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Sophia Treakle Senior Profile
1/25/2013 8:03:00 AM | Track & Field, Athletics
DURHAM, N.C. - The Duke track and field team returns to action at the Armory Collegiate on February 1-2. Recently, GoDuke.com sat down with senior hurdler Sophia Treakle to learn morea about the Asheville, N.C., native.
GoDuke.com: What is your favorite part of being a Duke student- athlete?
Sophia Treakle: Probably the community and all the support from the team and the staff and academics. You don't realize the kind of community you're going to be a part of but it's really tight knit going to all the games and support comes from all sides.
GoDuke.com: What has been your favorite class at Duke?
ST: I took a class called 'Africa in Hollywood' and it was really interesting. We went from older to modern representations of Africa in Hollywood, looking at the fragmented and re-pieced images that are created by Hollywood to create an image about the country like the United States public. It was pretty interesting.
GoDuke.com: What has been your least favorite class at Duke?
ST: Probably anything involving numbers, I have to take a math class this semester and I could probably say what I'm going to get. The math and sciences, they just don't click with me.
GoDuke.com: What is your favorite spot on campus?
ST: I don't know if it's my favorite but a really pretty spot is Few Tower.
GoDuke.com: Tell us about the time when you first started running track.
ST: I first start running track when I was 9 years old. I went to a practice and I saw these two high school guys practicing hurdles and they were number one and two in the country. Apparently, I don't remember this, but apparently I turned to my mom and I said, "I want to do that," and I've hurdled ever since.
GoDuke.com: If you could compete in any other track and field event what would it be?
ST: I always thought the triple jump was really cool, or high jump.
GoDuke.com: Do you have any pre-competition rituals?
ST: I do a lot of visualization before. I don't know if it's ever shown before but I don't talk to anyone before a race and then just getting into the blocks and how I set up my start.
GoDuke.com: Do you have a favorite workout? Least favorite workout?
ST: Favorite workouts are probably the ones track people consider 'easy'. Probably the hardest workout I've ever done was 3 x 600 meters with very little rest. I almost passed out after.
GoDuke.com: Who has been the biggest influence on your life? What lessons did that person teach you?
ST: My parents have been incredible and they've always been people that said I can do anything I wanted to do. Also, the first coach that introduced me to hurdling when I was 10 years. He's almost like a grandfather to me now and I kind of credit him with teaching me how to hurdle. Another coach, who was my high school cross country coach. I send him post cards, talked to him on the phone. They've all been major figures in my life.
GoDuke.com: What's your favorite midnight snack?
ST: Peanut butter.
GoDuke.com: Do you have any hidden talents?
ST: I do, I can hula hoop and play violin at the same time.
GoDuke.com: Do you have a proudest moment at Duke?
ST: Almost our entire track team we went to CC Spaulding Elementary School and we did a field day there for over one hundred kids. It was a little bit chaotic and a lot was going on but everyone had a really good time. I was really impressed with the fact that almost everybody went and took time out of their day to go and play for three hours [Highlights from CC Spaulding].
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