BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Texas A&M track & field's Tyra Gittens, fielded questions Tuesday afternoon, on the upcoming NCAA Indoor Championships Thursday, March 11-13 at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
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Tyra Gittens is the only athlete to be ranked in the top five in the nation in three individual events. She is currently the NCAA leader in the pentathlon (4,612) and the high jump (1.91m/6-3.25), she is No. 5 in the long jump (6.62m/21-8.75). Gittens' NCAA competition begins with the pentathlon on Thursday at 11:30 a.m. Friday she is scheduled to compete in the open high jump at 4:30 p.m., followed by the open long jump at 6:30 p.m.
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Multi-athlete Tyra Gittens
on being at last year's NCAAs and reflecting on that moment the meet was canceled:
"Anytime I flash back to last year I remember the tears of my teammates and my friends from other teams who were on their last year and maybe had a job lined up already and weren't coming back for their fifth year. It's definitely not a memory that I like to go back to, I don't have PTSD from last year but there is stuff in the back of my mind saying 'I hope we have it this year', 'I hope things go smoothly' and I hope everyone follows the guidelines. I feel like I can say for everyone that we're all here to make up for what we lost last year and we're here to show that we may not of had a championship but we are back and we're better."
on the upcoming championships and excitement after missing last year:
"I like to treat every meet the same. I'm excited because it is nationals and this is the meet that everyone shows up. In that way, I'm really excited and I'm ready to match everyone's energy. At the same time I do want to treat it like every other meet that I have had so far this season and come with the same focus that I've had. There is a little part of me that wants it more now because we didn't have it last year."
On preparing for the national meet, expectations for the meet and taking chances:
"My preparation for the NCAAs this past week has been a lot of recovering from the SECs the week before, it was a lot. I am used to competing a lot but that was my first time this season to compete in the pentathlon and then follow the next day with the high jump and long jump. I'm feeling a lot better, I'm feeling bouncy and young. Part of my preparation has been taking a chance, so every day I've been doing something I'm kind of afraid of and my confidence has grown daily. I'm going to continue that this week and I'm going to take a chance in single event and every single attempt, we'll see how it goes. I have no expectations for the meet, of course I want to do well but no expectations in regards of winning. I don't go into competitions saying 'I want to win', it's more of I want to beat myself and I want to be the best Tyra."
on what chances she has been taking and fears she has overcome:
"I got a tattoo, it says 'A smile can save a life', and that's something that I really live by. I don't like needles, I don't like pain and I was scared because it's on you for the rest of your life. I took a chance, I'm ok with commitment but something about tattoos that you can't just scrub it off in the shower. It made me nervous, I got one and I'm very happy with it. Previously, before getting a tattoo, I wrote a song. I love music and my dad is a musician but I get stage fright sometimes, my hands get sweaty or I pass out. I wrote a song and sang it for my boyfriend, I felt like I was going to die at the time. Those are the two things I've taken a chance with this week. It has helped me realize that facing those fears it's scary at first but once you get over it, you'll be fine. It's also made me trust myself, it's about building the correct confidence. I believe there is certain levels of confidence and coming out of high school I had a confidence based on my talents alone. I think long lasting confidence comes from a challenge and coming back from difficult situations, I'm slowly building that type of confidence and I think that's what's going to help me in the future."
on anything she could do at this national meet that might surprise her:
"None of us really know what we are capable of. I'm just waiting for the right moment and I'm going to take advantage of those opportunities. If I see that I'm in the right position I'm going to take complete advantage of it. I wouldn't say I'd be surprised if I came up with a great score or a great mark, I'd definitely be happy and proud but surprised, I don't think I would use that word."
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on the pentathlon collegiate record:
"I don't think about it too much, but I have talked about it with my coach just to make sure I know what marks I need to stay around. It's not about setting a certain mark, it's more about stay in this general area. When I think about getting aggressive and competitive I forget who I am really competing against, which is myself. I know I want to break the collegiate record but I'm not going into the meet saying that I'm going to break it. I have full confidence that I can, but I'm not going to put the pressure on myself saying that I have to."
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Tyra Gittens is the only athlete to be ranked in the top five in the nation in three individual events. She is currently the NCAA leader in the pentathlon (4,612) and the high jump (1.91m/6-3.25), she is No. 5 in the long jump (6.62m/21-8.75). Gittens' NCAA competition begins with the pentathlon on Thursday at 11:30 a.m. Friday she is scheduled to compete in the open high jump at 4:30 p.m., followed by the open long jump at 6:30 p.m.
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Multi-athlete Tyra Gittens
on being at last year's NCAAs and reflecting on that moment the meet was canceled:
"Anytime I flash back to last year I remember the tears of my teammates and my friends from other teams who were on their last year and maybe had a job lined up already and weren't coming back for their fifth year. It's definitely not a memory that I like to go back to, I don't have PTSD from last year but there is stuff in the back of my mind saying 'I hope we have it this year', 'I hope things go smoothly' and I hope everyone follows the guidelines. I feel like I can say for everyone that we're all here to make up for what we lost last year and we're here to show that we may not of had a championship but we are back and we're better."
on the upcoming championships and excitement after missing last year:
"I like to treat every meet the same. I'm excited because it is nationals and this is the meet that everyone shows up. In that way, I'm really excited and I'm ready to match everyone's energy. At the same time I do want to treat it like every other meet that I have had so far this season and come with the same focus that I've had. There is a little part of me that wants it more now because we didn't have it last year."
On preparing for the national meet, expectations for the meet and taking chances:
"My preparation for the NCAAs this past week has been a lot of recovering from the SECs the week before, it was a lot. I am used to competing a lot but that was my first time this season to compete in the pentathlon and then follow the next day with the high jump and long jump. I'm feeling a lot better, I'm feeling bouncy and young. Part of my preparation has been taking a chance, so every day I've been doing something I'm kind of afraid of and my confidence has grown daily. I'm going to continue that this week and I'm going to take a chance in single event and every single attempt, we'll see how it goes. I have no expectations for the meet, of course I want to do well but no expectations in regards of winning. I don't go into competitions saying 'I want to win', it's more of I want to beat myself and I want to be the best Tyra."
on what chances she has been taking and fears she has overcome:
"I got a tattoo, it says 'A smile can save a life', and that's something that I really live by. I don't like needles, I don't like pain and I was scared because it's on you for the rest of your life. I took a chance, I'm ok with commitment but something about tattoos that you can't just scrub it off in the shower. It made me nervous, I got one and I'm very happy with it. Previously, before getting a tattoo, I wrote a song. I love music and my dad is a musician but I get stage fright sometimes, my hands get sweaty or I pass out. I wrote a song and sang it for my boyfriend, I felt like I was going to die at the time. Those are the two things I've taken a chance with this week. It has helped me realize that facing those fears it's scary at first but once you get over it, you'll be fine. It's also made me trust myself, it's about building the correct confidence. I believe there is certain levels of confidence and coming out of high school I had a confidence based on my talents alone. I think long lasting confidence comes from a challenge and coming back from difficult situations, I'm slowly building that type of confidence and I think that's what's going to help me in the future."
on anything she could do at this national meet that might surprise her:
"None of us really know what we are capable of. I'm just waiting for the right moment and I'm going to take advantage of those opportunities. If I see that I'm in the right position I'm going to take complete advantage of it. I wouldn't say I'd be surprised if I came up with a great score or a great mark, I'd definitely be happy and proud but surprised, I don't think I would use that word."
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on the pentathlon collegiate record:
"I don't think about it too much, but I have talked about it with my coach just to make sure I know what marks I need to stay around. It's not about setting a certain mark, it's more about stay in this general area. When I think about getting aggressive and competitive I forget who I am really competing against, which is myself. I know I want to break the collegiate record but I'm not going into the meet saying that I'm going to break it. I have full confidence that I can, but I'm not going to put the pressure on myself saying that I have to."