In Play(er) of the Week, our goal is to highlight outstanding athletes or moments from games that deserve extra attention. 

Jordan Walter ’25 is a captain of the women’s cross-country and track teams who has put her stamp on the Spring 2024 track season. In the past few months, she has had major success running the 1500m race, placing first in the event at both the Wesleyan Swanson Invitational in March and Smith Carla Coffey Invitational in early April. This past weekend at the Sean Collier Invitational, she finished the 1500-meter race at 4:35.30, breaking a 40-year-old record by just over one second. As the NESCAC championship approaches this upcoming weekend, Walter will look to shave even more time off of her Wesleyan record before the end of her junior year. The Argus recently sat down with Walter, a neuroscience and Latin American Studies major and chemistry minor from Atlanta, Ga., to discuss her recent record-breaking performance and her growth as a runner.

The Argus: Can you talk about how you first got into track?

Jordan Walter: I started running in sixth grade, playing manhunt. I would play every day with my friends on the playground, and I realized I was kind of okay at it, given I was wearing Uggs and not running clothes at all. I used to swim, starting at four, and I swam until junior year of high school. I started running cross-country in seventh grade, and I realized I was a lot better at track than I was at swimming.

A: When did you realize that college track might be an option?

JW: Probably freshman year of high school. I did not have a linear progression in running. I was faster my freshman year of high school than I was any other year of high school. I got injured junior year, and COVID happened, so that ruined things. So, [it was] a very rocky journey. I’ve got quite an illustrious past of getting injured, unfortunately. But hopefully we’re moving past that.

A: How did the Wesleyan track program grab your attention, and why did you ultimately decide to compete here?

JW: I wouldn’t say I was recruited. I reached out a few weeks before admission came out. I emailed the coach, “Hey, I applied here. Do you think I could run, maybe?” And he said yes.

A: Is there any difference in preparation between the cross-country season in the fall and the track season in the winter and spring?

JW: It’s definitely different training. For me, because I race the 800m and the mile, it’s a lot more sprint workouts, whereas cross is solely distance workouts. So, as a low-mileage person, I would say track is less painful.

A: Do you have any athletes you look up to? Whether in track or in any other sport?

JW: [There are] people on my team that inspire me. Honestly, I feel like everybody puts in all the work so, in that way, that environment inspires me. For professional athletes, Faith Kipyegon is running 4:07 in the mile, and it’s actually insane, and I really hope she breaks 4:00 because that would be so crazy. I feel like it would be a big moment for women’s athletics, just to show what happens when you actually give people a chance. 

A: What’s one of the best parts about being an athlete at Wesleyan, and what’s one of the hardest parts about being an athlete at Wesleyan?

JW: For hardest, it’s the time you put in. Meet days are around 12 hours. It’s over 30 hours a week of just practice time. But even if I wasn’t on a team, I would still block out part of my day to do some exercise, just because I enjoy doing it. For best, the people. There’s something very bonding about collectively being in pain together. I know that sounds really funny, but I feel like it bonds people for life when you collapse after the finish line.

A: You were named captain this season in both cross-country and track. What has that meant to you over the course of the year?

JW: Being a good role model for the freshmen. Everyone on the team is very talented. And I hope they can see the work I’m putting in and be inspired to put in the same amount. 

A: About the record, your times have been growing closer and closer to the record throughout the season. As they’ve done this, were you aware that you had the chance to break it?

JW: It’s a funny story. PR-ing by a second in a mile is pretty big, and I have a habit of PR-ing by a lot of seconds. So I actually ran 4:41 [in the 1500m] last year as a sophomore, and then I hadn’t run faster than 4:45 this year. So, I dropped 10 seconds. I don’t know how that happened. I don’t think I was racing to my potential before that, because there wasn’t much competition in the races before. But I would come off the finish line and know that I didn’t do my best.

But the race I was in at MIT was mostly DI runners. So, I had a lot of people to run with and push me, which was good, because honestly, running a 4:45 and running 4:35—it didn’t feel more painful. It felt like I can keep up with them.

A: Do you feel like you often rise to the level of those around you during races, or are you worried more about your own pace at any given point?

JW: I think I was definitely in a good mindset before this race. I felt rested, and I felt like I could keep up with them. But it depends on the day. It depends on if you’ve been sick, or you’ve been tired, or you’ve been overtrained, or anything like that. So I think [there are] so many factors, but a lot of it is mental. And I think I had a good mindset going into it. 

A: After you ran the race, how did you react to hearing, or learning, that you broke the record?

JW: Actually, I didn’t know when I crossed the finish line, because there wasn’t a clock at the finish line. It was behind me on the back of the 100-meter straightaway. So, my coaches saw it, and they told me I ran 4:33 at first. I saw [the clock] turn from like 4:38 to 4:39, so I knew I PR-ed. I knew I ran a season best, but I didn’t know that it was the school record. And then coach [Caitlyn Hebert] came up to me afterward and [told me], and I was like, “Yay!”

A: Do you feel like you have grown as a runner since your freshman year at Wes, and if so, how?

JW: I think I definitely have. I got injured so much freshman year. I raced three times total in three seasons. I raced one cross-country race that wasn’t even a 6k, proceeded to get injured for the rest of the season, got a stress fracture at the beginning of the winter season, so I raced two indoor races, and then didn’t race outdoors at all. So, I think I’ve definitely gotten a lot stronger. I think I’ve gotten more confident as well, because I didn’t PR in the mile for five years, which is a long time to not PR. In a way I kind of lost faith in being able to PR again, and then last year I PR-ed in the mile, and I feel like from then on, I know it’s possible to go faster. 

A: What is one of your favorite memories from Wesleyan track or cross-country so far, whether during a competition or off the track?

JW: [There are] a lot of good memories, but as far as competitions go, I was part of the distance medley relay last year, and we went to Nationals in indoor, and we were All-American. We got eighth place. We were the underdogs. We were the last qualifying time. We almost didn’t qualify, it was by 0.77 seconds; it was crazy. My teammate was the last leg, and she almost got passed by somebody, so we could have not gotten All-American. It was literally a two-second difference. That was a great moment. But I feel like aside from that, watching my teammates race has also been really nice because there’s a lot of really fast people on the team right now. Like Steph[anie Ager ’26] just broke 17:00 in the 5k, which is crazy. She’s probably gonna get the school record soon. So there’s a lot of good stuff going on.

A: Looking ahead, you have the NESCAC championship next weekend, where you’ll be competing in the 1500m. What’s the goal heading into next weekend, plus any further goals past NESCACs?

JW: Win it, if I can. There’s gonna be competition. Honestly, I’m around 0.8 seconds away from going to Nationals right now, so I just want to run a second or two faster and then secure my spot. That would be the goal—honestly, that would be better than winning it. If [my opponents] run 2:30, then so be it, as long as I qualify.

This article has been edited for length and clarity.

Max Forstein can be reached at mforstein@wesleyan.edu.