Athlete of the Week: Sydney Laws, Senior, Cross Country

Sydney Laws is making strides in her career as an Oredigger athlete. The senior has risen to become one of Mines most prominent female distance runners in both cross country and track. Last fall, at the pision II Cross Country National Championships, Laws placed an impressive 10th overall, the best that Mines has witnessed. She has also been apart of numerous successful relays in track and has made a reputation for being a national contender. She currently holds the Indoor Track record for the women’s 3000m race (10:17.98). The chemical engineer will be graduating this year and looks forward to beginning her career. For her efforts, Laws is this week’s Athlete of the Week.

[Oredigger]: How did you end up at Mines?
[Laws]: I had some encouragement from my parents. I knew I wanted to something in math and science and I definitely wanted to run track. Mines gave me the opportunity to compete.

How did you get involved in track?
I started in high school, only running the shorter runs like the 400 and 800. When I came here, the coaches just kept gradually moving my up.

You have run a wide variety of races, which is your favorite?
Well, I actually like cross country the best. Every time you run it is different. For track, it’s probably the 5k because it is still long distance, but not quite as long as the 10k

Why do you like track?
It is a healthy way to get exercise. Being apart of the track team is a good balance. I have mad a lot of good friends in track and it’s a fun way to be competitive.

What do you like about Mines?
I like the education, its really challenging. I like how I was really well prepared to be an engineer

What is your best track memory?
Well, it’s actually embarassing. It was at league meet in high school and I was running the anchor of the four by four and we were ahead. I really had to go to the bathroom and it was causing me to tighten up. I knew I would be passed soon, so I totally peed my pants. We won and I don’t think anyone really noticed.

How did you decide to become a chemical engineer?
It was an accident. I really liked Chem I and II, so I wanted to go into chemistry. But, the majors are listed alphabetically, and chemical engineering comes before chemistry, so I ended up picking chemical engineering. Looking back, I am glad I did.

Have you had any favorite or least favorite classes?
My favorite would probably be Natural Gas Processing. It’s applicable to what I’ll be doing. My worst class would have to be Heat Transfer.

What is your favorite part about running track?
There are two things. The first is seeing positive results from your training and placing really well. If you train hard, it will pay off. The second is being around all the people. My fiancé is on the team and we get to spend time with each other.

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