Sports > April 24, 2008

By Allison Lange | Sports editor

The 400m hurdles and relay runner, junior Phillip Warsaw, has seen his fair share of success during his three years at Wake Forest. In only his freshman year as a Deacon, he posted a time of 53.1 in the 400m hurdles and barely missed qualifying for the ACC Championships.

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(Photo courtesy of Media Relations)

However, the highlight of Warsaw’s career at Wake Forest came as a sophomore when the 4x400m relay team traveled to the NCAA Regional Championships and placed third overall. The Old Gold & Black’s Sports editor Allison Lange chatted with Warsaw about his favorite event to run, playing a different sport, his favorite class that he’s taken at Wake Forest and the field event he wished he could compete in.

On his favorite event to run:

My favorite event to compete in is definitely the 400m hurdles.

It’s the event that I am best at, and of all the running events I feel that it is (the) perfect combination of speed, endurance and technique.

On his favorite class at Wake:

I really enjoyed the first year seminar I took, “Debating Capitalism.”

We learned about all of the different ways countries have tried to run their economy in the past and present.

It was interesting to see the different approaches they took and which ones worked and which ones failed.

On his favorite accomplishment:

Qualifying for NCAA’s as part of the 4x400m relay last year was really special.

Over the last couple of years we have established ourselves as one of the best 4x400m relays in the country and it was exciting to continue building on that tradition last year, in spite of several injuries we had.

On playing another sport:

If I couldn’t run track anymore I think I would spend my time playing basketball.

I’ve been a basketball fanatic since I was a kid, and I used to play all the time when I wasn’t in season for track, so it would be really fun to be able to get out on the hardwood more often.

On the event he wishes he could participate in:

I’ve always been really intrigued by the pole vault.

How those athletes manage to bend the pole and their bodies in the air like that has always really amazed me, and if I wasn’t afraid of breaking every bone in my body, it would be something I would definitely want to try.

On meeting anyone:

If I could meet one track athlete, it would be Edwin Moses.

He was the greatest 400m hurdler of all time, both for his performance and his longevity in the sport.

He revolutionized the sport both on and off the track, and he has been one of my idols since I started running track.