I just have to make sure I write everything down on a calendar and manage my time really well so I can do good at both as school and track are super important to me.”
Coaches and teammates are big part of an athlete’s support system.
“(My biggest supporters are) definitely my teammates and the coaches,” Tice said. “Our team is like really, really team oriented so without them I definitely wouldn’t have been able to accomplish what I have.”
According to Tice, she has made many friends that she otherwise wouldn’t have met had she not been on the track team.
“I’ve met my best friends from track and our relationships grow each day since we have to power through the tough workouts,” Tice said.
Tice hopes to finish the year strong and maintain her relationships with her teammates.
“My goal for the year is to be the best teammate I can possibly be and to help score points for the team at conference,” Tice said.
Tice has always wanted to be a part of the PSU track and field team.
“I wanted to join Pitt years ago because of their incredible and successful track reputation,” Tice said. “I knew it would be tough but would help me grow to become the best athlete I can possibly be by the time my track career is over.”
Tice has made many memories while being on the track and field team and looks forward to the rest of the indoor track and field season.
“This group is really special as the team has a lot of diverse capabilities and strengths and I am pumped to see what this year brings,” Tice said. “I’m so grateful to be a part of this team because it is something super special and has taught me a lot of things that will benefit me (for) the rest of my life.”
