Bodie Molnar ’21 is a two-year Senior and co-captain of Boys Varsity Track and Field. Molnar also played on Boys Varsity Hockey. Co-captain Campbell Herring ’21 said, “Bodie may be the fastest guy I know on the track. Seriously, he cuts right through the air; it’s wild. But more impressively, he is one of the most humble, funny, and personable people I’ve met at Hotchkiss. I’ve really only known him for a few months, and I’d call him a true friend.”

What do you love most about Track & Field?

The thing I love most is that you get out what you put in. However hard you work during practices is what will show up when you race. If you give it your all every day, you’ll see improvement, so anyone can get into it. 

What were you looking forward to the most this season?

It was tough to hear that we were only doing virtual meets, but with that being said, I was looking forward to improving on my time and to getting faster and stronger and having fun. Coaches Richard Kirby, Jay Thornhill, and Sam Somera all made it really fun every day, so I came to practice every day looking forward to putting in the work for a good season. 

What advice would you give to current or future athletes?

There’s a saying – “Are you happy because you win or do you win because you are happy?” Be happy with what you do and it’ll make it that much easier to give it your all.

How has the school helped you improve as a player?

I was bummed we didn’t get to run last year, but Coach Thornhill’s new shoes-and-socks-off exercises really helped. The school has shown me what a team looks like, how to create this sort of family environment, and how to really put your best foot forward for the guys and the teammates next to you. There weren’t a lot of guy sprinters on the track team that I interacted with, so the group that we had was small, but we really connected. The whole sprinter core was a family. The 4 x 400m, which was the last race of the meet, everyone lined up around the track and cheered on the team, which was really fun to be a part of. 

Can you share a highlight or favorite memory from a past season?

Aidan Rodgers ’21 and I run the same events and train together during practice. Once, we were stuck running the 400m together.  It was our third meet and we’d been hovering around 52 and 55 seconds for a while, so we talked before the race and said we’d go out a bit harder and see what happened. It was kind of rainy and cold, so we didn’t have high expectations. When we crossed the line, we had no idea what time we ran. Later, Coach Somera said I ran a 49 and Rodgers ran a 52, which were both personal records by more than 2 seconds. We embraced, and it was fun to know that we went out hard and were rewarded for it.