FORT COLLINS, Colo. — “I kind of black out as soon as I hit the take off," Rhys Travis, a junior jumper on the Colorado State University Track & Field team, said. "Don’t ask me what happens in the air.”
When Travis took to the air at the Mountain West Conference championships, he felt something special.
“I knew as soon as I took off," Travis said. "I was like, I’m pretty sure I just cleared [the bar]. I came down on the mat, gave it one look to make sure it stayed up, then blacked out a little bit because that was a big jump. That was a lot of things I accomplished right there.”
Travis won the high jump, setting a new a personal best record. As a Colorado native who grew up in Fort Collins, representing the Rams made that moment all the more special.
“I mean that’s just a dream come true," Travis said. "I was going to the basketball games, the football games, always [dreaming] of being a Ram. Getting to do it in track and field, and all of my friends and family reaching out, it’s pretty cool.”
Joy is the battery that powers the CSU track machine, and that mentality is set by head coach Brian Bedard.
“We really encourage our athletes to have joy," Bedard said.
Under his tutelage, the Rams have won 21 conference track championships — among many other accolades.
Bedard will tell you that CSU's success is fueled by that little three-letter word.
“I don’t want track to become bigger than it should be," Bedard said. "It should hold a special spot in their lives, it should add value to their lives, and they should have joy in it. When they lose joy and it becomes work, I think we lose a lot when that happens.”
Klaire Kovatch needed a bit more than joy to claim her MWC discus gold.
“My thing is I have to have a Snickers bar," Kovatch, a redshirt junior at Colorado State, said. "I had my Snickers bar before the meet, put on some Nickelback for a second and kind of got myself going."
Kovatch set a new personal best, and so did the rest of her team. The Rams locked out the podium on the discus — winning first, second and third place.
“I got done with my throw and immediately the girls were over there hugging me," Kovatch said. "They’re so excited, we’re so excited for each other when we do well.”
That's the secret sauce. It's one thing to love what you do, but when you love who you do it with, that's where championships are born.
“It really goes back to we have joy being around each other," Travis said. "I love seeing my teammates PR, I love seeing them compete. To me, it’s tough to do anything in life if there’s not fun involved. We always talk about working hard but if it’s not going to be fun, what’s the point.”
“I find joy in this team," Kovatch said. "They’re just a great group of people to be around, they push me, they encourage me on the days that I’m down.”
“It can be really frustrating," Coach Bedard said. "You can go for a long stretch without performance improvements and if you beat yourself up all the time and it stops being fun, I think you lose something.”
15 Rams are heading to the NCAA Regionals May 28-31, including Travis and Kovatch.
They're hoping to keep that joy train a-rolling into College Station, Texas.
“If you show up here and you hate your job and you hate competing, why are you here? Why are you doing it?" Kovatch said. "It’s really important to enjoy what you do.”
