Krystine Sora is a senior marine biology major on the women’s track and field team. As a freshman, Sora competed in seven events for the Sharks and claimed seventh overall in the heptathlon at the Peach Belt Conference Championship. Now a senior, Sora set a personal-best in the 400m hurdle at the Miami Hurricane Invitational.
How has your experience on the women’s track and field team been?
“My experience has been really good. I really enjoy it. I like my team, my coaches and it really helped making the process from high school to here [NSU] easier since I came in with a team, being able to know people and I knew that my team had my back whenever I ever needed them.”
How do you feel knowing that it’s your last year on the team and at NSU?
“I’m sad about it. I’ve had an awesome time here. Each year I got better; better heights, better times in my event and I’m excited to see what this year brings, but at the same time I’m sad that after this I’m done with my NCAA years.”
What plans do you have for the upcoming year?
“As of now, I’m taking next year off. I want to have time to just relax, maybe travel before I actually settle down, figure out what grad program I want to go to and hopefully, still keep up some track and stay with the whole track environment.”
Can you tell me about a remarkable experience you’ve had over these years?
“As a team, as a whole, the last event that we went to last season was at conference and it was just the best because we all went and it’s the first year we actually won. Since I’ve been here we’ve come in second, so that [last year] was our year. Everybody stepped up, everyone performed, so the fact we could all come together as a team and had one common goal which we made happen was just awesome.”
Do you consider your team to be your second family here at NSU?
“Yes, my team is definitely my second family. I’ve made so amazing friends with my teammates, hopefully some that I can continue for the rest of my life. In school and in general, they are definitely my best friends.”
As a student athlete, how do you manage your time?
“Sometimes it does get hard to manage because things will pile up but [I] try to stay on top of things and have a schedule. What is nice is that, unlike other sports that have practice in the afternoon, ours are mainly in the morning. So, the majority of our practices are done before classes start. Even though we have to wake up [early], it does give us the rest of our day.”
What would you say to someone interested on being on the track and field team?
“If you want to try it out, make sure you realize that it’s a lot harder than people think. It’s more than just running and running fast; you have a lot of training and [you] put a lot of hours and there’s a lot of technique behind it. Be prepared to put in the work, but then also know that [even though] you might struggle at times, the team will be there for you and they’ll always have your back.”
