Austin Lyons is a senior on the Cornell track and field team, competing in the sprints and hurdles. The
2019 Ivy League Heptagonal Indoor Track & Field Championships take place Saturday-Sunday, Feb. 23-24, at Harvard’s Gordon Track.
IVYLEAGUE.COM Q&A WITH AUSTIN LYONS, CORNELL ’19, SPRINTS/HURDLES
IvyLeague.com: The tradition of this league is unrivaled. How did the tradition of the schools and League play into your decision-making process when selecting a school?
Lyons: Personally, it was a no-brainer to choose Cornell over the other prospects of the time. No other school that I considered came close to what the university had to offer in terms of academic prestige, athletic excellence, and an extensive alumni network. These three facets, in unison, work together to create the tradition of the Ivy League. Tradition is all about a living legacy that carries on through generations, and I wanted to become a part of it in order to alter not only the course of my life, but those who will come after me as well. I was, and would still be, hard-pressed to find an institution that would challenge me academically, take me to the next level athletically, and guide me professionally in the manner that Cornell and the Ivy League has.
IvyLeague.com: You are constantly juggling many different aspects of your life. How do you thrive across all of the different tasks you are asked to do without letting anything fall?
Lyons: As a student-athlete, balance is a term that I'm all too familiar with. It's the key to thriving in so many different areas of my life without fail. For me, it's all about the outlook that I have on my demands. Life does demand several things of me, but rather than look at it as a juggling act, I look to it as a balancing act. Years of time-management, self-reflection, and diligence have helped me to prioritize and organize what's most important in my life so that I never get a sense of being overwhelmed. It's something that I've become accustomed to over the years, being involved in various extracurricular activities growing up, in addition to the sports that I would play. While being an NCAA Division I athlete and an Ivy League student may be considered the extreme of this comparison, it isn't impossible to overcome.
IvyLeague.com: A common afterthought of the League is how much athletic success it enjoys each year. In 2018-19, 98 teams were nationally-ranked at some point in their respective seasons. How competitive is your program and sport, not only in the League, but also nationally?
Lyons: At Cornell, I've been afforded the opportunity of a lifetime to not only achieve academically, but athletically as well. In my decision to attend one of the top fifteen universities in the world, I have not sacrificed my ability to compete at the highest collegiate level in the slightest. In my short time here, I've been blessed to have been able to compete at the NCAA Division I Track and Field Outdoor Championships, on two nationally-ranked teams, at the oldest and most prolific meet in United States History, overseas in the United Kingdom, alongside current and former Olympians, win an Ivy League championship, and even receive coaching from an Olympian. The list goes on and on. Needless to say, Cornell Track and Field is one of the most competitive sports on campus, and a program to be reckoned with on a national level.