Julie, Byrd discuss their skills on, off the track

Recently, Daily Princetonian senior writer Jeff Bernstein sat down for a chat with junior sprinter Alex Julie and sophomore decathlete Will Byrd of the men's track team.

Daily Princetonian: How has the winter season been for the team so far?

Alex Julie: Pretty well...We have had some injuries that are holding us back. We have championships next weekend that we have a pretty good shot of winning.

DP: How about individually in your respective events?

Will Byrd: [The decathlons are] going okay...I was hurt for the beginning of the season, but I'm healthy now, so I am excited to see how I do this weekend.

AJ: This is my first season that I have made it all the way through without getting hurt. I am actually [sprinting] pretty well, but I'm not quite where I would like to be yet.

DP: What's the most challenging practice for each of you?

AJ: In terms of difficult workouts, 12 X 200 meters with 30-second rest in between. Not too fast, but it kicks my ass because I have no cardio.

WB: My hardest is the repeat 400s uphill with no rest, just jogging down.

DP: What would your coaches say about you? What words would they use to describe you?

AJ: My coach thinks I'm a pretty dedicated guy. He's been impressed that I've stuck with it through all the injuries. He doesn't really talk at all though. He'd probably say, "Alex is okay."

WB: I have a different coach than Alex. My coach likes me. He was an Olympic decathlete, so I am sort of under his wing.

DP: What is the best part about being on the track and field team?

WB: Definitely the friends that I have made on the team and [the fact that] it gives me something to do other than sit in my room all day because I don't do anything.

AJ: After those hard practices, I like the masseuse. We get a masseuse in there every once in a while.

WB: Yeah, she's great.

AJ: We have this roommate that every time he gets on the table with her, he pops a boner.

DP: Do you guys have any other embarrassing moments from previous trakc meets?

AJ: When I was in eighth grade, I was running in the East Coast Championships and I was the only white kid on the track. [At the end of the race], I face-planted at the finish line because I was leaning so hard. I just straight ate it right at the end and all the people in the crowd were saying, "Did you see that white kid fall?" But I made finals so it turned out all right.

WB: I skipped my first meet in high school because I hated track. I hid underneath the training room desk so that the coach couldn't find me and put me on the bus.

DP: Alex, if you could compete in another track and field event, what would it be?

AJ: I would try to pole vault because it looks like a lot of fun, but I do not want to break my neck.

DP: Who's stronger between the two of you?

WB: Oh, me, definitely.

DP: Who's faster?

AJ: Me.

DP: More coordinated?

WB: Me, definitely.

AJ: What the f—k are you talking about?

WB: Dude, I'm a pole-vaulter. I am so much more coordinated than you.

AJ: Yea, that's true.

DP: Who gets more girls?

AJ: Now that's definitely me. Well, Will gets a lot of girls, but whenever they are interested in hooking up, he runs away.

DP: What is the dumbest thing that the other person has done?

AJ: Wow, too many to name for Will.

WB: Actually, [we were in Italy over fall break], and this kid broke into the Vatican.

AJ: Yeah, I jumped the turnstile and booked it into the museum to see the Sistine Chapel because we hadn't gotten to see it.

WB: We almost got deported, man. They chased us on the metro.

AJ: Yeah, it was not smart. Well, Will and two other guys on the team had these three girls over spring break and one of the girls really liked Will a lot, but being Will he obviously didn't try to do anything.

WB: I'm a gentleman, man.

AJ: Anyways, so the next night they were going to meet up with the girls again and apparently Will's girl came along with the other girls, but he didn't recognize her. So, he thought that his girl didn't show up and proceeded to spend the entire night being a big baby, writing "I'm so ugly" all over the walls. Later, we found out that the girl was actually there.

DP: If you guys had to write a personal ad for each other, what would be the key characteristics that you would highlight?

AJ: I'd say for Byrd, good-looking man seeking platonic life partner.

WB: You're an ass. I'd say charming individual, STD-free as of test in September. Take your chances, ladies.

AJ: Woo!

DP: If you guys could be a Winter Olympic athlete, what event would you want to compete in?

WB: Snowboarding Superpipe.

AJ: I'd say the bobsled, I'd like to be the guy that pushes it.

WB: Or the skeleton. You go face down.

AJ: A lot of track sprinters go into bobsled eventually.

WB: Yeah, like "Cool Runnings."

DP: If you guys were on a two-man bobsled team, who would be in the front and who would be in the back and why?

WB: The back man has to be fast and quick and not necessarily have much endurance. Alex has always been known to start out quick but also tire and finish quickly from behind. I should be in the front because Alex has been known to prematurely start the race, and I have always felt comfortable with him behind me.

AJ: Well, I think Will should probably get in the head of the bobsled. Also, he should be the one steering so that he can steer clear of any of the cute girls in the stands that want to sleep with him and keep his eyes on the course. Also, he loves having men behind him, so he should feel very comfortable during the race.

DP: What is the most ridiculous team mascot of any team that you have faced in a meet?

WB: Isn't Harvard's the Crimson?

AJ: Yeah.

WB: That's pretty lame.

DP: If you could make your own mascot, instead of the Tiger, what would it be?

AJ: Will's should be a bird. And I'm Jewish, so maybe a Jew for me. Maybe the Jewish star.

WB: Dude, a star is not a mascot.

AJ: The Star of David. It's my middle name, too.

DP: If you could be a superhero, what superhero would you want to be?

AJ: I'm a big fan of the Marvel characters, so probably like Silver Surfer because he's pretty cool.

WB: I'd be Bruce Willis from "Unbreakable." That guy's awesome.