University of Tennessee Athletics
Inside Track with Lynne Layne
March 13, 2009 | Women's Track
March 13, 2009
Lynne Layne, a junior from New Rochelle, N.Y., and a graduate of New Rochelle High School, is a four-time All-American and two-time All-SEC sprinter in the Lady Vol program. The early childhood education major is in College Station, Texas, on March 13-14 to compete in the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships. She qualified for the meet in the 60 and 200m dashes, logging career-best times of 7.22 and 23.53, respectively, on her way to runner-up finishes at the recent SEC Indoor Championships. She ranks as the third-fastest Lady Vol ever in the 60m dash. Layne enters the NCAA meet with the third-best time in the 60 and ninth-fastest in the 200m. Track & Field News is projecting her to place fifth in each event.
What's a typical day like for Lynne Layne?
"Well, most of the days out of the week, I get up at 5:30 a.m. to go to weights at 6. Then I have class or class related things to do between 9 and 1. Next, I eat lunch at 1:30 in Gibbs Hall cafeteria. After that, I get dressed for practice and go to the training room for any treatment I need. Then practice is at 2:45 until roughly 5. Next, I'll go back to the training room for more treatment. Afterward, I get home around 6, which is when I cook dinner and do homework assignments. Finally I try to get to bed around 11 p.m."
What is your favorite place on campus?
"My favorite place on campus is my room, because I can relax and have some alone time."
What's your favorite thing about traveling to away meets?
"My favorite thing about traveling is seeing different states and universities around the U.S."
What is your favorite Coach Clark saying?
"Rock, rock, chop, chop!"
If you could participate in any other sport at Tennessee what would it be and why?
"I would play soccer, because I played on numerous select teams and travel teams form first grade until my senior year in high school."
You are coming off the best SEC meet of your career. What did it feel like to run a pair of career bests and score 16 points for your team with two second-place finishes?
"It feels great to know that I can contribute and help out my team when it counts. As for running career bests, I just put my faith in God, and I went out there and gave it my all."
What do you see yourself doing 10 years from now?
"10 years from now, I see myself running professionally and competing for the USA in various meets like the Olympics, Worlds, and Pan Ams."
To what or whom do you attribute your success this season in posting career bests in both the 60m and 200m?
"This season, I attribute my success to God, my Lord and Savior, because without Him nothing is possible and through Him all things are possible. He gave me my abilities and talent, and He can take them away from me at any point in my life. And lastly, He has given me strength and courage to pursue my dreams no matter the obstacles I may face."
What's your favorite track & field memory from college?
"My favorite track & field memory from college so far is running and competing at the Olympic Trials. It was a great experience, and it made me realize with a lot of hard work and dedication I will be able to be a great contender and competitor."
Who plays you in a movie about your life?
"I think the young me should be played by KeKe Palmer, and the older me should be played by Halle Barry."
Where did you get your talents and love for track & field?
"My talents come from God, and my love for the sport is from running for so long, improving as the years continue and getting closer and closer to my dream of representing the USA at a world competition."
What was it like to win your second SEC Indoor team title during your time at UT?
"It felt wonderful to regain the SEC title and go down in history as one of the few teams to win that title."
What's in your iPod?
"My favorite music is R&B and hip hop. I love to listen to Beyonce' and Usher."
What's your favorite venue you've run in for a track meet and why?
"My favorite venue to run at is the Armory in New York City. I feel like I'm at home when I run there because I've run there ever since I was young."
What book(s) are you reading right now?
"Right now I'm reading children's novels like, Charlotte's Web and Tales of Despereaux, as suggested by one of my teachers in the College of Education, Health and Human Sciences."
What made you choose Tennessee as your college?
"I chose to come to Tennessee because of the great women's programs and early childhood education program."
What motivates you?
"My mom really motivates me to do my best and become the best person that I can be. She has sacrificed a lot for me, I want to make her proud and prove that her sacrifices were not made in vain."
Who do you look up to in the world of track & field?
"In the track world, I look up to DeeDee Trotter, because she was once in my shoes, being a graduate of UT, and she is always great to talk to and get advice from."
What are your favorite TV shows?
"Right now, I don't have a particular TV show that I like the most, but I do find myself watching reality TV shows, and classic Looney Tunes cartoons are always good to watch when nothing is on."
What has been your favorite moment this season?
"My favorite moment this season is winning SECs, because it's a great feeling to know that the team came together when it really counted, and the team was unified like a family."
If you could be any super hero, who would it be, and why?
"If I were a super hero, I would be Wonder Woman, because she's strong and didn't let anything get in her way because she was a woman."
How much do you think it helped you for the NCAA Championships, having run on the same Texas A&M track earlier this season?
"I believe it helped my very much to run on the track at the dual meet, because indoor tracks, although modeled the same, are different and feel different. I think it was a good idea to know and feel how the track felt before coming to run at NCAAs."
Did being an upper class member of the team make you approach this season any differently? How so?
"Being an upper class member has only made me want to approach this season with confidence and to do my best, because I have nothing to lose and everything to gain."
What's your favorite flavor of ice cream?
"My favorite ice cream is French vanilla. It's simple with a little twist."
Do you feel like this season has gone according to script so far? How so/why not?
"I believe that this season has gone the way it was supposed to go. Even though I have high expectations and may have wanted to run faster times, I know that God has a plan for me, and it's going to happen how He wants it to."
What was it like to return to your old stomping grounds earlier this season and run at the Armory for the New Balance Invitational?
"It was the best feeling to run at the Armory again earlier this season. I got to see old high school teammates that go to other universities, my high school coach and, best of all, my family was able to come and see me run."
What was your favorite toy or stuffed animal as a child?
"My favorite toy to play with as a child was actually Barbie, because she could be anything and do anything she wanted."
Were you a picky eater as a child, or were you always a healthy eater?
"No, I was never a picky eater. I try to give something a chance at least once before I say I don't like it. My mom said I liked spinach as a child, which is kind of unusual."
What do you want people to remember you for when you leave Tennessee?
"When I leave Tennessee, I want people to remember me as a great athlete in the sense that I was a hard worker, tried to stay focused and never gave up. I want people to remember me as a successful woman when I leave UT."
