Get to Know Your Raiders: Matt Kujawski

At the PSAC Indoor Championships in February, junior sprinter Matt Kujawski won his first indoor title with a personal-best 21.97 in the finals of the 200 meters. He also finished second in the 60 meters by beating teammate Herman Kirkland by a one-thousandth of a second.

A native of Ephrata, Kujawski fell just one-hundredth of a second short of qualifying for the NCAA Indoor Championships, however, as his converted time of 21.61 in the 200 (achieved at Bucknell) was just shy of qualifying as the final entry.

In all during the indoor season, Kujawski, a computer science major, twice earned USTFCCCA All-Region performances – with a 6.86 in the 60 at Bucknell in addition to his conference title-winning time in the 200.

Ship track & field will continue its outdoor season this weekend while competing at both the Colonial Relays hosted by William & Mary (on Friday and Saturday) as well as the Millersville Metrics on Saturday.

Get to know Matt Kujawski…

What is your favorite pre-meet ritual?

There are multiple things I like to do as my favorite pre-meet rituals. Eating a nice complimentary breakfast at one of the hotels we are staying at, hanging out with my track buddies and watching a movie, and watching Justin Gatlin's promo video on YouTube.

What part of Shippensburg, either the campus or the town, do you most enjoy?

The CUB, where I can get food, Reisner, where I can get food, or my house, where I can also get food.

What is the best class you've taken at Shippensburg?

American Literature with Rennie Mapp. She was always so enthusiastic to hear the student's input to the class, and one of the required books was Harry Potter, which I am a big fan of.

If you weren't majoring in computer science, what would your major be?

Track, exercising and strengthening the body is a big hobby of mine, so an alternative major may be exercise science.

What is your favorite day of the week and why?

Probably like all students, Friday or Saturday are my favorite days because we don't have classes. Also, those are the days that we have track meets, and they are very exciting.

Which are you favorite PSAC school to compete against, and why?

I'm not really sure. I've never really paid attention to the other PSAC schools, but rather how we as a team did overall.

If we asked your teammates to say a few words about you, what do you think they would say?

That's easy, they would say that I absolutely love cookies. On more of a track basis, I think they would say that I am hardworking, determined and won't ever give up.

Which individual athletic accomplishment are you most proud of?

I am most proud of all my national qualifying times in both the 60 meter dash and the 200 meter dash indoor. Hopefully I will be able to add going to nationals and competing to my list of accomplishments.

What's the most difficult part of being a student-athlete?

The most difficult part would be time management. As a student-athlete, you have to be able to dedicate time for academics and also for your sport. Both of which are very time consuming, and you can easily get too caught up in one and not so much the other.

What's the most important thing you've learned being a student-athlete?

That your track buddies are like your family, and they can help/support you in not only your sport, but also in your academics and personal life.

What piece of advice stays with you at all times?

“If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.”

If you could talk to children who are just beginning to show an interest in running, what would you tell them they should focus on?

As a child, I think that they should focus on going out there and just having fun with it.

What legacy do you hope to leave behind for future athletes at Shippensburg?

A legacy that shows how hard work goes a long way. Even maybe at first an athlete doesn't show much potential, he/she is constantly working hard, going that extra mile and putting in the time to help better themselves until finally they achieve greatness.