The Ashland University Track and Field team is led by senior captain and sprinter/hurdler DJ Duncan.  

Duncan has been recognized for his success on the track by qualifying for the NCAA Division II indoor and outdoor championships in the 110-meter hurdles and the 60-meter hurdles. He was also selected to the USTFCCCA All-Region team for indoor and outdoor seasons in each of the last two years.  

Duncan finds he is physically ready to take on the races, but he accredits his growth, mentally, to be better prepared for his races. 

“Surprisingly, as you get older, you realize it’s not so much the physical aspect [during the offseason]” said Duncan. “A lot of the offseason prep comes with a lot of mental preparation, it’s a lot of being able to visualize the race.” 

Duncan still gives his all during practice and during workouts to continue to get better physically but he is also trying to improve his mentality to be more in tune with the track and the hurdles. There was a time when Duncan wasn’t where he wanted to be mentally, and it would show during his races. He would outwardly show when he was upset that he had a bad run or if he knew he could’ve done better.  

When referring to what kind of changes he’s seen since his freshman year, Duncan says, “The biggest change I’ve seen is like, a lot of the emotion that I’ve been able to put behind my hurdling.”  

Since coming to Ashland as a freshman, he has been able to transfer that emotion into something positive and use it towards what he does best. Instead of physically being upset with himself and getting frustrated, he now channels that energy and puts it into the hurdles or the sprints. Although, he hasn’t been alone when trying to achieve this “mental fortitude”.  

Logan Sharpe has been the sprinters and hurdlers coach for three years now and has been helping Duncan since his sophomore year. Duncan speaks very highly about Coach Sharpe and how he has gotten him on track to be mentally prepared for practices, workouts, races, and just life in general. 

“The biggest thing he’s been able to do is calm me down,” says Duncan, “and help me play to my strengths.” 

When Sharpe first arrived in 2022, he could tell Duncan was hungry and wanted to be the best at what he did. Duncan was only a sophomore and had a bright future, but Sharpe wanted to unlock him as a beast on the track. 

Sharpe described it as, “a lot of what he needed was to be able to have somebody that was willing to focus with him and be able to guide him through it.” 

Sharpe wanted to be that guy that could guide Duncan to greatness and achieve the goals that he wanted to achieve. Duncan’s goals for this season are to win national’s in as many events as he can but especially in his 60-meter and 110-meter hurdles. He also wants to take this sport beyond college and see how far he can get after his time is finished with Ashland. He is even trying to work toward becoming an Olympian. 

DJ Duncan has an incredible opportunity during his senior season to capture all that he has ever wanted in track and is going to lean on the coaching of Sharpe and everything he’s learned along the way both mentally and physically. Duncan doesn’t just want to do well; he wants to be the best there ever was. 

Duncan describes it by saying, “I want to compete; I want to be the best.”