Freddie Linton made the most of his two-year tenure as a member of the Emory men's track and field program, earning numerous individual honors while helping the Eagles attain heights not seen prior to his arrival. His performance as a senior in the 2008 NCAA D-III Men's Outdoor Championships was certainly memorable as he gained All-America acclaim in the 200- and 400-meter dashes and as member of the 4X400 relay. His time of 47:03 in the 400 meters represented a personal best and was good for runner-up honors while he helped the 4x400 relay team to a school-record time of 3:14.22. His performance at the 2008 nationals was a driving force in Emory registering an seventh-place finish, the best showing in school history. An eight-time University Athletic Association Champion, he was named the league's Most Valuable Performer on three occasions.
Q: Occupation and where do you live?
FL: I am currently an IT Manager at Vince LLC. I basically do any and everything IT related at this retail company because it is fairly small. I troubleshoot hardware and software issues, manage the IT infrastructure, configure the phones, etc.
Q: Can you give an update on some of your experiences post-Emory to where you are now?
FL: After graduation I started working full time as an IT technician at Coach. I interned there for 2 summers while I was at Emory and during the school year I worked in the stock room at the Coach store in Lenox mall. I worked there until Feb 2016. I ended up leaving for a managerial position and better pay at Vince. I started dating my beautiful wife in Jan 2010 and life hasn't been the same since. We've travelled all over the world from Europe (Paris, Barcelona, Rome) to Cancun, Mexico to Jamaica to Costa Rica (for our honeymoon).
I've learned a lot about myself since I left Emory. I actually dabbled in network marketing for a few years. Although it wasn't for me, it helped me focus more on myself and what I needed to do to become a better son, husband, and eventually father. I began reading lots of personal development books and going to seminars by motivational leaders like Eric Thomas and John Maxwell. It was definitely life changing.
Q: What were the primary factors in you choosing Emory as your college?
FL: Hahaha this feels like what we had to answer for our athlete profiles. I chose Emory for the...LOL. No, but after leaving Hampton University my freshman year, I needed to go to a school where I would be academically challenged. Emory offered that along with great weather and athletics. It was an easy choice. I really didn't even consider my major as a reason to choose Emory because I didn't think there would be much of a difference if I studied Computer Science at Emory vs any other great school.
Q: What are some of your reflections upon your time at Emory, both as a member of the track team and as a student?
FL: I remember it being extremely difficult at times trying to balance life as a student- athlete with work study jobs and an actual job. It got to the point where my mom decided to help me pay my bills so that I could focus on my academics and track only. Once that happened, things got a little more manageable. I remember wondering how some people were able to study and do homework while we were at track meets. I could never focus on anything but track when we were at the meets. I'm very competitive so I was always laser focused on the task at hand when we were at meets.
I always lived off campus but I never felt like I missed anything because I was on campus a lot. I spent a lot of time on the track, in the training room, and in the DUC.
Q: Who were some Influential people during your time at Emory?
FL: The most influential person for me during my time at Emory had to be my first track coach Kenneth Cox. He's like a big brother to me. I actually still talk to him. He is the reason why I was so serious about track. I still remember the first time I met him. I asked him if he would be able to get me in shape enough to run a 48 second 400m. The crazy thing about that is I had been away from track for 3 years, so it was really a joke. But with his guidance I was able to run a 48 second 400m in less than 3 months. When he left after my junior year, I was crushed. I almost quit.
Which brings me to my second most influential person: my roommate Mark Rollins. I remember calling him after Coach Cox left and he basically talked me off a ledge. He told me that I would be doing myself a disservice if I quit because I had the talent to do something special my senior year. I guess he is a psychic lol because he saw it way before I did.
I can't forget Coach Curtin, who made me write down my goals for my senior season and had me constantly look at it every time I was in his office. That was very helpful because it pushed me to work harder to get everything on the list completed. There were so many things on that list though -- lol. It was an entire page worth of goals both academic and athletic. He also helped me find another loan when I didn't think I would be able to attend Emory my senior year.
Q: At the 2008 NCAA Outdoor Championships, you scored 23 points and helped Emory to a 7th-place finish, still the program's best-ever showing ... You set a school record in the 200 meters, posted the 2nd fastest time in school history in the 400 meters and set a school record in the 4x400 relay, earning All-America honors in the process -- what do you recall from that meet?
FL: That was the first meet where I wasn't nervous at all. I have no idea why I wasn't nervous, -- guess I was just ready to go. I remember almost crying when we didn't get All-America honors for the 4x100 because I wanted to make sure that every athlete who went to the meet left with a plaque and would get a picture up with the rest of the All-Americans in the school's history. There's a lot that I remember about that meet. I remember feeling disappointed when I didn't break the 400m record and coming in 2nd place in that race. The 400m record was the ONLY record that I actually wanted to break. Instead I broke countless others...sigh. I remember barely making it into the finals of the 4x4. I told the team that they better not let us into the finals because if they do, we're going to do something special. We BARELY made it and ended up finishing 5th after I ran a 45 second split. I only remember that because I can still see the look on Coach Curtin's face when I walked over to the sidelines. His eyes lit up and he said, "DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU JUST RAN?!" Of course I had no idea and that's when he told me. That was a great meet.
Q: What are some other Highlights that you remember while competing at Emory?
FL: - Ending every practice with the same phrase "One step closer to greatness"
- Stopping at Wendy's on the way back from meets
- Having to leave like four hours early to catch our flights because of all the equipment we had
- Me always being scared that a D1 athlete would leave me in the dust when I ran against them
- Almost running off the track at my first indoor meet at Baldwin Wallace my junior year
- Jim LePorte telling me that I was going to dominate during my first practice with the team because he looked up how I did in high school
- Telling people when I was going to break school records. That was always fun because nobody really believed me when I first told them
- First time I qualified for Nationals at the first Outdoor meet my junior year with my best friend Taos Wynn watching.
- My mom surprising me at my first Indoor Nationals and at Outdoor UAAs my senior year
- Hearing that I broke the 200m record at Outdoor UAAs my senior year which I thought was impossible. I actually jumped up in excitement because I couldn't believe it.
Q: You were out of the sport of track for a couple of years before coming back to it when you arrived at Emory. What were the deciding factors in your decision to return and did you ever think that you would have the impact on the program that you did?
FL: Well, I started out at Oxford College and I remember one day looking at the times that were being run at the meets and in the conference. I was shocked because I was running faster times in high school. I told myself that when I got to the main campus that I would run track. The funny thing is I asked my grandfather if I should run track or play basketball. He laughed and said, "Of course basketball. In track, you do all that practicing for 60 seconds." LOL. I love basketball more than any other sport but I was always concerned with playing time. With track, I knew I didn't have to worry about that. I was confident that I could do well within the conference, but I had no idea how well I would do in the Division III. That definitely took me by surprise.
Q: How did you mentally prepare yourself before major competitions? Did you have the same routines at various meets, whether you were running individually or part of a relay?
FL: I always had a set playlist on my Ipod that I listened to while I warmed up. On the way to each meet, if we drove there, I always sat in the same seat and watched stand-up comedy from Eddie Murphy or Dave Chapelle on the way to where we were going. Laughing on the ride always had to happen. Then when we got to the meet, it was all fun and games until it was time to warm up. Then I got serious. My playlist was equivalent to a gym workout playlist. It gave me that extra boost of confidence and a little bit of cockiness going into my races. My #1 song I played was "Born to Win" by Papoose (He's a rapper). The routine was always the same no matter what. I also created a handshake for all the guys on the relays. We had to do the handshake before each relay race. It was our way of bonding and telling one another that we're ready to go.
Q: How you are surviving the pandemic and how has it affected you?
FL: The pandemic has been a gift and a curse. It's been a gift because I have been able to watch my daughter grow up throughout her first year. I didn't miss any of her milestones at all. For that I am eternally grateful. However, at work, my entire team was furloughed leaving me with tons of work to do. I support our LA, NY, and Paris offices. I also support the retail stores. What makes it more challenging is that we acquired two more companies, Rebecca Taylor and Parker, so I support them as well. It's been tough because work can start as early as 4am and can last as late as 1am. Creating boundaries has been very important for me during this time.
Q: Any interests/hobbies or things you do to relax when away from work?
FL: I just enjoy laughing. Cracking jokes and playing games with my family and friends is everything to me. Playing with my daughter has been awesome too. I also started doing Zoom calls with my family every week. It's good to check in on everyone and see how they are doing.
Q Any former teammates that you are in contact with?
FL: Yes indeed. I still talk to Jim and Melanie Leporte, Alex Greenhouse, Chike Brennan, Alicia Reynolds, Mark Rollins, and Jason Campbell. I try to stay in contact with them as much as possible.
Q: Are you able to keep up with Emory track and field?
FL: I still look at it a little but since Coach Curtin left, my participation hasn't been the same. If I see someone doing really well and breaking records, I normally reach out to them to give them some words of encouragement. If they are ever running in NY, I ALWAYS go and watch them.
Q: Is there anything that you take from being a student-athlete into your profession?FL: Organization. Being able to balance work/family is the same as trying to balance academics/athletics to me. Time is precious and we don't have as much time we want, so we have to make the most of it while we are still breathing.
Q: Any advice you would give Emory students/future grads?
FL: Always remember you are not competing with anyone else but the person you were yesterday. Continue to work on yourself. Focus on getting better. Do not worry about what other people are doing because then you are taking your eyes off the prize. You'll be so surprised at how far you can go if you focus more on what YOU can do better rather than what OTHERS can do better.
Q: Any other items you would want to add?
FL: My lovely wife, Araina Linton, and daughter, Makayla Jade Linton (born Aug 4, 2019).
Last thing is I still remember what the last item was on my Goal Sheet that I gave Coach Curtin: Make the Emory Sports Hall of Fame. Hopefully that's still in the cards for me one day.
Freddie with his wife, Araina, and daughter, Makayla Jade.