The Observer, September 19, 2008
Volume XLI, Issue 4
Spartan Spotlight: Dominic Smith
click to enlarge
Dominic Smith is a senior on the undefeated men's cross country team. Smith, whose hometown is Cincinnati, Ohio, is an economics major and also runs track.
Greg Meyer: Who inspired you to run cross country?
Dominic Smith: The track coach recruited me at homecoming sophomore year.
GM: I can only imagine the recruiting pitches for cross country athletes. "Yeah, we have great roads and stuff to run on. Heck, we run our meets at a farm." I know it would sell me on the place. What are some of your hobbies while not running for long periods of time?
DS: Squirrel ranching.
GM: OK? Do not know where you are going with that one. I am picturing something like that crazy lady in the movie Rat Race. What have some of your academic highlights been during your stay at Case Western?
DS I got an A in officiating basketball.
GM: And Deion Sanders majored in underwater basket-weaving. I thought the football players were the stupid ones on campus, but officiating basketball? What is your best cross country memory?
DS: Team meetings. They are always ridiculous.
GM: I am guessing somewhere along the lines of the recruiting pitches, "Alright guys, uhhh, we're going to run today. We're going to run hard." Sounds like a great John C. Reilly sequel. What is your favorite quote?
DS: "You guys always start strong, but you never finish." – Coach Lanese
GM: As in the race? I don't blame you. I'd say screw this after about four or five miles. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
DS: About 150 pounds heavier and officiating track meets.
GM: I ran track in Florida and there are a million of those guys down there. You would fit right in. All you need is a huge gut, straw hat, and a fake gun. Would you rather have the strength of 1000 men, be able to fly, or be invisible?
DS: Well, I already have the strength of 1000 men.
GM: Uh oh, we've got a hot shot on our hands, ladies and gentleman. If you were smart you would wish for flight, then you could win all of your races. Guess they didn't cover that in basketball officiating. What is your least favorite thing about cross country?
DS: Ice baths and not being able to walk the morning after races.
GM: I live off of ice baths. They're great. I can imagine the morning after though, shin splints that feel like someone teed off on your legs right? What would we find in your locker right now that might surprise us?
DS: A stuffed bear we found on MLK and washed at Veale.
GM: That's one of the most original answers to that question I have ever heard. What goes through your mind during a meet?
DS: The faster your run, the quicker it's over.
GM: I've gotten that from cross country and track guys before. If it is that agonizing it really should not be a sport. They're supposed to be fun, not painful. What is the high point of the cross country season?
DS: Singing "Build Me Up Buttercup" on the line at regionals.
GM: Great song. Did you guys do the echo after each line of the chorus? If they made a movie about your life, who would you want to play you?
DS: The Beast.
GM: Hey muscles, Gaston is the one with the strength of 1000 men. Everybody knows that. What is your worst cross country memory?
DS: It's a toss-up between workouts in sub-zero wind chill, face planting over a water barrier in Atlanta, and going to Boston Market after All-Ohio last year
GM: I can feel you on biting it during the steeplechase. I did that my senior year of running track. It was very embarrassing. Any insight on how the season is going thus far?
DS: We're undefeated. How much better does it get?
GM: Can't beat perfect. Thanks, Dom.
