Freshman track athlete Taiki Hirooka is ready and eager to begin training with his fellow Bearcats. During his time at Schreiber High School, Hirooka qualified for the USATF Junior Olympics and the New York State (NYS) Championships. He was also a three-time team MVP. Despite beginning his collegiate career under unique circumstances, the Long Island native reflects on all that he has to be grateful for and what he is looking forward to during his time at Binghamton.

When did you realize you were good enough and interested in becoming a Division I athlete?
My times weren't good enough to compete at the Division I level until the spring of my Junior year, but I knew I always knew I wanted to compete at the Division I level. It was a goal that seemed impossible, but I always kept the thought in the back of my mind.

What is your favorite memory in your sport?
My favorite memory is qualifying for the state championships and New Balance Nationals for the 4x100 meter relay in the same meet. All four of us on the relay worked incredibly hard the entire season. We knew that we could produce a fast relay time together, but it never came together until the state qualifier meet. Coming into the meet as the fifth seed and improving our time by two seconds to qualify for both the state and national meet was something I will never forget. It really showed me the power of hard work and the importance of patience.

What are your greatest individual and team accomplishments?
My greatest individual achievement is qualifying for the USATF Junior Olympic National Championships in the 100 meter dash. My greatest team achievement was winning the division championship my freshman year. All the seniors had worked so hard their four years and helping them accomplish their long goal was something I'll never forget.

What do you love most about your sport?
I love that track is a sport purely based on time. It lets you definitively compare your times from each meet and clearly track your progress. A ten second 100 meter dash you run can be compared with another person's times across the world.

Who has had the greatest impact on your life? Why?
My mother has had the greatest impact on my life. She is an immigrant from Japan who came to the U.S. to receive a college education. She planned on moving back to Japan after I entered elementary school, but she stayed because both my older sister and I wanted to stay in the U.S. She has sacrificed too much of my life for me to let her down. She motivates me in everything I do.

Your best non-athletic talent is …
I can play the clarinet and the tenor saxophone. I started playing in fourth grade, and I wanted to be a music teacher all throughout middle school. I played as a part of the pit in every musical at my high school. I was first chair in the All-County band several times, and was even selected to be part of the All-State Symphonic band during my junior year.

Do you have any pre race rituals or superstitions?
Before every major race, I listen to "Mr. Blue Sky" by Electric Light Orchestra. Something about the song always calms me down and lets me focus on the race.

What were the challenges that COVID-19 presented to you as you finished up your high school senior year?
Because of COVID-19, all of the fun events at the end of senior year were canceled. It was really hard to cope with having to quarantine and watch these events get cancelled one by one, but I began to realize that other people were going through much worse scenarios. Instead of being frustrated, I became grateful that all of my family and I were healthy.

What major do you intend to pursue? What are your career goals?
I plan to major in biology and become a physical therapist. Injury has greatly affected me in my athletic career, and I wouldn't have been able to return without the help of physical therapy. I wish to help other injured athletes, so they can return to play as soon as possible and achieve their greatest potential.

Why did you choose Binghamton?
Binghamton seemed like the perfect school to pursue both my athletic and academic goals. On my official visit, everyone on the team was extremely welcoming. I knew that Binghamton was the place I wanted to be. The coaches were also extremely kind and I knew that they would be able to help me achieve my greatest potential on the track.

What are you most looking forward to as we get ready to start workouts and practices?
I can't wait to just run with everyone on the team. We'll all be pushing ourselves to become better individually, but more importantly, as a team


PREVIOUS 2020 FRESHMAN PROFILES
Ryan Lovelass, Golf (Oct. 1)
Jessica Faustin, Track & Field (Sept. 29)
Cooper Sayle, Men's Soccer (Sept. 24)
Sheridan Talada, Cross Country/Track (Sept. 22)