NEW HAVEN, CONN. – At this year's end-of-year track and field banquet honoring the athletes' accomplishments from the season, the Yale women's track and field team elected Erin Gerardo to lead the team in 2020-2021.
Though this year's banquet was held via Zoom, it was nevertheless a special evening. As is tradition, the Bulldogs voted prior to the Banquet to elect next year's captain, this year via electronic ballot. Pole vaulter and California native Gerardo was selected by her teammates to lead the group for the indoor and outdoor seasons of 2020-2021.
Gerardo has been the sole female pole vaulter for Yale for several years. Without a formal training partner this year, Gerardo demonstrated a work ethic and passion that did not go unnoticed by her teammates. Fresh off her most successful season as a Bulldog, Gerardo will look to better her fourth-place finish from the 2020 Ivy League Indoor Track and Field Championship and continue her attempts at the school record height next year.
Mark T. Young '68 Director of Track and Field David Shoehalter is looking forward to working with Gerardo for the coming year, explaining that "she is going to provide tremendous leadership for our indoor and outdoor teams."
He sees Gerardo as a force for good for the entire track program.
"Throughout her time here at Yale, she has set a positive example for all of her teammates," said Shoehalter. "I am confident that along with the rest of her class of 2021 teammates, our team culture of excellence, accountability and gratitude will continue in 2020-2021."
Not only is Gerardo a force for good on the team, she is also a Community Consent Educator (CCE) on campus. CCEs work to foster a positive social and sexual climate on campus. Being selected as a CCE is an honor. Gerardo embodies the CCE spirit, working hard to effect community change through workshops, interventions and numerous other initiatives at Yale.
The 2019-20 captain, Natasha Feshbach '20, sees Gerardo's work as a CCE as a good indicator of her desire to continue to build camaraderie and excellence on the team.
"Her hard work and care for the community extend far beyond just our team, and her work as a CCE attests to her passion for positive culture and values," said Feshbach, who is confident that the team will flourish under Gerardo's leadership.
It is without question that Feshbach's leadership for the 2019-2020 season was crucial in building the momentum that propelled the team to its best finish at the Ivy League Heptagonal Indoor Track and Field Championship in several years.
Gerardo was a key player in the team's improvement. She noted that "We grew so much this past year in camaraderie, spirit and confidence" but that there is still "a lot of unfinished business."
Although the year was cut short by the COVID-19 outbreak, Gerardo sees the cancellation of the outdoor season as a potential catalyst for even more future success, explaining that "we all have a newfound respect for what it means to rep the Y."
Gerardo looks ahead with confidence in the team's ability to build on its momentum from 2019-2020, adding that "everyone is going to come back with new energy, fire and drive to build next year's team."
She is ready for the challenges that come with leading such a large group, citing a desire to facilitate this new and amplified drive for excellence. She wants to help "each woman on this team develop their strengths, and compete with ferocity."
Gerardo's unwavering commitment to the program and understanding of what it takes to build a strong community will compel her to continue growing Yale Track and Field's success for what will be an exciting upcoming year. She is grateful for the opportunity to be at the helm of this momentum.
"I am so incredibly honored and excited about being elected captain. The team is like my family and has shaped my entire Yale experience in the most positive ways," she explained. "It means more to me than I can even express that I have been chosen to lead the team to do the same for others."
Gerardo is an ecology and evolutionary biology major and a member of Timothy Dwight College.
