Texas A&M Track & Field’s Connor Schulman has emerged as a leader for the Aggies, boasting one of the top 110m hurdle times in the nation and winning the bronze medal in the 60m hurdles at the SEC Indoor Championships.
The Altair, Texas native sits down to talk about his time at A&M and what led to him being where he is today.
How did you get into track & field?
“Back in seventh and eighth grade it was mandatory for everyone who played football and basketball. If you played either of those sports, you had to do it for the conditioning through sophomore year.”
What other activities did you enjoy doing?
“I was really big into marching band. I enjoyed football, basketball and baseball. I played saxophone up until I got drum major, and I got to conduct, which was awesome.”
What made you choose A&M and how was the transition?
“My mom went here and so I wanted to come here. I was kind of on the fence. I was going to be in the corps band and not run track. But then running track fell into place. I didn’t have any complaints on the transition, other than adjusting to the higher the hurdle height.”
How did Covid affect your training and mindset?
“Most people don’t agree with this, but Covid allowed me to take a big jump in training. I trained really hard as soon as we were cleared to go back to the weight room and start running again. The whole Covid summer I felt like I took a step ahead of everybody. My mindset was ‘man I’ve got a free year of track and now I get to take that training and keep using it.’ It basically gave me a free year and I considered it a blessing for my career as an athlete.”
What’s your major and what do you plan on doing post college?
“My major is university studies business with a sport management minor and communication minor. I’ll be getting a masters in sports management. After college, I’m going to run professionally then be a college coach.”
You started as a walk-on and now you’re an SEC medalist with one of the top times in the nation… How did that happen?
“Trusting the coaches was the big thing. I started working harder in the weight room and realized how much stronger I need to get to be able to run on the track. I put a lot of time focusing on film study and focusing on and nitpicking the little things I can fix. As soon as one little thing was fixed, I moved onto the next one.”
How has this season been as the team travels every week?
“It’s definitely helped a lot with the team bonding. Everybody travels together and we hang out a lot. It has been exhausting though, I miss the people who don’t travel as much. I have teammates that I’m usually close with that I don’t see for weeks because they don’t travel. It is give and take.”
How have Coach Kurt Henry and Coach Pat Henry made an impact on you throughout your college career?
“Coach Kurt got to Texas A&M my junior year and showed me what a good coach can be, and what a good relationship between a coach and athlete can be. Coach Henry taught me the cutthroat aspect of track. I didn’t come in expecting that. He’s helped instill more of an Aggie pride in me. Showing up to meets as part of the Texas A&M track & field team is something to be proud of.”
How thankful are you for the 12th Man?
“I’m very thankful. It’s great having the opportunity to be a part of the 12th Man. My team is super supportive of me when I’m running. Even going to other sports and cheering them on is really special. It’s so unique to see everyone incorporate that tradition.”
What’s your favorite aggie tradition?
“My favorite tradition is part of the Aggie War Hymn. When you put your right foot behind everyone’s left foot during the sway in the war hymn. No one left behind. That’s special to me.”
What are your hobbies?
“I’m a big, big Lego guy. I’m really into cars. I work on my car a lot. I like video games. Anything that’s relaxing that I can just turn my mind off and do something. I like playing Apex Legends, Hogwarts Legacy has been one of my favorites recently, and the Lego Star Wars Skywalker Saga are all great video games.”