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Madison Michels, Track & Field/Cross Country
"Don't be afraid of your fears. They're not there to scare you. They're there to let you know that something is worth it." -C. Joybell C.
Belief in ourselves and others believing in us is what drives us as athletes to take that extra step towards success. If we do not believe in our abilities, we will not make goals to strive for. If you do not have a support system rallying behind you, it weakens you mentally. If you believe in the worst, it will become a reality.
My first year as an athlete in the MEC was all about learning how to believe in myself, trust my team, and realize how motivational having people who believe you can do great things. Upon arriving at D&E, I was a part of a fairly young cross country team of mostly freshmen girls. None of us really knew each other or what we could potentially do together but we had a coach who believed that we were capable of great things from day one of preseason camp. Coach Pyles told us in our first team meeting at the pavilion back in August how he could see our team scoring a top-five team finish at Regionals this fall if we would put in the work. While this goal was making us excited, he also gave the extra incentive that became my driving force for the fall, the top three teams in the region qualify for nationals.
My belief in myself was not as strong at the beginning of the season as Coach had for us. In high school, I had bad luck with cross country and staying injury-free. In fact, my freshman college cross country season would be my first season since junior year of high school due to a season-long injury my senior year. I did not think I could finish a season healthy, I mentally beat myself up after workouts that did not go as planned, I lost two weeks of training in September due to bronchitis. I did not want to miss the opportunity of letting my team down if I was injured and wanted to help my team achieve our big goals.
That was when I realized, I needed to see others believing in me to believe in myself. Coach Pyles had us excited to chase big goals, so that's what we did. Our team had three goals; win MEC, top three at regionals, then top 25 at nationals. His excitement for our young team and belief in our potential helped us all reach major personal PRs, win MEC, place second at regionals, and finish the season with a 29th place team finish. To do this, our team learned how to train together, push each other, and provide support for each other to accomplish our goals. We had to learn we are no longer accountable for our personal success but also for the success of our team.
During this year, I also saw the MEC as a whole grow more competitive and supportive within the conference. During high school, I was a big fan of the MEC because of its hometown feel of being a primarily West Virginia based conference. It was exciting to be at Wheeling jogging the course the day before MEC and getting to see and talk to people from other teams who I ran against in high school. The feeling reminds me of the high school state meet feeling, getting to race against your running role models from high school and the exciting atmosphere where everyone knows each other from several years of competitive history.
Having this kind of belief within and around me mentally helped me stay on track and accomplish the goals I had for the season. I remember after finishing at nationals with a PR, I ran up to my mom and all I could do was cry. I finished a season with everything I had and I believed in myself as an athlete. The emotions and the hunger for more is my driving force with training and it all started with belief.
But with belief, there is also learning to have faith even when things do not go as planned. With the recent COVID-19 pandemic and the suspension of spring sports, I have seen the belief waver on our team due to the loss of a track season. There was so much excitement for a big season and in an email sent out on a Thursday evening by the athletic department, all of us were crushed. I think it is critical now more than ever to believe in each other and trust that regardless of the outcome, in the end, it will all work out.
Whether it is your first college sports season or your last year of eligibility, losing one season does not mean you are stripped of your identity as an athlete. While the goals will not be able to be reached and it may seem as if the work was put in for nothing, you are still an athlete. Your coach wanted you to be a part of your team and you did the work to better yourself. Losing a season is a horrible emotion to tackle, but remember, millions of student-athletes across the country are in your shoes.
Do not be consumed in the panic or the sadness with this loss. Reflect on the good times. Hug your teammates and listen to their perspectives. Talk to your coaches and thank them for believing in you. Reach out to old high school teammates and your local sports community and connect through this. But most of all, believe in your abilities as an athlete and believe that you will heal and grow from this.
Stay safe and wash your hands...Â
Alessandro Trujillo, Swimming
It's sad to hear that the coronavirus has affected everyone worldwide, especially those who are healthy and active every day. The one thing I will miss from Elkins, West Virginia is seeing the majestic, magnificent, misty mountains, ever-flowing rivers, still forests, and noise from people and machines bustling about with their schedules. I will especially miss every part Davis & Elkins College: attending all my classes along with support and study hours in the Naylor Center, going to swim practice with my rowdy, funny teammates - but above all, I will miss refreshing Sunday 8 pm Chapel services. However, my parents, especially my dad said to me that life is very complex as it brings happiness and sorrows unexpectedly, but knowing that God is with us helps us to cope with all low and high obstacles; with faith in Him and our mental endurance, God makes us overcome these challenges and obstacles turning them into good news, but it takes time and patience to reach these good news. My older brother Luciano also added in saying that experience comes from exactly what the word means: experiences. That means good and bad ones. It is up to you what to do with them and turn them into something positive and build your own resilience and lessons you can pass on to others later. My words to D&E faculty and staff, students, and student-athletes is this, "Be Safe. Be Strong. Stand tall, united and lead like Saint John says in verses eighteen to twenty-four in the third chapter of his first epistle with love in the form of action." Senator nation is loved, but God has 10,000 reasons to love 3,000 times more.
Rhetta Persinger, Softball
This experience has been so eye opening. It's always talked about playing or practicing like it's your last time, but it's never put into perspective until it's really taken from you. Being a senior, it's hard to swallow knowing that there are a lot of things I'm not going to get experience one last time. I had some of my "last's" without knowing they were my last's. Thank you to my team for making this heartbreaking time bearable. My coach for all the love and words needed to get through and understand what's happening. My family for being there, even if I'm not happy about it. My senior class for all the memories and experiences I never thought would end so soon. I appreciate you girls and what you have done for me personally. You all are my rock and I would not change anything in the last three years I had with you. I wish I was able to spend more time, but it is out of our hands. I love you all.
Jewell Forand, Davis & Elkins parent
As I read all of the shared stories from the athletes I am saddened even more over the end of this very short season.  I'm saddened not only for the athletes but for the coaches, and parents as well.  I am a parent of a freshmen, Davis and Elkins women's lacrosse player. I love the D&E women's lacrosse team! While our daughter is only a freshman this year, she has been a part of this team for about three years, her sophomore year of high school she decided she wanted to go to D&E. We have been visiting D&E and attending games ever since (not recruited until allowed, though). We have seen this team go through a lot, we watched the previous coach leave, we watched as girls were injured and worked through their injuries and made it back on the field.Â
We watched as Coach
Tommy Kelly took the position of Davis and Elkins women's lacrosse head coach with just weeks to spare before the 2019 season started. We watched as he took a team that had not won very many games to a team that believed in themselves. (At this time our daughter was a senior in high school and committed to play for Davis and Elkins.) We as a family had many conversations with Coach Kelly as we came to Davis and Elkins games and as we connected through tournaments that our daughter coached or played in. From the first time that we talked with Coach Kelly, we knew this College and this coach was the right choice for our daughter. He really cares about his team, as I'm sure all coaches do, but he really cares about these girls- not the wins or the losses, yeah, those are important too.    Â
He cares if they are going to classes, he cares if they are having a bad day, he cares about their physical and mental health. He allows the girls to be real with him, he allows them to talk through problems with him, he shows them that it is ok not to be ok all the time. But most of all he shows them that he cares about them. Â
When the news that the season was being ended just as fast as it started came out, Coach Kelly texted the team and asked them to leave the news be for about 30 minutes so it could be processed. To me, this told me that he knew this was going to be a major blow to his team and he was telling the girls that he needed to process it before he could help them process it. He did not rush to answers or play into the hype, he simply composed himself to be able to provide the best support he could to the girls. This also told the girls that their coach was taking this just as hard as they were and needed to work through it and process it as well. When he did talk with them he was kind and gentle with them, telling them that this is not the end. Coach Kelly posted this to them, "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened…. It happened, we happened, and exceeded the expectations since day one...love is want keeps this going, you may be a team for a season but we are family for life". This is his attitude with the team at all times, not just because of the situation. Â
Then the reality hit when they had to turn their gear in. When my daughter turned her gear in, he talked with her for a while. She is taking this really hard because, to be honest, lacrosse is what saved her life: Her sophomore year she was ready to give up on life and then Davis and Elkins lacrosse came along. He talked to her about taking this opportunity to work on a few things. He is putting together a workout plan to help her for next season- I'm not talking about a generic plan that he's giving to every girl on the team, but a plan specialized for her.
He is not just a coach but a mentor as well! Coach Kelly has gone above and beyond for so many of these girls, they might not always like what he has to say or what he does, but it is all done out of love and respect for these young women! As these girls are preparing to depart Davis and Elkins for who knows how long, he continues to talk with them and encourage them along the way.Â
Coach
Tommy Kelly is a coach that not only talks to talk but he walks the walk as well! I know with the season ended there will be no coach of the year but he really does deserve to be the Coach of the Year!Â
R.J. Weiford, Track & Field/Cross Country
The term "it's just a game" is thrown around sports a lot. Indeed, sports are just a "game" or "competition" and life will go on with or without them, but to us athletes, sports take up a majority of our lives. We try and eat healthy to perform at our peak performance. We sometimes wake up early or stay up late to practice and perfect our craft. Sandwiched in between everything we do for our sport, we find someway to excel in our education so we are eligible for our sport and are setup for life after college. We sacrifice our social lives just to see improvements at our next game or competition. When you put into perspective everything we do for our sports, you can hardly just look at it as just a "game" or "competition", but as a way of life.
With this sudden hit of COVID-19, our way of life as been, in a way, taken from us. Many athletes were geared up for winter national championships, championships that they have worked most of their lives to get to. Other athletes were just starting or gearing up for a successful spring season. This season, for some, their last shot at the sport they love. Some athletes were vigorously working their way back from injuries, major or minor, just to try and get in shape to compete at their best ability for this spring season. When you put these scenarios into perspective, you can hardly look at sports as just a "game" or "competition". I understand why this had to happen, but it doesn't ease the heartbreak. I am heartbroken to know that some athletes won't get another shot at competing in the sport that they have dedicated much of their life to. I am heartbroken that I and every team has teammates that they won't be able to suit up with anymore. It's a very weird time for everyone, a time that really can't be put into perspective. It is in times like these that all athletes need to come together. It's a time to put rivalries and dislikes of teams aside. It is time to put aside the "stereotypes" of each sport. In the end, we are all athletes and need each other more than ever before. It is indeed a hard time to be an athlete, but if we come together, we WILL get through this.
Ryn Boetler, Softball
I am a senior this year, and this was going to be our first year competing in the MEC. Our team was doing well this year. Our culture was incredible, and we were truly competing with good teams. In four years, my class alone has experienced so much together. A few weeks into freshmen year, our coach took another job and we were left without a head coach for an entire Fall. When our new coach was hired, things clicked and we had a good first year. The next two years were a little rocky for the team, but this year really made up for those years. As a senior, even with the cancellation of our final season, this was the best year that I've been a part of at D&E. It's incredibly sad for it to have ended only 14 games into a 50 game season, but this team is a force to be reckoned with. As we turn in our gear today and begin packing to go home, I am doing a lot of reflecting on my experience as a Senator, and I am just grateful that our first coach recruited me and allowed me to be here. But, I am even more grateful for all the teammates I've had that turned into friends, that turned into family. And to our head coach and all of the assistant coaches we've had over the years, thank you. I don't know what else to say other than thank you. Senator Softball has been the best program I've been a part of and I will be thankful for the people and experiences it's given me for the rest of my life.
Elysia Cain, Women's Tennis
It is quite insane that my freshman year had to end this way. It's very easy to say that my team has been my family for the past semester and a half. I've found my best friends through this sport and this team. Having to leave them in such a short notice is very hard for me. Having to leave my seniors who I know I will never see again is very hard for me since some of them are my best friends. I know that they're going to have the best part of their lives as college graduates back in Sweden and Columbia and back in their hometowns here in the US. It makes me so sad that everyone's season had to end this way, but from the freshman, sophomore, and junior classes that everyone is going to be ready to give it their all in the 2021 season. This is giving me the extra time to prepare myself for next season on my own with my coach at home, which I know will be good for me. But I never thought my freshman year would end this way. How heartbreaking...
Elizabeth Markley, Acrobatics & Tumbling
I am deeply heart-broken to see my freshman season abruptly come to an end. I'm at loss for words. But what I do have to say is that I am absolutely proud of this team! We have overcome a lot and made great progress! We were soo close but shut down very quickly. All I have to say now is watch out. My team and I are ready to take our anger and sadness and use it to fuel us for next season! Love this team forever and always! IYAFYL
Haleigh Forand, Women's Lacrosse
Never knowing when your last time stepping onto the field again is probably one of the hardest things an athlete has to go through. The bond that the Davis and Elkins women's lacrosse team has built over this year has been one of the best. We have been able to bond over little things from the laughs and big things like wins and loses. The women's lacrosse team at Davis and Elkins has made huge successes and will still grow together as we come together in this time.
Aidan Konhaus, Track & Field/Cross Country
Thousands of miles travelled, figurative and literal mountains climbed for the sake of competition. More than that is those that were on that journey with me, by my side then and by my side now. It's heartbreaking to know that this is the end for some of my closest friends. All the trials we've faced together has left me with a deep love and respect for me teammates. It's for the sake of those cut short that we who remain have to keep going. As sad as I am to see them go I find myself reminiscing with leaving seniors about good times and it's bittersweet. I treasure the time I had with them and it's for them that I have to put one foot in front of the other and keep moving. Maybe it is just a game and that it's not important and that's true, the competition isn't what I'll remember but instead the journey my friends and I have made in the dark to get to those lights on the track.
Justin Wisniewski, Baseball
This was supposed to be the year that we proved everyone wrong. A team full of talented transfers, freshmen, and returning players had our entire program excited for what was to come. As a first year JuCo transfer, I came into D&E in a tough situation. I was and am still unable to play as I am recovering from arm surgery over the summer, but I came into this program and found myself right at home. I wasn't playing but was still so excited to be a part of the turnaround that we had just begun making. In our first 8 games we beat the 9th ranked team in the nation and a former division 1 program, and heading into conference play we knew we would be contenders. Everyone was excited, but I can only hope that excitement will carry into next season. Without a few of our seniors things will be different, and they should know they helped to shape this team into what it was this season and will be for years to come.
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