Interview by Gabriella Farley, TTU Sports Information Student
Assistant
Senior Peri Winborne is rounding out
her career in distant running as a member of the Tennessee Tech
Track & Field team this spring. This weekend Winborne and the
Golden Eagles head to the Ohio Valley Conference Indoor
Championships.
During the 2013 cross country season, Winborne finished second on
the squad at both Vanderbilt and Evansville. Her cross country
2013-14 season-best time was 19:45:43 at Jacksonville State. Over
four years, she ran in 24 meets during the fall seasons. She has
run the 3,000- and 5,000-meter events during the indoor season, and
has run both of those events, plus the 3,000-meter steeplechase and
10,000-meter during the outdoor seasons.
She is the daughter of Steve and Joanie Winborne, and is
majoring in secondary education with an emphasis in
history.
We recently sat down with Peri and asked her a few
questions about her Tech career...
When and why did you start competitive
running?
I started in 7th grade which makes it about 10 years of running
competitively. I was introduced to this sport in elementary school
when they would have days dedicated to track and field. When we had
to do the mile, I’d pretty much beast it up. The coaches at
my school would go up to my mom and insist that I compete when I
get to middle school.
Also, I have an older brother and he did cross country when he was in seventh grade. I, of course, had to do everything he did, but I stuck with it while he didn’t.
Why did you choose Tech?
I was getting offers from different colleges and viewing different
schools and then when I visited Tech I loved the campus and really
connected with the coach. I met some of the girls who were on the
team and they were super nice. Tech just felt like this is where I
belong. I wasn’t looking for a program that was too intense.
I wanted to focus on running, yet also have a good balance between
school and sports.
What will you take away from being a Tech
student-athlete?
Managing time is the biggest one. It has helped me develop as a
leader because you have to work with your coach, build up your
teammates, and there’s a lot of responsibility on you.
There’s no one babying you in telling you when and how long
you need to run. You are doing it all on your own, so this requires
the ability to manage your time well and balance school work with
running while also finding time for yourself. Especially this
semester because I am student-teaching at Monterey High School. I
go straight from teaching all day to practice, then to planning the
next day's lesson.
What’s your favorite thing about being with the
Tech track team?
I love my teammates more than anything. They are my best friends.
I always said that when coming to college, I already had a group of
friends that thankfully transitioned into being my family away from
home. I’m really going to miss them as well as my coach
whenever the season ends because he took on a father figure for the
team.
Who has been the most positive influence in your track
career?
My parents get full credit in motivating me to keep going,
especially when I’m at my low points. Because I have been
running competitively for the last 10 years, my body has merely
become tired. They encourage me to not give up. Without them, I
wouldn’t be where I am today.
My coach always encourages the team to “look at the big picture” rather than sweat the small stuff in life. I will be carrying this advice with me even after I finish my season here.
What is the most memorable moment you’ve had thus
far?
Last year we had a track race at Vanderbilt where Becca (Forbes)
was in a higher heat then all of us and she broke 18 minutes. This
was a big deal because none of us have ever done that. We were all
so pumped up and excited for her. Following this, all of us
PR’d and I broke 19 minutes which was also a big deal because
I’ve never done that either. Up until this point, it was the
race of my life. It was a really sweet moment because as I finished
the race, I found out that the rest of my teammates beat their
times, as well. All in all, it was just a great race for all of
us.