Courtney Blount is a junior on the West Essex Spring Girls Track team, and she has currently qualified for the 1600m event. Recently, she contributed to the team’s win in the SEC Liberty division on May 11th, with a record 178 points which cleared the field of teams by 94 points. Courtney answered a few questions to see how she discovered the sport, and how she continues to pursue her career.

Q: What is your track background. Where did you start? Why?

A: I started to participate on the track team in middle school. At the time,, I did it to make new friends, and to stay in shape throughout the year. I continued in high school during the spring, and I started to do cross country in the fall.

Q: How are you preparing for Nationals? How long have you been preparing?

A: Instead of winter track, I swim in the winter, and even though I am not running, I stay in shape and it’s also a low impact sport. In the fall, I had stress fractures on both my shins and it was due to over running.  I was able to comeback from that through swimming and I was finding the right place for physical therapy and they helped me get the results I needed.

Q: What are your expectations and goals for next year’s track season?

A: I am hoping to get my time down for 10 more seconds from the mile. Break record senior year for the girls mile. I have been injured in previous years, and I am looking forward to doing well next year.

Q: Because this is your junior year, what exactly are you looking forward to in your senior year?

A: I am looking forward to it a lot good underclassmen to come up that have been performing very well. I am hoping to see how they improve and grow. I am also excited to see how the seniors finish and if they can end all of their careers on a high note.