The DePauw: How did it feel to improve upon your provisional score in the pentathlon at last Friday's meet in Wisconsin to qualify for nationals?
Courtney Lauer: Just relief. We had a lot riding on that meet. That was literally my last chance to get in. That was it – if I didn't make it, I wasn't in. I was relieved and excited at the same time.
TDP: What are your expectations for this weekend?
CL: I'm hoping to steal another All-American trophy. The higher up on the podium, the better.
TDP: In an earlier interview, you said you were having difficulty focusing on things outside of track. Is that still the case?
CL: Yeah, I had a test this week, and I had a problem set due. I'd kind of sit down and concentrate, and somebody will see me on campus like, ‘Congratulations.' And I'll get excited and I can't focus on anything.
TDP: What is your mental approach to any competition?
CL: I'm usually a little nervous. I figure if I'm not nervous, then it doesn't mean anything to me, so being a little nervous is good. I just try to stay relaxed, stay loose. Once you get that first race started, it's a little easier to relax.
TDP: What's your favorite part about the pentathlon?
CL: It's the challenge. Not everybody can do five events and do them well enough to score enough points. And it's hard – it's all about guts, especially in the last race.
TDP: How did you get started competing in the pentathlon?
CL: It's something I thought about doing in college before I decided I wanted to play basketball. The harder events to learn are the field events – the jumps and such – and I had already done those. My high school coach said, ‘You'd be a really good multi-athlete if you did it in college.' I kind of kept it in the back of my mind.
TDP: Does competing in the pentathlon help you train for the heptathlon?
CL: It's five events – you're only missing the 200 and the javelin. So basically it's just a mini training session for the hep[tathlon]. And the fact that you have to run all five in a row in one day is good endurance training ... The cool thing about a pent[athlon] that's different than a regular meet, in a regular meet, you might see your competitors for five minutes. You run against them and then you leave. For pent[tathlon], we hang out together for five or six hours. You're bound to meet people.
TDP: How does it feel to accomplish this as a senior?
CL: Lauren Reich was always super pumped when she made it to nationals, and she did that almost every year. I'm just feeding off the excitement of what it is ...We reserve our crazy tiger stripe jerseys for nationals. Just putting on the different uniform, you know you're doing something special.