Erika's high school career was fairly low-key until last year when she broke out in a big way, running tremendous scratch races - three 400s under 55.6 and 800s in 2:08.53, 2:08.57 and 2:10.05. She also ran the 400 leg on the nation's and New Jersey's 3rd fastest sprint medley. That relay team - Erika, Jen Silvestri, Tara Ruddy and Claudia DiSommna finished 2nd at the New Balance Nationals last June. Erika was the 9th fastest 800 meter performer in the US in 2010 and is the 6th fastest returner.
1. You had a HUGE breakout season last spring. At the beginning of May 2010, your PRs in the 400/800 were 58.69 and 2:17.26. In mid-June when your season ended, you had PRs of 55.11 and 2:08.53. What do you see as the reasons for those huge improvements?
I attribute a lot of my individual success to our relay team – the “Flying Four” – because I think we fed off of each other’s achievements, and we all pushed ourselves to the limit not just for ourselves, but for one another. I also had an excellent coaching staff, not just Coach Heckman, who has been already recognized for his dedication and success in training the “Flying Four,” but Coach Alex Papanestor too, who really deserves a lot more credit for developing our individual talents and formulating well-thought-out workouts to get us to reach our true potential.
2. How have your workouts changed since the beginning of your junior winter season? Are you doing more volume, speed, etc?
This year I’ve been doing very different workouts from last year. Where last year we had more speed-based workouts, this year I’ve been focusing on distance training, running more sets of longer intervals with less recovery, intended to improve my endurance.
3. Which race do you like better – the 400 or 800?
The 400 is definitely more fun and exciting! It’s pure adrenaline – you don’t even have time to think! I also like running it better because there’s less strategy involved. The best thing is running the anchor leg of the 4x400 – I always seem to run a little bit better when I know my team is depending on me. But maybe I’m just bitter about the 800, because I haven’t run it well this season yet. It’s really fulfilling to run a fast 800, because that race involves so much – speed and strength and strategy and pure toughness.
4. You chose Harvard over a variety of other excellent universities, some of which had higher track profiles. Do you still feel good about that choice?
Yes! Although it was a really hard decision, I’m getting more and more excited about being at Harvard next year with such an incredible team (I’ll be in the midst of a very strong middle-distance group) and coaching staff and slew of opportunities. It’ll also be nicer being closer to home, because although I would have loved to go out to California (to Stanford), I would have missed my family and friends back home It would have been hard to only see them a couple times a year. But the truth is, I think I would’ve been happy at whichever school I chose. I’m really lucky to have the chance to go to Harvard.
5. What observation would you make about the college selection process that could help another student/athlete with that critical choice?
Everyone kept on telling me this during my college selection process – “like the team, like the coach.” That’ll be your family for the next four years. My problem was that I liked everyone! It was so hard to decide. Also, the place will just feel right to you – it feels like it’s where you belong. Don’t discredit your gut reactions.
6. What made you go out for track in the first place?
I had to stop dancing ballet because of a hip problem, which devastated me, but I guess it came as a blessing in disguise. Stopping dancing made me go out for track, which I always loved in my summers up in the Catskills at a Latvian summer camp. At the end of every summer, there would be an “Olympics” where we would compete against our friends in a 60-m race, long jump, and shot-put (I think I threw a shot-put 11 feet… and it was four pounds). That infamous race, in which we would run on loose gravel in bare feet, stressed me out beyond belief, but I guess it sparked a love for running!
7. What is your favorite subject in school and why?
Biology interests me the most. I think it’s so cool learning about our body systems and how they relate to those in all other life forms. It’s like putting together a puzzle – an incredibly detailed and delicate puzzle.
8. Do you have any idea what you want to do for a career?
I always thought I would go into medicine. As early as fifth grade, I declared my desire to be a brain surgeon. But since I’m not too sure how I’d deal with cutting people open, and since I don’t think I’d have the patience to work in a lab, I’ve been leaning towards different career paths. Right now, I’m thinking about becoming a foreign diplomat, which would satisfy both my love for travel and for working with people.
9. What goals do you have for the remainder of your senior year both on and off the track?
I hope to get my season back on track and reach last year’s 800 time and beyond. I’ve had a slow start this year, so I hope to make drastic improvements and, again, defy even my own expectations. I also hope to master finger picking on the guitar, which seems ten times harder with a 12-string!
10. Would you tell the readers about what you do for about a month in the summer?
For a couple years, I went to a Latvian summer high school in Michigan, where we learned everything from Latvian history and literature to folk dancing. After graduating, a bunch of my friends and I went back to work at our childhood Latvian summer camp in the Catskills. It’s weird being on the other side of things, because now, after gaining that appreciation and love for our heritage, we realize the importance of speaking Latvian and keeping the culture alive. I remember getting punishments for speaking English when I was younger, and even though I hated wall sits and push-ups, now I’m really grateful for the full immersion in Latvian culture that took over my summers. That heritage has become a very important part of my life.
11. Did you play other sports when you were younger?
I danced forever – ballet, tap, jazz, pointe, and even the occasional hip-hop class. At one point, I was taking eight classes a week! That didn’t allow a lot of time for other sports, although I did go to a soccer camp one or two summers. My dad always wanted me to play volleyball, but it never really worked out.
12. So now that you don't dance what do you do in your spare time?
I've been playing the guitar for a couple years now. My Dad is teaching me - he's really a great player (great Dad too!)
13. Any chance Coach Heckman will allow you to run a 200 or a 1600 this year and would you like to run either?
I hope I’ll get the chance to try out more events! I ’d love to run the 200 – I think it’d be really good for me to build up my top-end speed, and it looks like such an exciting race! The 1600 would be great for me too, although I’m not as excited about running that one.