Rylee Cockett
Amidst the buzz of her final year at Occidental college, Rylee Cockett (senior) is having a strong track and field season. Cockett said she set a new personal record Feb. 17 at the Pomona-Pitzer Collegiate All-Comers meet, reaching a height of 4 feet, 11 inches in the high jump event.
Cockett said that reaching a new personal record took a long time, attributing her success in large part to her mentality.
“I think it was something in my brain that was like, you know, you can do this right now, you don’t have to think about it, just do your best,” Cockett said. “It’s kind of a mental challenge, so having my mind ready to compete is really important.”
High jump coach Dave Foley said he agreed with Cockett’s claim that mentality is an important part of competing.
“The easiest and hardest thing for an event like high jump is turning your mind off,” Foley said.
In addition to putting herself in the proper mental state for competition, Cockett said she prepared with a busy training schedule.
“We practice every day except for Sunday,” Cockett said. “And then on Saturdays we have our meets, or if we don’t have a meet, we have practice.”
Cockett said she practices jumping three times a week, while other days are devoted to lifting and speed work.
Foley said the positive impacts of Cockett’s training are clear.
“This year in particular has been probably, for [Cockett], the best so far,” Foley said. “That’s really just a testament to the fact that we’ve had all fall to train and get ready, and Riley’s done all the hard work to put herself in a position to be successful.”
Foley said that he is glad to have worked with Cockett for her entire career at Occidental.
“I’ve really enjoyed working with Riley,” Foley said. “When she started, she was the only high jumper, so it was just her and me for a while.”
According to Cockett, she has been high jumping since middle school, and has had the best experience doing the event with the Occidental track and field team.
“It’s been amazing, I love the team, the coaches, the culture,” Cockett said. “I get that special, individualized event coaching which is really nice.”
Cockett said that it is awesome having teammates that genuinely care about both her and the team environment.
“[The track team] has definitely given me a huge family to depend on which is really good, especially when you need that mental support from them and you need to let go of all those mental blocks,” Cockett said.
Cockett also said that being a part of the track and field team is a good outlet for her.
“If you’re just having a rough day and you need to let it out, I feel like running or jumping or lifting is always a good way to handle those things,” Cockett said.
Cockett said that she definitely sees a place for track in her life going forward and is proud of her accomplishments on the team at Occidental.
“I would always choose to do track again here,” Cockett said.
Amaan Kanji
Amaan Kanji (first year) is a new addition to Occidental’s men’s golf team. Kanji said he competed in his debut tournament Feb. 13, and that the team placed first overall at the PCH Spring Invitational, where Kanji came in second place.
According to Kanji, qualifiers are held for each tournament and the five lowest scoring players get to compete for Occidental. Kanji said that it took significant preparation for him to end up qualifying at the recent tournament, noting practices over winter break in addition to throughout the fall semester.
Kanji’s teammate Joseph Gould (first year) said the team practices three times a week.
“We’ll have individual sessions on Friday and then Thursday will be group work,” Gould said. “Normally qualifiers are on Sundays.”
Gould said that tournaments in addition to these regular practices make for an intense workload.
“Having eight hours taken out of your weekend can be a bit of a struggle when it comes to doing your homework,” Gould said.
A former soccer player, Kanji said that while practicing more and competing in the spring semester has increased the load of the sport, golfing is still doable.
“You just have to manage your time well, like with all athletics,” Kanji said.
According to Kanji, the team’s coaches and individual training sessions are very helpful. Kanji said swing coach Joe Cano’s help with his swing in particular has been crucial for progress.
“The coaches know what’s best for [us],” Gould said.
Kanji said that the coaches are compassionate as well.
“[The] head coach, Will Morris, is really understanding when you need to miss something,” Kanji said.
Kanji and Gould both said that they have had a positive experience with the golf team as first years.
“We’ve got guys from every single year and the team’s a lot of fun,” Kanji said.
For the rest of the season, Kanji said that he aims to compete in as many more tournaments as he can, and, of course, to have fun with the sport.
“That’s the main way to be played, and help the team out,” Kanji said.
Contact Eli Heringman at heringman@oxy.edu
