Conall Joyce, senior sports management major and member of the men’s track and field team, is hoping for one final season to achieve his competitive goals.

Joyce said he has always enjoyed being involved in sports, which is one of the many reasons why he chose to compete in college.

“I always knew I wanted to be involved in sports in some way and I think that transferred over for me wanting to continue to compete for as long as I can. Since I was younger, I always had the urge to want to continue to compete.”

His desire for competition played a big role in which schools he decided to apply to.

“I only applied to schools that I was going to be able to do track at. I think that was a pretty big part of my decision. Obviously, I love the school and the campus and the academics here, too, but athletics was definitely a part of it,” Joyce said.

He said he felt that his high school teammates didn’t match his passion, but when he got to college, he was proud to find that there were people who loved it as much as he did.

“In high school, it’s competitive, but I feel a lot of people are doing it just to do a sport, but when you get to the college level, everybody that is competing wants to be there, and they have that drive and I think that makes it more competitive, which I like too,” he said.

Joyce said that as much as loves the competition, he also enjoys college athletics because it keeps him busy.

“I do my work and go to class, but I like having that extra structure and that extra activity where I get to get up go to practice and go to lifting. I actually enjoy that kind of busy schedule and it keeps moving,” he said.

Some of his best memories come from events with his teammates.

“I think some of the banquets have been pretty good memories for me,” Joyce said. “I think a lot of the overnights at conferences where I get to spend more time with my teammates than just at practice. Those probably made the best memories for me.”

The most challenging student-athlete experience was time management, he said.

“It can be challenging to manage, especially at certain times in the semester when you get into midterms, finals, and to balance practice and lifting and your course load can be challenging. But I do enjoy it still,” Joyce said.

Joyce has had great success as a Cougar, as he has qualified for regional meets and has also been named team MVP. While he values those achievements, he said the greatest was being able to compete with the best.

“I think just continuing to improve every year and proving to myself that I can keep competing and keep competing with the people that I’m throwing against and that I’m at that level,” he said. “The fact that I can compete with other people that have that same drive and same motivation to continue to do well as me, I think that has been like my biggest accomplishment that I haven’t taken a step down and I have always been able to stay with the competition.”

He said he was disappointed with the cancellation of the outdoor season, but he will continue to pursue his goals.

“It was disappointing because I felt like I was continuing to improve and I would’ve like to keep stepping up. But I guess at this point it is what it is and I just hope that a season is in place for this year,” Joyce said.

Joyce said in the future, he hopes he will find opportunities to compete.

“I am very competitive. I like the competition. I like the fight internally to keep myself motivated and I think that this year being my senior year especially, is just to be able to prove that I can still step up another level,” he said.

He said he he will take away the lessons of discipline that he learned as a member of the track and field team.

“I think the discipline that it takes to manage your course work and your practice and your lifts and the discipline to continue to get better at something can transfer well into the rest of my life like into my work life into my home life after college,” Joyce said. “I like that ability to practice and just stay disciplined at what you’re doing and knowing that positive things will come out on the other side.”