First-year Gavin Cougle was a member of the 4×100 relay that broke the school record during the Raleigh Relays on March 25. Photo courtesy of Butler Athletics.
CYBIL STILLSON | SPORTS REPORTER | cstillson@butler.edu
‘Welcome to the Team’ is a Q&A series where the Collegian sits down with first-year student-athletes who are entering their first season at Butler University. These articles will address why they chose Butler, what they hope to get out of this season and some personal tidbits that you won’t find anywhere else.
This week, sports reporter Cybil Stillson sat down with four first-years who are running for Butler’s track & field team: Grace Stedge, Jordan Griffin, William Zegarski and Gavin Cougle.
Grace Stedge is a sprinter from Fort Wayne, Indiana. Fun fact: Grace loves jigsaw puzzles. Photo courtesy of Butler Athletics.
Cybil Stillson: How and when did you get into running, and what made it something you wanted to pursue and ultimately do in college?
Grace Stedge: I got into running my sophomore year, and the season was canceled due to COVID-19, so I only ran a couple of years in high school. And then seeing teammates go and run in college made me realize that could be fun.
CS: During the recruiting process, what made Butler stand out that ultimately led you to become a Bulldog?
GS: So as a business major, I really liked the business school and how personalized it was and how you have to have internships. I also liked the smaller environment where you were forced to learn, and I just thought I would get a lot more out of it. And then the running aspect is just another part of that just kind of fit into my journey.
CS: What races do you compete in, and which one is your favorite?
GS: I run the 200m, 400m and 4×400, which is the most fun. Just the whole team being there makes it more fun because you’re not running for yourself. It’s also way more hype because it’s always at the end of the meet, so everyone’s ready to go home, so they’re just trying to get you to finish so they can get on the bus. That’s always more fun.
CS: Is there a coach or athlete you look up to as a role model, and why?
GS: I look up to a lot of our upperclassmen. They’ve all been super welcoming, like Reagan [Kelly], Karmen [Koch] and Remi [Beckham]. They are all super good role models — and not just as athletes but as people, and they have very strong character. You can go to them about anything, and they’ll help you out.
CS: What is your favorite pre-meet meal?
GS: Olive Garden pasta.
Jordan Griffin is a sprinter from Brownsburg, Indiana. Fun fact: Jordan is obsessed with french fries and mayonnaise. Photo courtesy of Butler Athletics.
Cybil Stillson: How and when did you get into running, and what made it something you wanted to pursue and ultimately do in college?
Jordan Griffin: I started running in second grade, so at the age of seven or eight, and I loved the competitiveness of it but also that it wasn’t physical, and it was something that I could do on my own. I liked that aspect of it, and my love for it just grew and grew as I met teammates and fellow competitors that loved it the same way that I did. And then came the college aspect of it, and I knew that I didn’t want to give it up for the next four years. I think the ultimate decision is, do you see yourself doing this for four more years? And I answered that question with yes, so I think that’s what truly inspired me.
CS: During the recruiting process, what made Butler stand out that ultimately led you to become a Bulldog?
JG: I chose Butler because of the small class sizes. I love that personal connection with not only my professor but my classmates as well. And then I love the social aspect of Butler, how you can be involved in so many different things and run as well. I think Butler gives us great opportunities. And then my number one thing was, I knew that I could be successful at Butler even if I wasn’t able to run. Let’s say I got hurt or something changed, I knew I would still be happy at Butler even without track.
CS: What races do you compete in and which one is your favorite?
JG: I run the 200m and 400m, and the 400m is my favorite because it pushes you.
CS: Is there a coach or athlete you look up to as a role model and why?
JG: I would say Anna Hall, Sydney [McLaughlin-Levrone] and Allyson Felix. I think it is just cool watching them race and seeing how confident they are when they race. I think it is cool watching them from a media standpoint as well and how they present themselves. I feel like that gives us gentle reminders as well like, hey, you shouldn’t be posting this, or hey, watch out for this.
CS: What is your favorite pre-meet meal?
JG: Pasta.
Gavin Cougle is a sprinter from Medford, Oregon. Fun fact: Gavin was born in Hong Kong and lived in Beijing for 16 years. He is also fluent in Mandarin. Photo courtesy of Butler Athletics.
Cybil Stillson: How and when did you get into running, and what made it something you wanted to pursue and ultimately do in college?
Gavin Cougle: I started running my junior year of high school because I was bored, so I said, “Why not [run]?” So yeah, I just figured it would be fun. And I made it to nationals that first year and kept doing it.
CS: During the recruiting process, what made Butler stand out that ultimately led you to become a Bulldog?
GC: The people mostly, especially the guys on the team, and the difference they made during my visitation process and how welcoming they were to individuals just visiting the team. Also, during my visit, I was here with another kid, and it showed me that everyone gets the same treatment, and I think that was the biggest thing that stood out to me about the team.
CS: What races do you compete in, and which one is your favorite?
GC: I run the 200m and 400m. The 200m is by far my favorite because you just get to run fast and have fun, and it’s really not that long, so it doesn’t hurt at all.
CS: Is there a coach or athlete you look up to as a role model, and why?
GC: I look up to Luke Finnegan and Jack Elder because they like to talk a lot of trash, and I enjoy that.
CS: What is your favorite pre-meet meal?
GC: Two packs of king-size Reese’s cups with Reese’s Puffs, any bag of assorted candy from Haribo, any type of steak and then at least a gallon of water.
William Zegarski is a distance runner from Maineville, Ohio. Fun fact: During his free time, Will composes music on his phone. Photo courtesy of Butler Athletics.
Cybil Stillson: How and when did you get into running, and what made it something you wanted to pursue and ultimately do in college?
William Zegarski: Running started for me in sixth grade. I didn’t start racing until seventh grade, but even then, I was not really good until, I want to say, my sophomore year of high school when I qualified for state. So I think at that moment I knew running in college could be a possibility. And I only continued to love running more, and it just got better, and it continues to this day. I just love running.
CS: During the recruiting process, what made Butler stand out that ultimately led you to become a Bulldog?
WZ: For me, I didn’t really know where Butler was at the start of my recruiting process. But, the more I looked into it, the better I realized it was. When I took my official visit here, I got to meet all of the distance guys, and that was one thing that made it stick out from other schools. They were all doing stuff together, as friends and teammates, and I wanted to be part of that. And of course, yeah, the academic side is also important. I am a computer science major, and everything fell into place, so I just eventually figured out yes, this is the school for me.
CS: What races do you compete in, and which one is your favorite?
ZW: This year I’m stuck in the 5k, but I’m told that next year I get to look forward to the 10k, but right now I enjoy where I’m at. You get enough laps to the point where you know a bad start doesn’t make or break everything. Everything is methodical, but, I mean, there is a rhythm to it. There’s a method to every single lap. You just have to ride off of the people leading you, and you have to know when it’s time to go. So whether it’s two and a half laps remaining, or 200 meters remaining, you have to know when to dig deep and kick hard to race better than your opponents.
CS: Is there a coach or athlete you look up to as a role model, and why?
ZW: Well for me, it’s never really just one specific person, whether it’s my high school coach or all of my teammates now. I look up to pretty much everyone on Butler’s cross-country team right now. There’s always something you can take, whether they’re a great teammate and build you up, or their training routine, whatever it is. There’s always something you can learn from everyone that you can use to improve what you do.
CS: What is your favorite pre-meet meal?
ZW: In high school, it was always Marco’s Pizza the night before a race. But now since I’m in college, it’s usually grilled chicken from Atherton, and then I will have a brownie or cookie or something afterward with fruit.
