Butler connection
SLIPPERY ROCK — Jasmine Bailey is pretty good at the 400-meter run.
She just doesn't always feel good after she runs it.
Bailey, a fifth-year senior on the Slippery Rock University women's track and field team, said she contemplates her life during every race.
“It's just knowing how you're going to feel at the end of the race,” Bailey said with a hint of a laugh. “Your legs cramp up. The last 100 meters it feels like you're just going to die.”
But then Bailey sees her time and it's all worth it.
“When you drop a really good time,” Bailey said, “you have the urge to do it again.”
Bailey and fellow Butler High graduates, senior Kennedy Evans and freshman Emily Horstman, have given SRU a boost already this outdoor season.
“It's just extremely exciting overall because I never thought I'd be this successful in college,” Bailey said.
It didn't start out that way for Bailey.
It wasn't until the offseason between her freshman and sophomore year that Bailey came to the hard conclusion that she needed to fully invest herself in college track.
“I really realized I need to work hard,” Bailey said. “I was out of shape (during freshman indoor season) and I got hurt because of it.”
Bailey, who holds the SRU record in the 200-meter dash and is creeping up on the 400 mark, became a workout fiend, adding muscle and flexibility to her frame.
The results were immediate.
“Whenever I crossed the finish line and saw my time, I knew that offseason training had paid off,” Bailey said. “Offseason training is really hard to do. You have to be motivated and determined to do it.”
She has imparted the knowledge and up-and-down experience as both a graduate assistant and a teammate.Part of her duties is to run the offseason workouts.Horstman noticed the intensity of that training immediately.“I picked up a lot from her in the weight room,” Horstman said. “When you're lifting and if Jasmine sees the weight is easy for you, she'll come over and add some more on. She pushes me.”Horstman has also seen results.In her first collegiate indoor season, she dropped two-tenths of a second off her 60-meter dash time — a significant decrease in such a short event.She also dropped a full second in her 400 time.Bailey and Evans have taken her under their wing.“She's like our little sister,” Evans said.“She's been so awesome,” Bailey said of Horstman. “I saw her run a couple of times in high school and when she got here, we just instantly clicked. I push her in workouts and she pushes me.”Bailey, Evans and Horstman run the 400-meter relay together along with Mars graduate Erica Hans.“It's pretty cool,” Evans said. “Jasmine and I ran the 4-by-1 at Butler, too. I had to hand off to Jasmine, so there's already chemistry there.”Evans has carved out a successful career at The Rock, competing in a slew of events.The hurdles are her niche, however, and she recently set a personal best time of 14.42 seconds in the 100 hurdles.Evans has battled injuries throughout her tenure at SRU, but is finally healthy.She also had a decision to make: graduate or come back for another year of track.She decided to come back.“I debated it with Coach (John Papa),” Evans said. “In my very first meet during indoor season I hit the (NCAA) provisional qualifying mark in the 60 hurdles. It was a great feeling and I'm glad I came back.”
