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Photo by: John McGillen
Getting To Know Chanel Brissett
April 13, 2018 | Track & Field, Features
Freshman hurdler and sprinter Chanel Brissett made quite the impact in her first few meets as a Trojan. Recently at the inaugural Power 5 Trailblazer Challenge, she took second in the 100m hurdles with a time of 13.07 which moved her into seventh on USC's all-time list. She dominated the Trojan Invitational, winning the 100m hurdle with a wind-aided time of 13.10 and the 100m with a time of 11.75, just .04 seconds off her high school best, which she has since surpassed. Indoors, Brissett added her name to USC's record book at the MLK Jr. Invitational, placing fifth in the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.15 which moved her into sixth on USC's all-time list. Brissett has proven she will be a force on USC's Track & Field team for years to come. Read below to learn more about how the freshman transitioned as a student-athlete, the lessons she's learned from her teammates and her Eagles fandom.
Q: What inspired your decision to come to USC?
CB: When coach Caryl (Smith Gilbert) came to my house, she told me about the alumni code and I felt like if I was going to go to a school, I wanted to make sure I had a future that was secure. The team was great, the hurdlers here are great and I was really excited to go to a place that was new.
Q: What's been the transition been like in your first year as a student-athlete?
CB: It's actually been great. At first, I thought it would be really hard, but I conditioned my mind to make sure I was going to stay focused the whole year. It's been a pretty good balance. I've done well on the track and I've done pretty well in class as well. It's really about maintaining a routine.
Q: What lessons have you learned from some of your older teammates?
CB: I think mostly time management. That's a huge thing for me. I don't think I would have done as well my first year without that. Dior Hall and Anna Cockrell told me to make sure I stay on top of my work and that if I had some free time to make sure I was doing something to stay proactive.
Q: What did it mean to you to compete in the Power 5 Trailblazer Challenge that honored the five female Track & Field coaches in the Power 5 conferences?
CB: I think it was amazing. The whole idea coach Caryl had to have female empowerment was great. I felt as though it was a great chance for us to have some team comradery and to make sure that we knew the other teams that were also coached by females. It was great.
Q: What are some of the team and personal athletic goals you are setting for yourself this season?
CB: As a team, we want to win Nationals, of course. I think we all want to have a great season to begin with. For me, for hurdles I just want to run really fast. I want to run a really fast time, get my technique down and make sure that I am technically sound and that my speed is better.
Q: What's it like working with Olympic medalist coach Joanna Hayes?
CB: It's amazing. Coach Hayes knows so much because she's been there and I feel like it's great to have somebody in your corner that's been in the place that you've been. It really just lets you know that you have a sense of security in the person that is coaching you.
Q: You say your sports hero is Usain Bolt. What qualities do you admire in him?
CB: He's so confident. I feel like because he is so funny, he tends to have more fun than all of his other opponents. I think that's a really big part of track because track can take away so much. You have to learn how to have fun. I mean, we run in circles all day. That's a struggle by itself. For most teams, their punishment is to run and that's what we do every day. I feel like you have to find some fun in what you do for it to be enjoyable.
Q: Do you have any pre-meet rituals?
CB: Since I was in high school, I always try to visualize my race before it happened. The night before I would try to visualize what would happen, from my start, the whole drive phase and going over the first hurdle to the last hurdle. Sometimes I tend to count while I run, in my head, of course! I just made sure I knew to count faster when I was getting to the end because that's when the race starts to speed up.
Q: As a Philly native, what's it been like to see your Eagles win a Super Bowl?
CB: I think it's awesome that we got the chance to win a Super Bowl. It's been a long time coming, so I'm all for my birds!
Q: What inspired your decision to come to USC?
CB: When coach Caryl (Smith Gilbert) came to my house, she told me about the alumni code and I felt like if I was going to go to a school, I wanted to make sure I had a future that was secure. The team was great, the hurdlers here are great and I was really excited to go to a place that was new.
Q: What's been the transition been like in your first year as a student-athlete?
CB: It's actually been great. At first, I thought it would be really hard, but I conditioned my mind to make sure I was going to stay focused the whole year. It's been a pretty good balance. I've done well on the track and I've done pretty well in class as well. It's really about maintaining a routine.
Q: What lessons have you learned from some of your older teammates?
CB: I think mostly time management. That's a huge thing for me. I don't think I would have done as well my first year without that. Dior Hall and Anna Cockrell told me to make sure I stay on top of my work and that if I had some free time to make sure I was doing something to stay proactive.
Q: What did it mean to you to compete in the Power 5 Trailblazer Challenge that honored the five female Track & Field coaches in the Power 5 conferences?
CB: I think it was amazing. The whole idea coach Caryl had to have female empowerment was great. I felt as though it was a great chance for us to have some team comradery and to make sure that we knew the other teams that were also coached by females. It was great.
Q: What are some of the team and personal athletic goals you are setting for yourself this season?
CB: As a team, we want to win Nationals, of course. I think we all want to have a great season to begin with. For me, for hurdles I just want to run really fast. I want to run a really fast time, get my technique down and make sure that I am technically sound and that my speed is better.
Q: What's it like working with Olympic medalist coach Joanna Hayes?
CB: It's amazing. Coach Hayes knows so much because she's been there and I feel like it's great to have somebody in your corner that's been in the place that you've been. It really just lets you know that you have a sense of security in the person that is coaching you.
Q: You say your sports hero is Usain Bolt. What qualities do you admire in him?
CB: He's so confident. I feel like because he is so funny, he tends to have more fun than all of his other opponents. I think that's a really big part of track because track can take away so much. You have to learn how to have fun. I mean, we run in circles all day. That's a struggle by itself. For most teams, their punishment is to run and that's what we do every day. I feel like you have to find some fun in what you do for it to be enjoyable.
Q: Do you have any pre-meet rituals?
CB: Since I was in high school, I always try to visualize my race before it happened. The night before I would try to visualize what would happen, from my start, the whole drive phase and going over the first hurdle to the last hurdle. Sometimes I tend to count while I run, in my head, of course! I just made sure I knew to count faster when I was getting to the end because that's when the race starts to speed up.
Q: As a Philly native, what's it been like to see your Eagles win a Super Bowl?
CB: I think it's awesome that we got the chance to win a Super Bowl. It's been a long time coming, so I'm all for my birds!
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