Sports > October 23, 2008

By Lizzie Rosen | Senior writer

Making his triumphant return across the pond since moving to England at the age of three, sophomore Greg Billington, a likely health and exercise science major and distance runner for the Deacs, took some time out from his treks to talk to the OGB .

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Photo courtesy of Brian Westerholt

On what he misses most from home:

I got to grow up on a farm in a farmhouse in England so the area around there was really beautiful and nice. We had chickens growing up; it was fun.

On what he likes most about America:

I really like the people here. Coming to Wake Forest and meeting all the diverse people here has been really enjoyable for me.

On how he decided on Wake Forest:

I was looking for a school that had great academics and would allow me to run for a competitive program, as well as train for triathlons, and this school and the coaches were very excepting of my triathlon training.

I was also able to come here because of the Carswell scholarship, which I am very grateful for; it lets me train a lot better and enjoy school.

How he began running:

My brother ran in high school and I followed in his footsteps. I also wanted to meet some nice kids in high school and it seemed like a good way to go about doing that.

On his perfect day for a run:

It would be drizzling slightly, not windy at all, maybe in the 50s or the 60s.

On personal and team goals for the season:

For track last spring we did not perform as well as the team had planned or wanted to, and this year we have a lot of the distance guys coming back and racing well.

Also a lot of our top sprinters last year like Michael Bingham and Brent LaRue were injured so I know that that will bring back a lot of the experience to the team which is really going to help us perform well at outdoor ACCs – which I know is the main focus of the upcoming track season, and getting people qualified for Regionals and having a strong representation at Nationals.

On his rituals before a meet?:

I have lucky racing socks which are bright yellow. And unfortunately I am running out of them right now so I don’t know what I will do when they wear out.