BABSON PARK, Fla. (April 20, 2020) – Congratulations to sophomore Travis Holton on being named this week's Warrior of the Week by Webber International University Athletics. Travis is a dual-sport athlete who runs for the Webber cross country team during the fall and plays on the Webber junior varsity baseball team in the spring. Webber's Head Cross Country Coach James Simpson says, "Travis has a tremendous work ethic both on and off the field. Travis has been an asset to our program in the fact that he does whatever necessary to progress and get better. He never complains about anything. I look forward to having Travis set the example for all Webber Warriors in the future. "
 
Travis had a good sophomore year, starting off in the fall competing on the Webber cross country team. The men's race is an 8k cross country run. At the 2019 Sun Conference Championships in South Carolina on Saturday, November 9, 2019, Travis ran his best race of the season, placing him 39th out of a field of 88 runners with a time of 28:39.1. "This year's course was tougher than last year's so I wasn't able to run as fast as my freshman year," said Travis. "This year, our team was a lot smaller so we took it easier and just tried to have fun." In the spring of 2020, Travis competed for Webber's junior varsity baseball team. He said, "All my closest friends play on the baseball team and I played baseball in high school so I spoke to Head Junior Varsity Baseball Coach Matt Saliba my freshman year and joined the baseball team." Despite the spring season being cut short due to COVID-19, Travis and the junior varsity baseball were having a very good start to the season with an 8-5 record overall.
 
Growing up, Travis played almost every sport, but it was in middle school where he joined the track team and truly discovered his passion for running. When Travis was in the seventh grade he tied Nassau county's record for the one mile race and then during eighth grade he ran a mile in 5:06, beating the Nassau County record at only 14 years of age. Travis's best mile time now is 4:40, which he ran in practice at Webber. During Travis's high school career, he ran for both the cross country and track team. In his sophomore year he went to the state championship for cross country.
 
Travis decided he wanted to continue running in college while pursuing his education, so he started to email various coaches. He received a response from Coach Simpson and started to build a relationship with both he and Coach David Andrews (Webber's Head Track & Field Coach). Travis was able to visit Webber and said, "I really liked Coach Simpson and Coach Andrews as they both have a military background and I come from a military family so we just connected. Then, I thought the campus was nice and it was within driving distance to my home." Travis says that these were among the top deciding factors that led him to commit to being a Warrior.
 
Since coming to Webber in the fall of 2018, Travis has had a very successful two years. His proudest moment so far was during his freshman year where he placed 14th at the 2018 Sun Conference Championships at Holloway Park in Lakeland, Florida. Travis finished the 8k race with a time of 28:20, earning him a position on the All-Sun Conference Second-Team. Travis was the second straight Warrior freshman on the men's side to earn this recognition.
 
Travis says that he gets nervous before every race, but that he also relishes the opportunity to compete in an individual sport. "I feel like it is more on me; you can really see the hard work that you put in paying off," he said. "It's you trying to beat yourself every race. Mentally it's tough but you have just got to push through it every step of the way."
 
The Webber men's cross country team aims to run around 40-50 miles per week including one long run, often between 10-12 miles. "We also have a speed day, which is usually the worst day of the week," described Travis. "Coach will give us a mile time we have to hit. For example, 5:15, and then we run it, get a two-minute break and have to do it again."
 
Travis' favorite memory since becoming a Warrior came during his freshman year at practice. "We were doing a pool workout with kickboards and one kid couldn't swim so well and he started to drown and dragged another teammate down with him. So Coach Simpson had to jump in fully clothed to save them both." On the lighter side of things, Travis said the baseball team has a fun quirk called "kangaroo court". "Every time you do something stupid and the players call you out on it, you will be taken to kangaroo court," he said. Paul Evans (junior varsity baseball senior) was nominated to be the judge. Travis recalled one teammate being taken to Kangaroo Court for eating a crazy amount of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches so there were hardly any left for the rest of the team during a doubleheader.
 
Travis is majoring in criminal justice management at Webber and says, "My Dad is a cop and when I spoke to Dr. Peter Barone, he seemed really cool. So far I'm loving it and Dr. Barone is definitely my favorite professor at Webber." Travis hopes to work his way up within the police department once he graduates from Webber. When Travis is not studying, running or playing baseball, he can often be found playing his guitar.
 
Travis' favorite quote is "Work hard in silence and let your success be the noise" and describes his biggest motivator as seeing how far he has come. "I've definitely gotten better over the years and can see how I've improved as a person and as an athlete," says Travis. He describes his parents as his biggest influencers, saying "they are always pushing me to do better, especially with my grades - they are always checking up on me."
 
Travis has been a Warrior for the past six years, having come from a high school where the mascot was also a Warrior. "I think it's a pretty similar mentality at both my schools," says Travis. "It means that when you're competing in your sport, you can fight. You push forward in every hard situation you come up against."
 
Congratulations to Travis Holton on being named this week's Warrior of the Week. Travis and the cross country team will be competing again this fall, so stay tuned for updates on their performances.
 

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*The Warrior of the Week is a new feature on the Webber International University Athletics website, written and published by student-athlete Megan Warner.
 
*Each week, the head coach from different sports will be able to put forward a student-athlete they believe deserves to be recognized. The Warrior of the Week is someone that embodies everything it means to be a student-athlete at Webber International University. They demonstrate true commitment to their program and the university as a whole. They work hard both athletically and academically, are a positive member of their community, and always strive to be the best person they can be.