Track Q&A: Stasia Demick
2/29/2016 8:47:00 AM | Track, Competing With Purpose Blog
Stasia Demick, a senior and four-year runner for Pepperdine's track and cross country teams, shares how being both an athlete and working as the sports editor for the Graphic has influenced her sportsmanship and her writing. She also shares how the season has been going for her so far and reflects on her experience with running at Pepperdine.
Q: What is your position this semester on the Graphic?
A: I am the Sports Editor this semester. It's actually my third semester as the Sports Editor, but I've been writing for the Graphic since freshman year.
Q: What is it like being an athlete but also writing about athletes with your position at the Graphic?
A: I think it actually helps a lot. I'm a creative writing and English double major so it's really cool to be able to fuse those two interests and big parts of my life (sports and writing). Knowing the community and knowing the different news stories out there definitely helps me to be able to tell stories better. I think it also helps me represent our athletic community really well while also being able to just be really honest about it.
Q: How do you try to stay unbiased as a writer/editor of the Graphic writing about your peers and a community that you're so heavily involved in?
A: Sometimes it can be difficult for sure. If there's anything I might have too much of a vested interest in or am too close to, I'll pass it on to someone who doesn't have that bias. I always try to maintain really good communication with the athletics department. It just makes it so that everyone's voice is heard as honestly and accurately as possible, which is really important.
Q: Has working for the Graphic influenced how you view your own sport at all?
A: I would say yes. I think working for the Graphic has allowed me to definitely understand the sports community as a whole better. I always want to make sure we represent male and female athletics and all teams equally on the graphic, so it's helped to give me a broader perspective that I wouldn't otherwise have.
Q: You are the current school-record holder in the outdoor 800 meters. Are there any other records you're aiming to break this season, or are you aiming to make your time even better to keep that title in the 800 meters?
A: Oh yeah, I would love to break the 800 record again. I also want to beat the time in the 4x800 relay again and the 4x4. They just set a new school record at the first meet for the 4x4 and I would love to participate on the 4x4 and break that - and maybe try breaking the 400 record too. So yeah, I'm excited for the season and there's a lot I'm hoping to be able to achieve.
Q: How was it participating in the first-ever indoor track meets with Pepperdine?
A: It was honestly one of the most amazing experiences. I'm so honored to be a part of the program that had its first indoor competitions! It's very different from outdoor with the altitude and traveling, and so it's a whole new set of things you have to balance as a racer and competitor. But it was extremely rewarding to push myself in that new way.
Q: With the first indoor meets, a number of people got to establish new records, which is a pretty unique experience. How was that?
A: Â Yeah, basically we just had a whole slew of new records! It was an electrifying energy just to kind of see all this hard work paying off. We were all really striving for our best, and while track can be an individual sport, having all your teammates alongside you breaking records just shifted it to a very team-oriented atmosphere. Everyone was celebrating each other's accomplishments, so it was really awesome!
Q: Having this experience, would you say you prefer the indoor or outdoor meets more?
A: I definitely prefer outdoor, I think. I've had 16 years of experience in outdoor versus two indoor meets so getting back to outdoor this past week felt right because it's what I know. It's almost like a completely different sport when you compare the two because it's a totally different environment to run in.
Q: Being a senior, what have you most valued or learned in running track all four years here at Pepperdine?
A: I think I've learned just the importance of community. Before coming to Pepperdine, for me running was very individualistic. I didn't have people always there to train with. I think champions are really made in off hours so in a Division I program it requires self-agency to really master and learn the sport. I think there are also really strong bonds between the athletes and coaches here, which is a lot different.The competition is also a lot tougher and the demands of school and work time makes having community really important.
Q: Have you had any mentors to help you or inspire you through your journey here at Pepperdine these past years?
A: Oh, definitely! Coach Rad (Robert Radnoti) and Coach V (Venus Jewett) have been amazing inspirations for me in my track career! They definitely have just the right amount of time and energy they put into our performances. It's really inspiring and their love for the sport revitalizes you on the days you don't feel like getting up and going hard. Just having coaches that believe in you sometimes more than you believe in yourself is so empowering. It really forms a great bond and also just challenges you to do things you never thought you could do before. Â
Q: Do you have any plans to continue in athletics or a sports-related field after graduation?
A: Running and even racing is always going to be part of my life. After 16 years of competing I just don't know how to just say goodbye to it. So whether it be 5K races or just running with a running club I will always want to stay connected to the running community. Also with the exposure to such great coaching I would love to eventually go into coaching as well. Running has just always been such a big part of my identity and so it will always be an outlet and place for me to feel at home.
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