Jens Deju
Laura Grafton is a junior on the SIU women's track and field team. Grafton competes in the heptathlon, which consists of seven different events, for the Salukis. She recently took some time off to speak with Jens Deju of the Daily Egyptian.
Daily Egyptian: What got you started in track and field?
Laura Grafton: My older brother kind of conned me into it. I started in first grade. We had just moved up here, and I wanted to play soccer and he wanted me to run because he didn't want to do it by himself. So I got into it. I haven't stopped since.
DE: What brought you to SIU?
LG: A friend and I, when we started looking at schools, I wanted to stay in the state, so we just took a weekend and swung through all the state schools, and I really liked this one. I talked to the track coach here, and I really liked it. He was really enthusiastic about me coming, and so I ended up here. I liked the campus more than anything else.
DE: How would you sum up your time here?
LG: I think it's been very worthwhile and a great learning experience. I wouldn't want to change anything.
DE: What are the events that are in the heptathlon?
LG: 100 hurdles, 200, 800, shot put, javelin, high jump and long jump.
DE: Do you have a favorite event?
LG: Javelin.
DE: How did you get started in the heptathlon?
LG: My freshman year here the sprints coach, I was training for the 400 hurdles, which I still do sometimes, wanted to know if I wanted to try it and give it a shot. I said "why not?"
DE: How hard is it to have to train for so many different events?
LG: Once you get used to it and your body gets used to it, as long as you have the time and dedication from the coaches and from yourself, it's actually not as hard as you'd think. I actually enjoy it rather than training for one single event.
DE: Has anyone ever asked you if you're crazy for doing so many events?
LG: Yeah actually, many times, but I don't think I am. I think it's harder to train for one event because you go from meet to meet, and if you do the heptathlon in the meet and you don't do so well in, say, the hurdles, you go to the next event and you can improve and you just focus on the new event.
DE: Do you have any hobbies?
LG: Track and school keep me pretty busy. I'm an art ed major, so a lot of my hobbies are painting and sculpting and clays and stuff like that. I like to read. I really don't do much because this takes a whole lot of my time.
DE: Do you have any superstitions?
LG: I don't know why or how I started this, but I wear the same pair of underwear and the same sports bra for every meet. I don't even know how I started it. I make a point to make sure they're clean and I don't wear them until the meet ... they're old, they're worn out, they're comfortable. They're just my favorite. We'll leave it at that.
DE: Favorite actor?
LG: I'd probably say Julia Roberts.
DE: Favorite movie?
LG: Don't have one.
DE: Favorite TV show?
LG: "ER."
DE: Favorite musician?
LG: I don't think so.
DE: Favorite local restaurant?
LG: I'd probably say Applebee's just because I go there a lot, if I go out.
Reporter Jens Deju can be reached at jdeju@dailyegyptian.com
Published on 11/17/05; 12:24:44 PM
