Western Illinois University Athletics

Quintin Thurman concluded the 2019 cross country season by improving his time almost every week and landed his name on The Summit League All-Academic team. 

Do you prefer cross country or track?

I would have to say track. I always kind of looked at Cross Country as something that was fun because of the different terrain and courses, but also as something we did to be more conditioned for track. When track season comes around there’s just something special about it.

Best advice ever received?

The best advice I’ve ever received is to “Learn from the Past, Prepare for the Future, and Perform in the Present”

Favorite memory at Western Illinois?

Favorite memory would be the 5000m last year at a meet at Simpson College. It was my first 5000m and everything just kind of came together which ended up with me running really well. I had never ran the 5000m before so I didn’t really know what to do so I just put myself in position early in the race and held on. I think I ended up finishing second in that race and that just really validated that I deserved to be running at this level. 
 
Biggest hobby outside of sports?

I honestly don’t really have much of a life outside of being a student-athlete and with our seasons being pretty much year round there isn’t much of an off-season. I really enjoy being outdoors though which works out well being a runner. 
 
What are your plans after Western Illinois?

After Western I plan on continuing my education by getting my Masters in Sports Psychology and then pursuing a career in Coaching.
 
Favorite food?

Pepperoni Pizza

Sport you're best at other than cross country/track?
 
I’d have to say golf. I haven’t played in a long time but I was varsity in high school.
 
Do you have a pre-race routine?

Nothing special. I just try to stay calm and trust the training I’ve put in.
 
Favorite class or subject?
 
My favorite subject is Sports Psychology. I really enjoy learning about how psychology plays into performance and believe that as an athlete training your mind is really important to success.