For Jeremy Webster, the biggest races are all downhill

Photo by Josiah Garber

Webster won the 200m dash in 23.49 seconds at the VMI Winter Relays on Feb. 6

Three days into his first semester at EMU, cross-country and track-and-field runner Jeremy Webster made an acute observation. The team had just finished a seven-mile run, most of which was uphill, while huffing hard, he commented "there ain’t no hills in Yorktown."

The Hampton suburb that Webster calls home is as flat as the white sands along Atlantic Avenue and the Virginia Beach strip. Webster’s transition from high school to collegiate competition has run smoothly. Unlike some high school recruits he’s not a stranger to training year round. At Tabb High School he ran cross-country in the fall, indoor track in the winter, and doubled as a mid-fielder on the soccer team and the lead leg of the AA State Champion 4 x 400 relay team. Webster attributes his success to THS coach George Colter, but the root of his training is in his background. A self-professed military brat, Webster’s mother is an intelligence officer in the Marines. He sees a career in the armed forces as a strong possibility, but not before four years in a different atmosphere.

"I have the rest of my life to wear a uniform; my life isn’t dictated to me while I’m here," he said.

When EMU head track-andfield coach Paul Johnson began calling Webster last spring, the sprinter had to re-think his college choices. Prior to Johnson’s active recruiting, Webster considered the Air Force Academy, Navy Academy, Virginia Military Institute, and the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.

Webster’s decision has been nothing but positive for the Royals’ program. He won his first collegiate race at the VMI Winter Relays on Feb. 6, and followed with a win in the 400m at the Susquehanna Orange and Maroon Classic Saturday. In that race, Webster tucked in behind a Gettysburg College runner for the first lap and nipped him at the finish line in 51.26 seconds. “The win felt great. I don’t know how to explain it. It just felt good," he said.

Feeling good also means setting goals. Webster is ranked second in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference in both the 200m and 400m dashes. National qualifier Michael Lansdowne of Lynchburg College is the top sprinter in the ODAC to date.

Webster will attempt to qualify for the NCAA Division III Indoor National Championships in the coming weeks. His best chance at either a provisional or automatic qualifying mark will come at the Virginia Tech Last Chance meet, which is held during the first weekend of spring break. Webster’s high school indoor personal bests are all in Rector Field House.

Webster’s racing style is a paradox to his personality. He enjoys being the frontrunner and in the public spotlight. In high school, Webster was class president during his sophomore and junior years, and was elected Student Government Association vice president as a senior. At EMU he is one of three freshmen in the SGA. He’s worked on trying to extend open hours, but more importantly the SGA allows him to "be more visible on campus."

Webster prefers to hide and bide on the track, and step up on campus, but either way he has the same goal: to come out on top.