Joel Eversole, Men's Cross Country Senior, Biology
Waverly, Ohio
I WILL run with guts
I WILL run for Capital's pride and respect
I WILL work in a hospital one day and give back to my community
Capital senior Joel Eversole is no stranger to life on the run. The duration of Eversole's first three years in college have consisted of studying Biology at the library, cashing out customers at Banana Republic, and heading to the Cap Center to gear up for any of the three sports he has partaken in here at Capital.
It seems that Eversole's life on the run has made him a natural at his latest sport, cross country, which he joined as a sophomore. Joel also spent his freshman season as a member of the soccer team and has been on the track squad the last three years. Sports information assistant Bryan DeArdo sat down with Eversole to discuss cross country, why Steve Prefontaine is so revered by the running community, and who would win a one-on-one soccer matchup between himself and girlfriend Julie Horton, a recent Capital graduate that played soccer for the Crusaders.
BD: You spent for your first year at Capital playing soccer and running predominately the 800 on the track team, then decided to dabble with cross country your sophomore year. Why did you decide to pick up the sport?
JE: Stephan Woods and Andrew Keppler were a couple of older cross country guys that also ran track. They talked me into coming out for cross country that upcoming fall. I looked at it as a chance to log in some good miles to prepare for track season, so I only ran in a few meets. Last year, I finally put my full heart into cross country and committed to it. Cross country was a lot harder than I expected, but a lot more fun than I thought I would be. It was great running with the guys and getting better together throughout the season. I got more of a team feel out if it last year.
BD: Did your background in track and soccer help your transition into cross country?
JE: Oh, definitely. Overall, I'm a competitive athlete, and that drives me in anything I do. Whether it's beating someone to a soccer ball or chasing down someone in the 800, they both go straight go towards cross country. I need to want it more than the other guy.
BD: The cross country team had somewhat of a "breakout" year in 2008. The team was consistently competitive and beat a couple of fellow OAC teams at different points in the season. Do you feel like, as a senior, you are building a new legacy for the cross country team here at Capital?
JE: Yeah, I do. I think in the past the program was just trying to get enough people to have a team. I think that now we're filling the roster with fast, competitive guys. We're trying to be contenders and to fight to be in races year after year.
BD: What are your goals for cross country in the fall?
JE: I'd like to see the team do better as a whole rather than worry about myself. I want to do better so that it helps the team. As a goal for us, I want the team to place higher at the OAC meet. As good of a year as we had last year, we didn't do as well as we would have liked at the conference meet. That's already a focus for this season.
BD: Your girlfriend, Julie Horton, was a four-year member of the women's soccer team. If you took her on in a one-on-one soccer game, who would win?
JE: I'm going for the brownie points and giving it to Julie (laughs). She played four years here, and that's her sport.
BD: You've said before that you watch the Steve Prefontaine movie "Without Limits" sometimes before races. Why do you think the running community has such continuous affection for Prefontaine?
JE: I think it's because of his personality and his attitude. He was just a hard worker who believed that he wasn't naturally as good as his competitors, which led to him just outworking them. The guts he showed when he raced, starting at the front and pushing ahead the entire race, really draw people to him.
BD: What would you say to an incoming freshman that is aspiring to be both a Biology major and an athlete here at Capital?
JE: It's not the easiest path to take, to be honest. It's worth it if you manage your time well, though. You have to be fully committed to both your sport and school, which really takes dedication. You have to look at Biology just like you do your sport. School takes practicing and preparation, just like running.
BD: Does working at Banana Republic merit you as the best-dressed guy on the cross country team?
JE: I think it does (laughs). Alex (Moore) has some swagger and style to him, but he still has to upgrade to get on my level.
BD: What do foresee yourself doing with your degree?
JE: I know I want to be in a hospital helping out. When I grew up my dad always said, "You can be anything you want in life, as long as that helps out in the community." So I told him I wanted to be a doctor. Now, I just want to do whatever I can in a hospital, which will defiantly be a constant contribution to the community.