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Soman enters the NCAA meet as one of the top long jumpers |
1. As one of the top jumpers in the nation, how are you feeling heading into the NCAA indoor championships?
I feel great, my season has gone extremely well and I am healthy. So I am excited about competing.
2. You recently won the Mid-American Conference titles in the long jump and triple jump. What was the turning point in your season where you realized you were ready to jump far?
I probably realized I was ready to jump far after my conditioning season in the fall. I had a great conditioning season and I was able to stay healthy and focused.
3. Excelling at track as well as academically, you came to Ball State on an academic scholarship. How important is balancing out the time for your studies and at the track?
Balancing out track and school is one of the hardest things I had to learn to do. Academics are very important to me and coming to Ball State on a full academic scholarship meant I had to keep a pretty high GPA. So it has been tough, to find time to relax between school and track. Those two alone keep me very busy.
4. You pulled through a major knee surgery as well as numerous other injuries during your athletic career. How difficult was it for you to overcome those setbacks and who are some of the people who helped you along the way?
It was difficult to overcome these setbacks; every time I felt as if I was about to break through to that next level an injury would set me back. So it was hard not only physically, but especially mentally. Keeping my focus and ambition toward track became very difficult every time I would get hurt. But thanks to the help of my teammates, and my coaches, I was able to refocus and come back strong.
5. You've learned a lot from the athletes before you including your former teammate Jada Phelps. Who are some of your former and current teammates who have helped you the most along the way?
I have learned a lot from my former teammates Jada Phelps, Linise
Gordon, and LaTasha Jenkins. They have not only taught me the meaning
of hard work and dedication, but most importantly they made me realized
the importance of having fun with track. My current teammates have
also helped me a lot, especially Angka Morris and Natasha Lothery.
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Soman also excells at the sprinting events and relays for Ball State |
6. You're also an excellent sprinter in which you were the runner-up in the 60 and 200 meters, as well as a part of the school-record winning 4x400 meter relay at the MAC indoor championships. How do you balance out your sprints and jumps training during the week?
The training being a sprinter provides facilitates my performance in the jumps. Having speed is an important part of jumping well. At times it becomes difficult to balance the two out, but it is definitely beneficial.
7. Have you given any thought about what you would like to do after you graduate this year?
I'm actually not graduating until next fall. Right now I am not sure what exactly where I want to go. I'm planning on taking my CPA exam when I graduate and working in accounting wherever I can find a job. As for track, we'll see how my season ends up, but it is definitely something I plan on doing after college.
8. Who are some of the more influential people in your life and what have they taught you?
Well first of all my parents who have been my backbone and have always helped me keep my focus in life. They have taught me that I can achieve anything I set out to do and learning from their experiences has helped me a lot along the way (by the way my father has an autobiography out, check it out). My boyfriend Adam Shunk who I love with all my heart for putting up with me and supporting me no matter what. My teammates and my coaches (former and current) for helping me believe in myself.