The Athletes' Voice • August 6, 2025
My name is Angelina Vasquez and I am a member of the UNLV Track Team. From a young age, I knew I wanted to run. My dad introduced me to running and was my coach through high school, something I am forever grateful for. He taught me trust and resilience even on the hard days. […]
The Athletes' Voice • July 23, 2025
My journey into throwing was never part of the plan. In high school and middle school, I was a dedicated basketball player and boxer. However, as I entered high school and began to feel fatigued from basketball, my mom encouraged me to try something different for conditioning. Little did I know that this decision would […]
The Athletes' Voice • July 11, 2025
Every athlete has a story—mine isn’t about shortcuts or spotlights. It’s about learning who I am when the gym is empty, when the season doesn’t go as planned, and when the only thing left is the work I put in and the person I become along the way. I grew up believing that if you […]
The Athletes' Voice • July 9, 2025
My journey into track and field was anything but conventional. While many athletes dedicate their entire childhood to perfecting their craft, I didn’t compete in track and field until my junior year of high school. Even then, I had no aspirations of becoming a Division One athlete. I initially joined the track team because one […]
The Athletes' Voice • July 7, 2025
As a kid, I was constantly drawn to sports like soccer, lacrosse, and volleyball. I’d say this was largely influenced by my siblings, but a lot of it was also just my own competitive nature, you know? I’ve always been a competitive person, so sports just came naturally to me. But what people might not […]
The Athletes' Voice • June 27, 2025
In college athletics, there’s often a tendency for athletes to become consumed by their sport. For me, I have always made the effort to see myself as more than just a track and field athlete. Yes, I’m a thrower at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, but I’m so much more. A marketing major, a […]
The Athletes' Voice • June 18, 2025
As a self-proclaimed nerd, my focus was always on academics. I wanted to be the best student I could be. I wanted to be a teacher’s pet. I wanted to get good grades. As I got older and bigger, my focus started to shift. As a sophomore in high school, the head football coach asked […]
The Athletes' Voice • May 29, 2025
They say the road to achieving your dreams isn’t always a straight line – and mine definitely wasn’t. Coming from a small town where high school sports were important, but competitive volleyball opportunities were limited, I knew I needed more. That hunger pushed me to join a club team in Louisville – an hour drive […]
The Athletes' Voice • May 28, 2025
Growing up, gymnastics was more than just a sport; it was a calling that shaped my discipline, passion, and identity. From the early days of flipping across gym floors to competing at the highest levels in club gymnastics, I poured my heart into every practice and competition. The journey was far from easy. I battled […]
The Athletes' Voice • May 20, 2025
I’ll be honest, when I signed my letter of intent to play basketball at Clark Atlanta, I was a little nervous. We all have our dreams of playing at a big school and being on TV every week, but when I sat back and thought about it, I realized that kind of stuff is just […]