The Following is a Question and Answer featuring the Culver-Stockton Track and Field record breaking athletes.
Delaney Straus – The Junior from Philadelphia, Mo is back at it breaking school records again. Adding more to her book, the Missouri native broke the 1,000 meter dash with a time of 3:04.57. She killed the previous record by over 24 seconds. She also broke the 800m , 600m and pentathlon records with some outstanding numbers. With times of 2:17.23 for the 800m, 1:37.01 for the 600m and 3128 points for the pentathlon. The wildcat is killing the game in her own lane punching her ticket to the national meet in Florida in February for the 800m dash and she currently has the best time in the NAIA  with 2:17:23. 

Question: Have you always seen yourself as a record breaking athlete?

Answer: “I feel incredibly blessed to have the opportunity to even talk about holding records at the collegiate level. When I was in grade school I took a picture of my high school’s record board and made it my goal to have every  record from the 400 up. I saw that those who held them had been to state and had success in their running careers which is exactly what I wanted for myself. 

The main goal in every event is to shoot for a national standard, however, sometimes these numbers can feel out of reach. In these moments it can be beneficial to look at the record book and shoot for that first to kind of break up the distance between you and a national qualifying mark”.

Question: How does it feel when you find out you broke a record?

Answer: “After finding out I have broken a record I feel an immediate excitement to completing a goal followed by a quick prayer to thank God for this opportunity, this gift, and the supportive team I have been placed into. While I really enjoy breaking a school record I do my best to not be satisfied with it. In this sport you can always be faster, jump higher, or throw farther. So it is great to feel that satisfaction and celebrate your accomplishments, but tomorrow you have to treat that record as if it isn’t yours and aim even higher. Remember where you have come from, thank God for your journey, and keep your focus on the next goal, next record, next standard”.

Logan Lucas – The Senior from Monroe City Mo broke his very own school record in the 3,000 meter dash with an outstanding time of 8:59:01 from last year’s Heart of America Championships Meet , making him the first person in Culver history to be under 9 minutes in that race. 

Question: How does it feel breaking a record?

Answer:  “This isn’t my first record, but I love to continuously break my own records to show the progress that comes when you buy in and work hard. Leading up to the race, I wanted to get out hard and make the rest of the field work, which ultimately is what pulled me along to my PR and to break my own record.”

Question: Do you feel accomplished and that the job is done?

Answer:  “I hate to say I wasn’t happy, because I was. Track is a sport where you are never satisfied and I know that was not the best race I have run. I’m excited to hit the ground running come next semester and I can promise you that I will be rebreaking this record later in the season.”

Jailan Reynaga – The freshman from Murfreesboro Tenn. broke  a school record in Indoor Track and Field for the wildcats. The native from Murfreesboro has set a new record for the 1,000 meter dash with a time of 2:47:43 breaking Logan Lucas’ record from 2023. The freshman is starting his career off in a hot start for the wildcats. 

Question: Thoughts on breaking the record?

Answer: “I feel extremely grateful and blessed to be able to hold a record for Culver Stockton. In preparation for the race I went to every workout with the mindset of pushing my limits and trying to get 1% better everyday”. 

Question: Was breaking the record on your mind before the race started?

Answer:  “After I crossed the line and realized I broke the record I was more shocked than anything. Breaking the record wasn’t something I had really thought of coming into the race so when I did end up breaking it all I could think was “wow I just did that”. 

Emma Smith – The Junior from St. Louis, Mo. hit quite a speedy time in the 60m dash this year with an outstanding time of 7.91. Her time breaks the previous record set in 2016 by the All-American Paige Bray. 

Question: How has your journey been to breaking this record?

Answer: “ I have been chasing this goal for about 2 years now and I finally got to achieve it, so I feel stunned honestly. To prepare for this huge achievement, I healed. When I say this I literally mean heal. For the past two seasons here at Culver, which were freshman and sophomore year, I was in and out of different injuries. I would be excused from meets because of the amount of pain I was in. I was dealing with this for two years and something changed. The athletic trainer; (Shoutout to Dana for helping me on this slow journey) I literally could not have done it without her help”. 

Question: Was it your goal to break a record?

Answer: “I wasn’t worried about my time or anything because I knew I have a hip, knee, and lower back injury. I just wanted to come in first place. As soon as I crossed the finished line, I was just excited I came in first. I didn’t even see my coach, but I could hear him yelling and coming closer to find me. “Sub 8!” At this moment, all I could think of was what was my time. I knew off of the top of my head that the school record was 7.99 secs and I needed to beat it. my coach said “7.91”. My jaw dropped and I started jumping and running all over the place saying “I did it”. I felt very accomplished”.