By Zoe Camillaci

The Ivy League Heptagonal Track & Field Championship is an event renowned for its intense competition and fantastic displays of team spirit. In preparation for this pinnacle of the indoor and outdoor track seasons, athletes train for months to maximize strength, boost endurance, and perfect technique. At every practice, with the support of amazing leaders, motivation and inspiration reach new levels as the Cornell Track and Field team works together toward one common goal. This leadership not only comes from captains and coaches, but also from an each athlete's commitment to becoming the best version of him/herself on the track, and in life.
 
This year, the Indoor "Heps" were a great success for the entire Cornell Track team. With a limit on the size of the competition roster , not everyone gets to compete. Those who don't participate in an event play an equally valuable role off the track – the Big Red take supporting their teammates very seriously. With handmade posters filling Barton Hall, matching shirts, and well-choreographed cheers, the Ivy League bears witness to school spirit like never before. Without leaders like BRLI member, Molly Novak '18, who commented, "I wasn't selected to compete but I cheered my heart out and was at the meet from beginning to end", this inspiring gathering of current Cornell athletes (complemented by over 200 alumni) would not be possible.
 
This year's effort resulted in a second place finish for both the men's and women's teams. While this was an astounding finish for the women, who were predicted to finish lower in the standings, a terrific performance by Princeton upset the Big Red men, who were ranked first in the Ivy League. BRLI member, Oseoba Airewele '18 explained that the outcome, "although disappointing, was an intense source of inspiration." Leaders of both teams are rallying, ready to carry their teams to the first place finish at the Outdoor Heps later this year.
 
"We could not be as successful as we are without individuals who take on the leadership roles", asserts Ellery Bianco, a freshman member of BRLI. The success of the Track and Field team at Cornell is a credit to the tremendous leadership of its athletes, who are already highly talented. With a common goal, each member of the team supports the others, pushing them with the same intensity in both competitions and workouts. Another BRLI member, Samuel Chauvin '18, states, "All the talent in the world does nothing if it does not have a direction in which to go." This helps set the Big Red above the rest – both the men and women function as a unit, and as a family, to reach new heights. Leadership is a characteristic inherent in these athletes, and it is an essential component of such a driven team.
 
The Big Red Leadership Institute (BRLI) has helped to establish the extraordinary level of leadership present on the Cornell Track and Field Team. The program "coaches" student-athletes on the fundamentals of leadership and the importance of accountability and communication. Many of the nearly 180 track athletes, participate in BRLI, each of them aware of what a great impact the program has had on the team. Chauvin explains, "it [BRLI] helps student-athletes build the tools necessary to have a positive impact on the team"; these positive impacts contribute to team successes - like the one at Indoor Heps 2016 - and to the cohesiveness of the team as a whole. The encouragement that is provided by BRLI resonates well with athletes of all positions on the team – Airewele affirmed, "I love the way BRLI dissects how we can influence our team, no matter the skill level, position, or situation" while Novak exclaimed, "I wish we met more often!"
 
While the positive impacts of BRLI are clear where the Cornell Track and Field team is concerned, it has had an even more important impact on the individual. The program not only teaches members about the importance of leadership on a team, but in the real world. The lessons and activities that comprise the sessions challenge student-athletes to examine their roles as a leader in all facets of their lives – how they can influence others, first by recognizing their own leadership values, then by communicating these values to those around them. Bianco emphasized the influence of this, explaining BRLI has, "prepared me to think about the future." The program has also provided invaluable experiences to a select number of its dedicated members, like Molly Novak: "BRLI was the reason I attended the Naval Academy Leadership Conferences this past January, one of my favorite experiences at Cornell thus far." BRLI challenges athletes to think critically about the future while providing them with unique experiences that simultaneously aid in the development of leadership skills. The impact that the Big Red Leadership Institute has had on track athletes at Cornell makes it a paramount organization at Cornell.
 
What's up next for the Cornell Track and Field teams? With their eyes on the Outdoor Heps, Airewele says, "We've raised the bar for excellence across the board, and everyone seems hungry for a championship." The team is training harder than ever before, eager to return the title of "Ivy League Champions" to the Big Red. The leadership values that BRLI has helped to introduce to athletes have nurtured the positively driven mindsets of both the men and women's track team.  Novak states, "My current season outlook places confidence and positivity first", while Chauvin clarifies, "Certainly it will not be a cakewalk, but we have the potential to do very well as long as we compete like we are capable on the right day." As we approach the end of the semester and the end of the 2016 outdoor track season, the Ancient Eight anxiously awaits the crowning of the next Ivy League Champions. As Bianco explains, we are "ready to see all the hard training come together" as the Cornell Track and Field team takes on their sister schools in the biggest meet of the season, hoping to clinch another championship.