JOSEPH TURNER, Bishop Hendricken
It's always good to end your career on a positive note.
In his final meet wearing a Hawk uniform, Joseph Turner came through with his all-time best performance at the Junior Varsity State Meet. The Hendricken senior ran a big-time PR in the 400-meter run with a solid clocking of 55.80 seconds. A short time later, he anchored the school's winning 4x400m squad.
The University of Alabama-bound Turner, who had to overcome leg problems during his final three seasons of cross country, considers that meet one of the finest of his career. But as you'll learn from the answers he provided to MileSplit RI, he gained far more than just running from his four years as a member of one of the state's top teams.
What would you consider the highlight of your
high school career?
The highlight of my career at Bishop Hendricken was the people I met. The teachers and coaches I had were excellent instructors who genuinely enjoyed what they did. Even more important are the friends I made, people I never could have met otherwise.
What was your most memorable performance?
My most memorable performance was my last race. It was the 4x400m at JV States and I was put in as an alternate. I had PRed in the 400m by two seconds less than an hour before the relay and didn’t expect to do well. I ran the last leg a time very close to my new PR and our team won the event and the meet.
What was your most difficult obstacle to overcome?
My most difficult obstacle was during cross-country. For my sophomore, junior, and senior years I had a problem with calf pain. I was able to ignore it for two years, but by senior year it was debilitating. Despite physical therapy, rather than have my best season, senior year was one of my worst. It was very disheartening to be set back so far with so much expectation.
What advice would you give to younger athletes?.
I have two pieces of advice for younger athletes. Firstly remember your teammates. All members of the team work hard and want to win. Some simply aren’t as good as others and that shouldn’t be held against them. Secondly enjoy your sport. Find something that you look forward to, whether it be competition, friends, practice, or something else entirely.
What will you miss most?
What I’m going to miss most is the team dynamic at practices. The team and coaches generally got along very well which made practice and meets a lot more enjoyable. What was even more important to me was that it made the team more cohesive since there was no animosity. The side conversations during practices were also very entertaining.
What are your future plans?
I will be attending The University of Alabama, majoring in aerospace engineering. I won’t be running on a team there, but I will run on my own to stay in shape and for enjoyment.
What influence has your coach (or coaches) had with respect to your performance and overall life goals?
My coaches were invaluable in helping me to make gains as an athlete. I always felt that they were reasonable and accommodating and truly understood the limitations and potential of each runner. They also gave me the knowledge to be able to continue to run recreationally without over or under working myself.
Who would you like to say Thank You?
I’d like to thank all my coaches, Brennan, Lourenco, and Doyle for what they did to help me improve through twelve seasons of running and for their personal attention and dedication to me even though I was far from a varsity runner at Hendricken.