Ethan Singleton ’28 is a prospective government major and human rights advocacy minor from Carrollton, Texas on the men’s track and field team. In his first year at Wes, he and his fellow teammates have broken multiple records. Singleton broke the University’s men’s 400m dash record on Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024 at the University of Massachusetts (UMass) Boston Beacon Season Opener, running 400m in 49.96 seconds and breaking a record that has stood since 2000. He managed to break the record twice more this season: first at the Boston University (BU) David Hemery Valentine Invitation on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025, and most recently this past Saturday, March 1, when he ran a 48.83 at the New England Division III Indoor Championships. While these numbers are impressive, Singleton’s goals show that this is just the beginning of his bright Wesleyan career. The Argus sat down with Singleton to discuss team camaraderie, his faith, and his record-breaking performance.

The Argus: When did you start running track?

Ethan Singleton: I started running my junior year of high school, in the spring season, after getting cut from the tennis team because a bunch of freshmen were insanely elite. So then I started doing track, and I fell in love with it.

A: Do you have any athletes you look up to, whether in track or a different sport?

ES: As far as track, I like Sydney McLaughlin[-Levrone] a lot because she’s Christian, and she promotes Jesus with her running, which I really appreciate. Obviously, Noah Lyles, because he’s really fast, and [Enoch Ellis]; he’s a junior at MIT. I never ran with him, just because he was a senior when I was a sophomore [in high school] and, like I said, I didn’t start running track until my junior year. But he’s always been a huge role model in my life. He’s the [student body] president of MIT as a junior. He’s also a national champion in the 110[m] hurdles, so he’s someone I look up to a lot, just a leader in the classroom and on the track. I try to embody that a lot with my own track career, just making sure that I’m doing well in school, doing well [in] extracurriculars and doing well within my sport.

A: What’s the biggest difference between track at the high school level versus at the college level?

ES: Obviously the competition. At times, it’s significantly better at the college level. At the [New England Division III Indoor Championships] at BU, they were some of the fastest people in the country. People came from all over, and everyone in my heat, for example, ran a 47-second [race]. Before that, I’ve only had one time where I’ve ever run against someone who ran a 47-second 400m dash, which was a national meet in Texas. That was a huge shocker to me. It was a very humbling experience. Also, people take it more seriously because it is a huge commitment. You have to be in love with the sport to work super hard every single day and feel like trash every day in practice [but still] really enjoy it.

With high school, though, there’s less of an emphasis on the social aspects. The team is much closer in college, and some of the track people are my best friends here at Wes, which wasn’t that way back in high school. Competing with each other [and] being around each other all the time here in college has made us a lot closer as friends.

A: How has it been so far managing time as a student-athlete?

ES: I can’t really say, because my entire life I’ve been in competitive sports, so it’s always been school and sports. I never really had any other experience. But I like having some time to not just focus on my schoolwork, [but also] resetting and putting in energy elsewhere. It also helps me with balancing and managing my time well, because I know that I have to get my work done before practice. Otherwise, I’ll be exhausted after my workouts and I wouldn’t have the mental ability to do my homework or study effectively.

A: Track is mostly seen as an individual sport, considering you are mostly running out there by yourself unless it’s a relay. How does your team make it a team sport?

ES: Some of my best friends here are on the track team, so we always are supporting each other. I remember, right after I finished running [at the UMass Boston Beacon Season Opener], I checked our group chat. They sent me text messages, and [they were] like, “Oh my gosh, I’m so proud of you.” And it’s just really sweet how you definitely know that you have this community of people who are rooting for you, and you’re rooting for them.

Even if they’re not there with you at the meet, they’re watching on a live stream and keeping up with you. We also cheer each other on at practice, so you’re being encouraged all the time. Everyone knows that we’re putting in 110% effort and that it’s very taxing on us emotionally and physically. So everyone’s been there, everyone’s experiencing it, and we’re just cheering each other on, which is a great team dynamic.

A: You get our Player of the Week for your performance all winter season long in the 400m dash, which you’ve now broken the record for three different times, most recently this past weekend. Were you aware of the record before breaking it for the first time, and what was that first time like when you heard that you were going to be in the Wes record books?

ES: I knew what the record was since I visited last spring, and I kind of had my eye on it, but I didn’t really care that much, to be honest. It’s not like a huge deal for me about breaking it, but more just trying to break my personal goals, which I haven’t done yet. But it is nice, at the same time, to still break the record.

A: What’s your personal goal?

ES: [My] personal goal is to get sub-47 [seconds]. 

A: In the two most recent races, you’ve broken the 400m record. What was your mindset like heading into the races and how did it feel to beat your record now twice over?

ES: I’m definitely grateful. All the support that I’ve been getting, it’s really nice. Just people that I don’t know saying, “Oh my gosh, congrats,” or just friends of mine [saying], “I’m so proud of you, congrats,” which is sweet and nice, definitely. My parents come from Dallas, and they wear “Ethan Singleton: 400m record holder” shirt[s], which is really sweet. So it’s really cool, this overwhelming support from people, and it’s just really cool how nice people are.

A: Are you now gunning for the 400m record once the outdoor season arrives?

ES: Yeah, I’m sure I’ll get it. But definitely, like I said before, just getting that sub-47 [seconds is] on my mind more than any records.

A: As a first-year, you were still getting your bearings competing at the collegiate level. How have your captains and the upperclassmen on the team helped you get used to running in college?

ES: I can think of one captain in particular—her name’s Fiona [Carroll ’25]. She does pole vault. She’s really sweet. And if I’m having a really rough week for some reason, I just completely pull out everything to her, and I do a whole complaint session to her, and sometimes she does the same with me. And you know, coming to practice every day is not easy when you’re going through a hard time personally. So just having her be there to listen, to support me, it means a lot. Not just having a captain who is like, “Oh, you’re here because you need to compete and you need to get better physically,” but having a captain who’s like, “No, I actually really care about you as a person, and I care about how you’re feeling emotionally.” That means a lot to me, that I’m supported in that way.

Same with the coaches. I remember one time I was having a hellish week. It was horrible. Just a lot of friend drama, all this stuff. And I call [Head Coach of Cross Country Leo Mayo], and it’s really late at night, and I’m just essentially crying to him for 30 minutes as I tell him about how horrible my week was. So it’s just nice to have the captains and upperclassmen and also the coaches care about us not just as athletes, but also as people. That’s really valuable to me.

A: You mentioned how important being a Christian is to you. How do you embrace that through your sport?

ES: It helps a lot, because it alleviates so much pressure. Because I always get really nervous before I run, because there’s this fear of “What if I fall down?” or “What if I don’t get a time that I want?” or “What if it’s significantly worse than I want?” all this stuff. I have to pray constantly, and I’m like, “Hey, I trust that You’ve prepared me for this,” and just praying that my nerves would go away.

It’s also really nice. I used to listen to music before I warmed up, but now I don’t, and now I just pray in my head when I warm up, and that keeps me at peace, and it helps me focus on just the tasks that I have at hand. It helps me to tell myself, “It’s not that deep, ultimately.”

Ultimately, I just get to run and worship God by doing my very best and trust that He’s gonna help me with whatever time I get, whatever my goals are. And then also it just helps me to focus on my identity not being in my performance, or not in winning all the time, which it definitely used to be. But now it’s like, no, my identity is just being a child of God, and this is something that I get to do because He’s blessed me with the talents to run. And I get to be humble and cheer on my teammates. And I also get to humbly receive the congrats that I’m getting and not be boastful about it and prideful about it. I get to focus my eyes on worshipping God and just doing my very best.

A: Heading into the spring season, what are your individual goals and what are the team’s goals?

ES: Individually, I really want to win nationals, and I want to get sub-47 [seconds] desperately. It was my first time [competing] indoors, so I’m expecting indoor times to be significantly worse than outdoors. So I have very high goals individually for the outdoor season. Team goals, I think we’re looking to break the [distance medley relay school] record. We have to do that. We’re definitely working on breaking the 4×100 record. That is a must. First meet, I expect us to break that record. I don’t know how we’ll do overall in the NESCAC rankings. But I expect everyone to be healthier because everyone was injured, seemingly, this indoor season. So hopefully we’ll all be in good shape, especially after break.

A: What should people be excited about for Wes Track and Field this upcoming season?

ES: We have really, really great athletes, both on the men’s and women’s team. Steve [Paul ’28], he just got a huge PR—a huge one, oh my gosh—over on Saturday. So everyone’s in really good shape, and I expect that to carry over to the outdoor season, and I expect everyone’s times to get significantly better, and everyone’s jumps to be better. So I just see really huge things. So many records are going to be broken, not just by me, but by other people as well, like Steve. And I just see really great things for the relays. I see great things for people individually, and I’m just really excited for everyone’s performances. It’s going to be the best-performing outdoor season that Wes track has ever had.

This article has been edited for length and clarity.

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