For the first time in twenty years, the Davidson track & field team hosted a meet on campus. On Mar. 30, thanks to the new Lisa and Jeff Case Track & Field Complex, 17 teams and over 700 athletes competed in the inaugural Davidson Relays. The facility, reserved only for the track & field teams, opened in Feb. 2025 and houses a resurfaced eight-lane track and new throws area, grass infield and locker rooms. During the event, the Wildcat senior class was recognized in a special ceremony. In celebration and reflection of this incredible advancement for the program, The Davidsonian sat down with three senior members of the team: Jayden Smith ‘25, Abby Nasse ‘25 and Jack Muldoon ‘25. These three athletes finished first in the 110m hurdles, third in the 1500m and second in the 800m, respectively.
Q: What did it mean to finally have a home meet and have your Senior Day at Davidson?
Smith: The first thing that comes to my mind is that it’s just beyond cool. For the longest time, I feel like we’ve been a really hard-working team on this campus and yet no one actually got to see what our regular meet day looks like. So the fact that they’re able to see that—[to] have your peers, people that you’ve known for years on this campus cheer you on and see how much you work on the sport—meant a lot. And it was also really cool because the senior day happened along with the alumni weekend. […] You were able to see several generations of the team you’ve been on all supporting you and congratulating you for getting through not only being on the track team, but being on the track team at Davidson College, which isn’t easy.
Nasse: Yeah, that summarizes it. Also, three of my professors came and all of them emailed me after saying, “I didn’t know anything about track, so to be able to go and watch different events was so cool!”
Muldoon: It was really surreal seeing that many people on the track coming out to support us, even from the larger community of the Town of Davidson. All fantastic people.
Q: How did racing at home change your race preparation? And do you feel like there was added pressure because of that?
Nasse: I felt like [there was] less. Running [right by the Alvarez College] Union to finish was a crazy feeling because we do so many workouts there. It was kind of fun because it just felt like you were at practice and everyone was there. You’re cheering each other on and it’s high energy and exciting versus at other meets [where] you’re in a new environment, so you’re having to get yourself very focused and very serious.
Smith: Pretty much exactly that, to the point [that] it was kind of tricky for me. As y’all know, this is my [season] opener, and the fact that my first race was on my own track, the track that I’ve been practicing on for so long now, it was hard for me to get fully locked in because I felt like, “Wait, this is my home?”
Muldoon: It was quite relaxing. A lot of times when you go to a meet it’s your first time in the place, you don’t have a lot of time to get prepared, you’re scrambling to find out where everything is and you’re warming up somewhere random. Everything we did yesterday sort of just felt like practice in the [sense] that we just knew what we were doing and it was very comfortable. All the other sports have home meets where they play their games on the same fields that they practice on every day. This was the first time we’ve ever had that.
Q: How do you think the meet went overall? Do you have a part of the meet that stood out to you the most?
Nasse: [Director of Men’s Cross Country and Track & Field] Matt [Stuck] talked about how […] a lot of people, even from other schools, PRed on this track, and there were just a lot of good results […] which is a sign of a good meet and keeps people coming back.
Muldoon: I was concerned about how the meet was going to operate because these things are massive. So there was a lot of uncertainty as to whether things were going to run on time and run well. […] Overall I think it went pretty smoothly. And that was a lot of chipping in from volunteers and athletes from other teams […] which shows the camaraderie of the school.
Smith: Since day one I’ve loved our track. I think it’s a beautiful track, a beautiful spot on campus. The atmosphere, the good weather, the good energy from the crowd inspired everyone to do their best.
Q: How do you think having more regular home meets will impact student engagement with the track & field team?
Smith: I think it’ll be huge. […] We will get so much more [recognition] when people actually get to see how the work gets put in. Furthermore, being right next to the student Union […] it means we have a community that’s actually able to come out and watch us run. Meets are all-day events. It’s not something that you can really miss. […] You can just look outside and see a top-50, top-25 NCAA time being run. […] Eventually people will start to realize we are a team that is trying to put our name out there and be the best in the conference, and that will inspire people to be more passionate about our goals and mission.
Nasse: People don’t know a lot about track, so this pure exposure is going to help gain interest. And the Running Club coming out [to support the meets] will help spread the word too.
Muldoon: There were a lot of community efforts, like the community 4 x 100 [meter relay], that I hope continue. If students want to go and put together a 4 x 100 and get free Chick-fil-A, they can go and do that and learn more about track. […] It’s also nice because now [if we are doing well] we can do it right in front of all our peers.
Q: What movie do you think the 2025 Davidson Relays was most like?
Smith: Remember the very end of “Sing” where the koala manager’s place is torn down and the show cannot go on and the community comes out to help? They make it and it’s amphitheater style, and everyone still does the performances in the rubble and it still does really really well. Then the elephant sings Stevie Wonder and it’s super sick. Like that.
Muldoon: Oh yeah, and the gorilla comes out and sings Elton John. 100% I agree.
Q: What are your goals for the rest of the season?
Muldoon: Ball out.
Nasse: Run fast.
Smith: Win NCAAs. Destroy everyone.
