The Finishing Kick With Quadelle Satterwhite
With his third collegiate season coming to a close, junior Quadelle Satterwhite has had plenty of memorable moments in purple, but last weekend’s Pac-12 Championships had to be one of the best yet. Satterwhite scored as an individual for the first time, making the 200-meter dash final and finishing sixth in a career-best 21.09 seconds. He also ran on the two relays, the 4x1 and 4x4, which both ran season-best times to get onto the podium in third-place. A native of Tacoma, Satterwhite has been a crucial relay member since his freshman year when the 4x100m group made the NCAA semis. He also ran the 400-meter leg on the men’s DMR that was eighth in 2014 to earn All-America First Team honors. The men’s 4x100m relay will be headed back to Austin, Texas for West Prelims next week.
GoHuskies: How did you feel Pac-12s went? You scored in the 200 for the first time, and getting on the podium with both relays had to be pretty exciting for you?
Quadelle Satterwhite: I think it was a huge accomplishment. Last year I mainly just did the 4x100 so it’s really exciting to come back another year and score third place in both the 4x100 and the 4x400. Our 4x1 really knew we could do it from the beginning. For the 200 I’m just very excited I made finals. It’s been one of my goals since freshman year so I’m glad that I PR’d and was able to do it.
GH: How would you assess your season as a whole? There have been some nagging hamstring issues you’ve had to manage, correct?
QS: This season is the healthiest I’ve been ever since I got here. Last year my season ended shortly because of the injury. It’s still bothering me a bit after Pac-12s, but I don’t think this is going to be too bad. I got banged up a little bit after the 4x400, but it wasn’t anything too serious. I should be coming along.
GH: Once the season ends what are your plans for the summer? What kind of training or workouts do you plan out with Coach Sheen?
QS: This summer I’m taking summer school so I can make sure that I’m on track to graduate. It’s going to be a tough last ending stretch so I can be ready for next year. Training-wise, getting a lot of rest is going to be needed for the last upcoming senior year. It’s going to be exciting. Then get right back into training. Raul will send out a ten week training plan starting in around mid-July, starting off with a couple of easy runs and a lot of stretching and drills just getting the body moving again. Towards the end last year, we started doing a lot more intense workouts. Weights will also be included. Reintroducing stuff slowly so you’re not just coming into fall unprepared.
GH: You have continually improved your PRs over your career and juver over the last few races as well. Do you think much about how fast you could potentially run? How much better and how much faster do you think you can still get?
QS: I think there’s a lot more in the tank. I think mainly for me it’s just staying healthy and I think everything after that is just training hard and everything after that will just fall in together.
GH: You were part of a pretty big class on the men’s side. What is the camaraderie like among your junior class and do you see yourself as a leader for the guys?
QS: We have a good group of guys. I think this year our mindset was a lot more focused. We all had the same goals, we all want to do great, and I think we all push each other for greatness. There’s a lot of guys, I think five senior guys, and we’ve been here, we know what it takes to just keep pushing through it.
GH: When did you first start running, or racing?
QS: I think the first time I started racing was in the fourth grade. It was an all elementary school jamboree type thing, you practice for like two weeks then you just come for a jamboree.
GH: Were you always the fastest kid in your class growing up every time?
QS: (Laughs) No, not really. I actually started out doing a whole bunch of different events. I started out doing a little bit of distance, like running the mile and the 800. I hurdled, long jumped, so I was just having fun. It wasn’t until high school that I really started to become more of a sprinter I guess.
GH: And you played basketball too?
QS: Yeah, played basketball since fourth grade and didn’t stop until senior year.
GH: Did you pretty much grow up in the same spot your whole life or did you move around at all?
QS: I moved around a little bit. I was in Tacoma pretty much all my life, we just moved in different parts of Tacoma. My junior year of high school, after my mom passed, my brother and I moved into my grandparents’ house and have been there since.
GH: You have a lot of brothers and sisters, is that right?
QS: Yeah. There’s eight of us total. My brother Trey is my only full brother, every body else is half. Two of them are over at WSU right now. My brother’s playing college basketball right now. The other three are in high school.
GH: Are there a few people in your athletic career that really helped you along the way or were there to support you?
QS: I think my grandparents were always really supportive, especially after my mom passed. Growing up my mom was always there for me too. Just my family in general, they are always the go-to support, coming to all the meets, any sporting events, education events. They’re just always there. My grandma came to a lot of our meets this year. My grandpa has been really sick lately so he’s been having a hard time trying to make it. My freshman and sophomore year he was coming to every event.
GH: What are you studying currently?
QS: Right now I’m studying Sociology and minoring in Diversity. If I have time I’m trying to double minor in Education too. One of the things that I really want to do is help kids get into college. Maybe have a career counselor type of job, helping kids with SATs and applying for scholarships and applying to colleges. I just think it’s one of those things that kids need to know because they all have the opportunity and they need resources to take advantage of them.
GH: What was the recruiting process like for you? What convinced you to come to Washington?
QS: I think it was a pretty difficult process. Originally I was planning on going to Whitworth, on an academic Christian type scholarship and it just took a lot of different discussions. Finally, I decided I don’t think that’s where I want to go, I wanted to push myself athletically and I just wanted to be in a place where I could feel more comfortable. I felt like track would probably be the better option for me. I really liked my visits when I came here. Coach Sheen I think really influenced me coming here. Washington was one of the schools that I always wanted to come to growing up so I think it just worked out perfectly.
GH: What’s going through your head when you’re in a race? You’re not out there for more than a handful of seconds, but are you focusing on certain parts of your run or is it just kind of a blur?
QS: I think depending on the event, I think it’s a blur. I think the longer the race is the more thoughts I have. For 4x400 I’m thinking, oh, how long this race is going to be, am I going too fast right now? “I should be more relaxed.” Same with the 200, thinking about getting out strong and trying to stay relaxed and making sure that I’m kicking. 4x1 and the 100, my mind is just ‘Go.’
GH: What do you think some of your goals will be for senior season next year?
QS: There are a lot of goals I think. The biggest of course is just to make sure I graduate. But on the track, just staying healthy, and then trying to make it in the Pac-12 finals for the 100 and 200, as well as scoring in the 4x100 and 4x400. Post-season, just making it back to the NCAA Championships in as many events as I can.
GH: You have had success with pretty much all the relays, do you think that is your biggest strength, your versatility and getting after it in relays?
QS: I think relays are really exciting. I think it’s not just you, there’s a lot more that comes into it because it’s team orientated. It’s not just for yourself. I think you’re just encouraged when you’re with a group of guys and you’re all wanting to be successful.
