Senior sprinter Donald Sanford transferred from Morgan State after his junior year and quickly made an impact on the ASU track and field team.
Sanford will be relied on to score big points for the Sun Devils at this year’s NCAA Indoor Championship after qualifying in the 200 meters and as a member of the men’s 4x400 meter relay team.
The State Press: When did you get started running track?
Donald Sanford: I started running track when I was about 11 years old and I ran club track. My mother was my coach so you can imagine how that [was]. My sister ran track, my father ran track, my older brother ran track, so naturally up next was going to be me.
SP: Which track and field athletes did you idolize growing up?
DS: I know it sounds kind of cheesy and corny, but my mother was my idol because she was a hurdler and I always wanted to be a hurdler, but I went a different route. People used to tell me how fast she used to be and how she used to run and how I kind of reminded [them] of her and how our running styles complemented each other.
SP: When you are not on the track or in school, what do you like to do?
DS: I’m definitely sad to say I’m a couch potato. I like to sit on the couch and watch T.V., fall asleep, wake up and eat, watch TV and fall asleep again.
SP: What are your plans for after college?
DS: I want to teach, and I know that’s not the ideal thing to do, but I enjoy teaching and I enjoy helping people.
SP: What are your hobbies?
DS: Before I came to ASU I was playing basketball at Central Arizona College, and I was a huge basketball fan because my dad played basketball, so if I wasn’t on the track, I was on the blacktop somewhere shooting some hoops.
SP: What is your favorite part about being an athlete at ASU?
DS: I love ASU. I mean the staff, the coaches, everything from the team doctors, to the trainers, to the janitors in the ICA. Everybody is just so welcoming, so, you know, friendly. It’s great. I love the way they treat the athletes here.
Reach the reporter at emschimm@asu.edu.
