BROCKTON- For track and field athletes, a good performance in an event can be rewarded with a trophy, a ribbon, and cheers and praise from teammates and family members.
At Cardinal Spellman, athletes are rewarded with cupcakes and chocolate chip cookies from hurdler Dylan Priest.
Priest, a junior who won the Division 5 state championship in the 400 meter hurdles last spring, has tried his hand in the art of baking over the last six months. Starting with the indoor season, he began sharing his creations with his teammates, occasionally baking for some practices and for most meets.
It’s also become common for Priest to add some extra motivation with a reward for running personal bests, breaking records, or any other feats. He’ll often challenge teammates with a goal in their event and if they hit it, they’ll earn one of his homemade treats.
And leave it to his teammates to hit him with a list of baking puns.
“Dylan’s baking just brings so much joy to this track team,” said senior hurdler Lydiah Donahue-Wilfred. “I think he just really sweetens up the environment.”
There wasn’t much to Priest taking up the hobby, just a general interest when his family would bake cookies. All he knew was that he enjoyed them, and wanted to start making them himself.
“A lot of my lineage is French. I think some of my grandparents were heavy into baking so maybe some inspiration from there,” Priest said.
On average, he bakes about twice a week. Each time, he says he tries to learn something, whether it’s making something different or tweaking a recipe for better results.
His forte right now is cupcakes and cookies, but Priest has also made cakes, pastries, breads and croissants.
Head track and field coach Jordan Williams said his favorite dessert of Priest’s is his fudge brownie, especially when Priest is trying to sweeten the deal to let him have an easier practice.
“It’s amazing. When we’re in a practice, he’ll come in and be like, ‘Here’s some cookies’ and I’m like, ‘You know, you can go have an easy practice today,'” Williams joked. “He definitely knows how to get around with me with his baking.”
While his baking has impressed both his teammates and coaches, his performance on the track draws even more praise.
“No matter what he goes through he just battles through, bakes his way through,” Williams said smiling.
Priest grew up playing hockey and soccer, and started running track when he became a freshman at Spellman. Prior to joining the team in high school, he had little knowledge of the sport.
“Up until high school, I did not even know track was a sport,” Priest said with a smile. “I thought it was more of an intramural thing. Then I got into it, made it through the first week and kind of just stuck with it.”
That ended up being a good choice from Priest as he quickly developed into a contender in the hurdling events. In his first outdoor season, Priest qualified for the Division 5 state meet in the 400 hurdles.
At that point, Priest had a goal of shaving a half second off of his personal best, which would give him a shot to compete at freshman nationals. Still new to the sport, Priest experienced how the mental side of the sport can change a race.
“I kind of just ran my race incorrectly and let it get to my head instead of just running hard like I should have,” Priest said.
A year later, he entered his state championship race, still holding on to some regrets from the prior spring. He went in expecting the same outcome, but was pleased to come out with a much better result as he became the Division 5 state champion in the 400m hurdles.
This past indoor season, Priest again had a hiccup in the first race when he fell in the 55m hurdles. But learning from his past experiences, he bounced back to qualify for states, and win every race leading up to the Catholic Central League meet, where he also claimed the 55m hurdle crown.
Now, as the weather heats up, so does Priest in his defense of the 400m hurdle state title.
This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Cardinal Spellman track’s Dylan Priest is both a hurdler and baker
BROCKTON- For track and field athletes, a good performance in an event can be rewarded with a trophy, a ribbon, and cheers and praise from teammates and family members.
At Cardinal Spellman, athletes are rewarded with cupcakes and chocolate chip cookies from hurdler Dylan Priest.
Priest, a junior who won the Division 5 state championship in the 400 meter hurdles last spring, has tried his hand in the art of baking over the last six months. Starting with the indoor season, he began sharing his creations with his teammates, occasionally baking for some practices and for most meets.
It’s also become common for Priest to add some extra motivation with a reward for running personal bests, breaking records, or any other feats. He’ll often challenge teammates with a goal in their event and if they hit it, they’ll earn one of his homemade treats.
And leave it to his teammates to hit him with a list of baking puns.
“Dylan’s baking just brings so much joy to this track team,” said senior hurdler Lydiah Donahue-Wilfred. “I think he just really sweetens up the environment.”
There wasn’t much to Priest taking up the hobby, just a general interest when his family would bake cookies. All he knew was that he enjoyed them, and wanted to start making them himself.
“A lot of my lineage is French. I think some of my grandparents were heavy into baking so maybe some inspiration from there,” Priest said.
On average, he bakes about twice a week. Each time, he says he tries to learn something, whether it’s making something different or tweaking a recipe for better results.
His forte right now is cupcakes and cookies, but Priest has also made cakes, pastries, breads and croissants.
Head track and field coach Jordan Williams said his favorite dessert of Priest’s is his fudge brownie, especially when Priest is trying to sweeten the deal to let him have an easier practice.
“It’s amazing. When we’re in a practice, he’ll come in and be like, ‘Here’s some cookies’ and I’m like, ‘You know, you can go have an easy practice today,'” Williams joked. “He definitely knows how to get around with me with his baking.”
While his baking has impressed both his teammates and coaches, his performance on the track draws even more praise.
“No matter what he goes through he just battles through, bakes his way through,” Williams said smiling.
Priest grew up playing hockey and soccer, and started running track when he became a freshman at Spellman. Prior to joining the team in high school, he had little knowledge of the sport.
“Up until high school, I did not even know track was a sport,” Priest said with a smile. “I thought it was more of an intramural thing. Then I got into it, made it through the first week and kind of just stuck with it.”
That ended up being a good choice from Priest as he quickly developed into a contender in the hurdling events. In his first outdoor season, Priest qualified for the Division 5 state meet in the 400 hurdles.
At that point, Priest had a goal of shaving a half second off of his personal best, which would give him a shot to compete at freshman nationals. Still new to the sport, Priest experienced how the mental side of the sport can change a race.
“I kind of just ran my race incorrectly and let it get to my head instead of just running hard like I should have,” Priest said.
A year later, he entered his state championship race, still holding on to some regrets from the prior spring. He went in expecting the same outcome, but was pleased to come out with a much better result as he became the Division 5 state champion in the 400m hurdles.
This past indoor season, Priest again had a hiccup in the first race when he fell in the 55m hurdles. But learning from his past experiences, he bounced back to qualify for states, and win every race leading up to the Catholic Central League meet, where he also claimed the 55m hurdle crown.
Now, as the weather heats up, so does Priest in his defense of the 400m hurdle state title.
This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Cardinal Spellman track’s Dylan Priest is both a hurdler and baker
