Evan Taylor commits to Virginia Tech for track and field

Senior Evan Taylor committed to Virginia Tech to continue his track and field career. He initially joined track and field in sixth grade at Miller Middle School without any prior experience. Although he participated in multiple sports in middle school, he chose to devote most of his time to running in high school because he found himself to be more successful in track. 

Throughout high school, Taylor devoted his time to running both in and outside of school. On weekdays, he would go to practice every day after school and train in the weight room. Occasionally, his practices would last up to four hours. On his Saturday mornings, he would go to a park and run for an hour and a half— his offseasons were just as busy.

Taylor found it relatively easy to balance school with track and field, with a healthy sleep schedule and good work ethic.

“I get things done and get to be in bed by 10:30 every night,” Taylor said. “When I took calculus in junior year, I had a lot of homework and would go to the library after school, to finish it before going to practice. I learned to build this habit and didn’t have too much trouble.”

Taylor is also an encouraging and supportive teammate, especially to those who practice with him through the off season. He sees track as both a team sport and individual sport, with a blend between attributes including self-control and being at his best for both him and his teammates. 

“My favorite part about my teammates is watching them succeed and motivating them to beat their rivals,” Taylor said. “Seeing them shine in their event makes me really happy.”

Taylor made an active effort to email coaches and get in contact with the schools he took interest in for recruitment. When he received responses, the coaches set goals for him to reach.

“When I hit the list of times that they sent me, I give them an update,” Taylor said.

One of his largest challenges was overcoming a pulled hamstring early this year.

“I didn’t feel at 100 percent for a long time after that,” Taylor said. “I was nervous after I reinjured my leg because I didn’t know if I could perform as well as I knew I was actually capable of performing. Even though I put so much work in during the offseason, it was a psychological challenge. At our league finals, I hurt my leg again, which ended my season.”

Taylor hopes for more people to join track and experience all the wonderful things that come with the sport.