Joel Toppin ’18
Biology
Indoor and outdoor track and field, cross country

2017-18 honors: 2017 U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-Academic

After graduation: Chiropractic graduate program, Northwestern Health Sciences University

How were you able to do well in both academics and athletics?

It started with surrounding myself with people whose goals aligned with mine. Studying with the right people. Being a person on the team who instilled a successful culture.

Did your coaches emphasize doing well in the classroom and on the track?

Coach (Ryan) Chapman always says, ‘Everything you do affects everything you do.’ That simple statement really spoke to me. If you are doing well on the athletic field, but the classroom is suffering, that is going to catch up with you and limit what you are doing athletically or vice versa.

Did being at Wartburg help you excel in both?

Here we have pressure because we want to do well, but it is more for the love of the sport rather than the politics surrounding it. It’s a purer display of sports, in a way. And with my professors, I can easily get office meetings. I have had numerous professors help me through the tougher parts of my classes and helped me realize that there will be challenges in life, but you have to just keep pushing on.

What was the athletic highlight of your Wartburg career?

Helping revive the men’s cross country program and our streak of going to nationals as a team for three straight years. Then it’s being able to leave the program knowing there is a bright future ahead.

And academically?

It’s all so good. I guess it’s graduating knowing that I am really prepared for graduate school. I’ve talked to people who have graduated from Wartburg and are going into chiropractic and they have assured me that I am well-prepared for the next step.