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Justin Wager (JW): Alright, so some people might know the name, but they probably don't know the man behind it. Enlighten us. Tell us a bit about who you are outside of the sport….what do you do with your spare time, what are you interests, etc?

Jarrell Gatterson (JG): I'm a kid that enjoys working out and playing basketball with the Y[MCA] League on the weekends.

JW: How long have you been involved in track? When & how did it all start?

JG: This will be my 2nd year of indoor and my 3rd year for outdoor...I decided to give it a go sophomore year to get faster for football.

JW: Who or what has been your biggest influence or inspiration to date?

JG: My biggest inspiration has definitely gotta be Wallace Spearmon and Walter Davis because they work so hard at what they want to accomplish and it can be like that for you too if you work at something hard enough.

JW: So, what are some of your PRs (both on the track and....on the field for lack of a better term)?

JG: My PR's are 43' 3 1/4 " for TJ and 20' 6" for LJ. My best 100m is 11.7 and my split for the 200m is a 23.3. For the 400 I've gotten a 55.4. For indoor I ran 40 for the 300.

JW: Are most of those from outdoor?

JG: Yes, but the 300 is from indoor.

JW: Alright, so you're one of the only upperclassmen on the indoor team this season. How do you think things are going so far...How's the season playing out?

JG: I think the season was a great one to get ready for the outdoor season...we've had great times and distances this year for everyone. Taylor Muzafago or "Muzz" is a frosh and he did excellent for his rookie season with sprints and mid-distance. Ian Tapler has been a force with us at the hurdles and he should do great in outdoor. Dave Slingerland (aka Slings) is our MVP because he's versatile in the sprints and relays for us and he scored us points in every meet. Yifan Chen and Jeremy Benn have been doing well all season long and are working hard for great jumps at Sectionals and State Quals.

JW: Yeah, it seems like with the distance crew gone, the field guys and sprinters are really stepping into the spotlight. Muzafago is a name I've never even heard before. That's pretty cool, just to see a kid who's completely new to the sport having a good first season.

JG: Yeah, he's my buddy and I look after him. He's a football kid. He's trying to do lacrosse but I'm gonna make him do outdoor.

JW: So what's the atmosphere like at practices? How are the team dynamics?

JG: We're very loose at practice and we all have fun while we do our workouts. For the field event people we've been lifting 2-3 days a week and I think that has been very helpful for us. We also do the notorious math and science wings [Note: The math wing is 330m. The science wing is 270m. Both are square loops in the hallways of the school]....also we've been able to work more on our specific events now that the team is smaller so everyone now is getting helped more.

JW: Yeah, that's always a benefit of a small team. Especially for kids who are new to the sport. How are the underclassmen doing this year...who are the up and comers in your eyes? Basically, what kind of future is Guilderland T&F looking at?

JG: The underclassmen are doing fantastic this year. Ian Tapler and CLegg [sophomore distance runner Cory Leggerio] have been doing great all year and they will definitely be ready for outdoor. Jeremy [Benn] is a 19-20ft jumper and if Yifan [Chen] comes out for outdoor he'll get up to 43ft+. Slings is a freak and will do well at anything from the 100m to the 4x8 and can even fit him in the hurdles. I believe that the G'land Track and Field team will have a great future before them and we will contend to be one of the top teams in Section II.

JW: Well speaking of being a top team in Section II...what about this season? How do you think Sectionals is going to play out on Saturday? Who's got a shot at earning one of those oh-so-famous patches?

JG: Everyone has been improving a lot lately, so even if they don't receive patches they have come really far. Ian and Slings will be around the top in their events. C Legg has hit 4:46 three times in a row so he's bound to drop seconds. Jeremy is hoping to get high 19's [LJ] and Yifan and I want to get into the best 6 of the triple jumpers.

JW: So even if there aren't any patches gained...most of you guys will be close to placing it seems?

JG: Yes…with the competition in Section II it can be sometimes overlooked at how far we've improved.

JW: So looking towards outdoors, you guys get the distance crew back to compliment the rising field and sprint guys. You've all got to be thinking about placing near the top as a team come May. What are your thoughts about that?

JG: Oh man, I can't wait...the indoor guys are gonna be exactly where we want to be for outdoor, and I'm sure that the distance guys will be fresh and ready to go. The distance team won't be fair now with BRD and Roland back. Mark [Domaracki] and Slings will place in the sprints every time and if [Junior jumper/sprinters] Drew Smith and Paul Booker come back we'll be right at the top with the field events and the hurdles. The shot and disc should be good as well because Tom Sweeney, Matt Percowksi, TJ Jasenski, Paul Buchanan, and Paul Sheehan are bigger and stronger then ever, so I definitely see a great season ahead of us.

JW: Yeah, well I'd say a good finish at Outdoor Sectionals would be a pretty sweet way to cap off your Guilderland career. What comes after this year? What schools are in the running to gain 'JGatt' into their student body?

JG: I'm currently deciding between Brockport, Cortland, and Marist where I intend to still do track...and possibly football if I get the time.

JW: Well you know C-State is the place to be. How about a major? What do you want to study?

JG: Physical Education, man. Gotta get my kiddies running and staying in shape when I teach.

JW: And you said you want do track at whatever school you end up at? Maybe football too?

JG: Yeah, I'm still gonna do that long and triple jump. I'm missing football season after this year so I want to see if I can continue with it in college as well.

JW: Well, if you do end up coming to Cortland, it doesn't get any better than Cortaca.

JG: Yeah, I know...my mom told me when she went to Ithaca way back.

JW: Alright, well last but not least, Happy Birthday. [Jarrell's birthday is Feb 9th]

JG: Haha, thanks man. I'm starting to feel my age now for once too!!

JW: And what number is this?

JG: 19 goin on old.