University of Georgia Athletics
Quick Chat: Caleb Cavanaugh
June 07, 2021 | Track & Field, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Caleb Cavanaugh plans to go to dental school after he graduates from Georgia and wraps up his career on the track. But that's a long way off for the 6-foot-2 sophomore sprinter from Houston, Texas.
Cavanaugh is one of the Georgia Bulldogs in Eugene, Ore., this week for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, and he'll compete in the 400-meter hurdles on Friday. Before flying out west, Cavanaugh sat down for a Quick Chat. He talked about going to Eugene, racing, home, school, and much more.
Here's some of what he had to say:
Frierson: What is the excitement level like when you're at this point in the season, headed to Eugene to compete in the NCAA Championships?
Cavanaugh: It feels really exciting. I'm just so excited to be going to see the new stadium they've built and compete in it, too. I think just because of growing up watching the NCAA meets there on TV, and knowing that I'm going to be there, it's really exciting. It feels very rewarding after everything with COVID and having to deal with different training and all that. It feels great and I'm excited about it.
Frierson: When did you know you were good? When did you know you had a future in the sport beyond junior events and high school meets?
Cavanaugh: I've been running track since I was 6, but I would probably say I started thinking that I could do this in college when I was a sophomore in high school. That's when my times started dropping and getting pretty fast. That was when I hit 37 (seconds) in the 300 hurdles for the first time, and I was like, "Oh, wow, I can probably keep doing this."
Frierson: What is going through your head as you run the 400 hurdles? Are you counting steps between hurdles?
Cavanaugh: In Texas, we ran the 300 hurdles, so I didn't get to run the 400 hurdles that much. Before this season started, I hadn't run the 400 hurdles since 2018, so this year has been a really big learning curve for just learning how to run the race.
There are steps I try and hit, but I don't usually think about it during the race. During the race I just think, run fast; and the rest just comes to me from muscle memory because of all the reps. During the race I'm just thinking, just run fast and try not to die.
Frierson: When you think of Houston and home, what comes to mind?
Cavanaugh: When I think of home, the first thing I think of is my family. I'm really close to my family and I try to take to them as much as I can. Our house and our neighborhood come to mind when I think about home, as well.
Frierson: I know Houston is a great multi-cultural city with a very diverse food scene, so is there something back home that you always look forward to eating?
Cavanaugh: Besides mom's cooking, the type of food I really like to eat is Thai food. There's this place in Houston that has these spicy Thai wings that I really like, and getting the iced coffee they have — that's a pretty good meal.
Frierson: How are you in the kitchen?
Cavanaugh: [Laughs] Since COVID, I've been trying to learn to cook a lot more — I've gotten a lot better. In the fall, I tried to make the quick mac and cheese. I messed it up somehow — I added water to it or whatever and the shells weren't hard enough — but I've definitely gotten better. I always have to call my mom and ask how to do something.
The only thing I'm really good at making is tacos.
Frierson: Do you have a creative side? Is there anything creative you do or wish you could do?
Cavanaugh: In middle school and high school, I did musical theater and all that, and I still kind of keep up with that and listen to the songs. But right now I'm not really creative.
Frierson: What do you wish you could do?
Cavanaugh: Definitely play the piano. I played it for a few years when I was little but I stopped and never went back to it. I wish I could play the piano really well.
Frierson: If you could travel anywhere in the world on somebody else's dime, where would you like to go and who would you take with you?
Cavanaugh: Definitely Hawaii. From the pictures and everything you see, it looks really pretty. And I'd take my close family, my mom, dad and brother.
Frierson: Where is the most interesting place track has taken you?
Cavanaugh: I'd say California — we were in Sacramento for a track meet one time. It's not too close to the beach but we still drove there while I was there.
Frierson: Who is the funniest person on the team?
Cavanaugh: I'd have to say Arian Smith — he's a really funny guy. He's a really blunt person sometimes and will say whatever's on his mind, and that's really funny to me. Some people have a contagious laugh and his laugh just makes me laugh.
Frierson: Is it impressive to you to see him transition from spring football to running sprints like he has?
Cavanaugh: Oh, yeah, it's definitely impressive. He's transitioned really well and he didn't miss a beat coming out here and racing with us.
Frierson: Have you always been a really good student and aspired to really push yourself academically the same way you push yourself on the track?
Cavanaugh: I've definitely always set goals for myself like trying to get all As each semester. I think my parents from when I was younger helped start that, making sure I get good grades and turning everything in on time. I try to push myself to get as close to 4.0s as possible each semester.
Frierson: When did you first get interested in dentistry?
Cavanaugh: I started getting interested in it around my senior year of high school. We had a career and one of the alumni of the school came and he was a dentist. I knew I wanted to look into something in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) field but I didn't really know what, and he started talking about his job. It seemed really interesting to me.
Frierson: If you could be great at anything in the world for one day, just to experience what it's like, what would it be?
Cavanaugh: I've always wanted to be able to speak a ton of languages and be really multi-lingual. I know that's something you probably need for more than one day but just to be able to speak multiple languages seems really interesting to me.
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
Staff Writer
Caleb Cavanaugh plans to go to dental school after he graduates from Georgia and wraps up his career on the track. But that's a long way off for the 6-foot-2 sophomore sprinter from Houston, Texas.
Cavanaugh is one of the Georgia Bulldogs in Eugene, Ore., this week for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, and he'll compete in the 400-meter hurdles on Friday. Before flying out west, Cavanaugh sat down for a Quick Chat. He talked about going to Eugene, racing, home, school, and much more.
Here's some of what he had to say:
Frierson: What is the excitement level like when you're at this point in the season, headed to Eugene to compete in the NCAA Championships?
Cavanaugh: It feels really exciting. I'm just so excited to be going to see the new stadium they've built and compete in it, too. I think just because of growing up watching the NCAA meets there on TV, and knowing that I'm going to be there, it's really exciting. It feels very rewarding after everything with COVID and having to deal with different training and all that. It feels great and I'm excited about it.
Frierson: When did you know you were good? When did you know you had a future in the sport beyond junior events and high school meets?
Cavanaugh: I've been running track since I was 6, but I would probably say I started thinking that I could do this in college when I was a sophomore in high school. That's when my times started dropping and getting pretty fast. That was when I hit 37 (seconds) in the 300 hurdles for the first time, and I was like, "Oh, wow, I can probably keep doing this."
Frierson: What is going through your head as you run the 400 hurdles? Are you counting steps between hurdles?
Cavanaugh: In Texas, we ran the 300 hurdles, so I didn't get to run the 400 hurdles that much. Before this season started, I hadn't run the 400 hurdles since 2018, so this year has been a really big learning curve for just learning how to run the race.
There are steps I try and hit, but I don't usually think about it during the race. During the race I just think, run fast; and the rest just comes to me from muscle memory because of all the reps. During the race I'm just thinking, just run fast and try not to die.
Frierson: When you think of Houston and home, what comes to mind?
Cavanaugh: When I think of home, the first thing I think of is my family. I'm really close to my family and I try to take to them as much as I can. Our house and our neighborhood come to mind when I think about home, as well.
Frierson: I know Houston is a great multi-cultural city with a very diverse food scene, so is there something back home that you always look forward to eating?
Cavanaugh: Besides mom's cooking, the type of food I really like to eat is Thai food. There's this place in Houston that has these spicy Thai wings that I really like, and getting the iced coffee they have — that's a pretty good meal.
Frierson: How are you in the kitchen?
Cavanaugh: [Laughs] Since COVID, I've been trying to learn to cook a lot more — I've gotten a lot better. In the fall, I tried to make the quick mac and cheese. I messed it up somehow — I added water to it or whatever and the shells weren't hard enough — but I've definitely gotten better. I always have to call my mom and ask how to do something.
The only thing I'm really good at making is tacos.
Frierson: Do you have a creative side? Is there anything creative you do or wish you could do?
Cavanaugh: In middle school and high school, I did musical theater and all that, and I still kind of keep up with that and listen to the songs. But right now I'm not really creative.
Frierson: What do you wish you could do?
Cavanaugh: Definitely play the piano. I played it for a few years when I was little but I stopped and never went back to it. I wish I could play the piano really well.
Frierson: If you could travel anywhere in the world on somebody else's dime, where would you like to go and who would you take with you?
Cavanaugh: Definitely Hawaii. From the pictures and everything you see, it looks really pretty. And I'd take my close family, my mom, dad and brother.
Frierson: Where is the most interesting place track has taken you?
Cavanaugh: I'd say California — we were in Sacramento for a track meet one time. It's not too close to the beach but we still drove there while I was there.
Frierson: Who is the funniest person on the team?
Cavanaugh: I'd have to say Arian Smith — he's a really funny guy. He's a really blunt person sometimes and will say whatever's on his mind, and that's really funny to me. Some people have a contagious laugh and his laugh just makes me laugh.
Frierson: Is it impressive to you to see him transition from spring football to running sprints like he has?
Cavanaugh: Oh, yeah, it's definitely impressive. He's transitioned really well and he didn't miss a beat coming out here and racing with us.
Frierson: Have you always been a really good student and aspired to really push yourself academically the same way you push yourself on the track?
Cavanaugh: I've definitely always set goals for myself like trying to get all As each semester. I think my parents from when I was younger helped start that, making sure I get good grades and turning everything in on time. I try to push myself to get as close to 4.0s as possible each semester.
Frierson: When did you first get interested in dentistry?
Cavanaugh: I started getting interested in it around my senior year of high school. We had a career and one of the alumni of the school came and he was a dentist. I knew I wanted to look into something in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) field but I didn't really know what, and he started talking about his job. It seemed really interesting to me.
Frierson: If you could be great at anything in the world for one day, just to experience what it's like, what would it be?
Cavanaugh: I've always wanted to be able to speak a ton of languages and be really multi-lingual. I know that's something you probably need for more than one day but just to be able to speak multiple languages seems really interesting to me.
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
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