ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The National Christian College Athletic Association's news release for the 2018 Wheeler Award, which was established in order to enhance excellence in Christian track and field competition and to perpetuate the Christian philosophy and faith as exemplified through Christ-like track and field participation in NCCAA member institutions, stated that Chelsea Hayward "will be considered, to this point, the best sprinter ever to take the track for Roberts Wesleyan College."
Many things have changed in the past eight years, including the names of both Hayward, who is now Chelsea Hayward Rodger, and Roberts Wesleyan College, which is now Roberts Wesleyan University, but one thing remains true: Rodger is still the gold standard for sprinters in the history of the Redhawks' women's track and field program.
Rodger, a native of Litchfield, Conn., owns seven individual program records – four indoor (60-meter dash, 200, 300 and 400) and three outdoor (100, 200 and 400). A five time All-America – twice in the indoor 200, twice in the outdoor 200 and once in the outdoor 100 - she finished second in NCAA Division II in the 200, both indoor and outdoor, as a senior in 2018.
Rodger, who now works as a part-time care nurse, married Roberts alum Thomas Rodger '16, a former distance runner for the Redhawks on April 12, 2019 The couple lives in Spencerport with sons Carson, 5, and Derek 2.
Rodger took a few minutes to reflect on her time at Roberts and share what she is doing now. Responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
How did you get started in track and field?
"I started in middle school. All of my friends were doing it, so we just all signed up and we tried out. They would put what events we were doing on a piece of paper and that's kind of how it all started."
Did you enjoy immediate success?
"I feel like I was average. I was a very small kid growing up. I didn't have much muscle or anything yet at that age, so there were a lot of people that were faster than me at that time, especially for the shorter sprints like the 100. My coach was even kind of like, 'yeah, your time is good for middle school, but when you get into high school you may want to look into the longer events.' I ended up doing more like the 400 in middle school, but I liked the 200 and the 100. Over time I started taking it more seriously when I got to high school and then just getting stronger. I really did improve a lot every year from middle school to the end of college. I feel like every year I got better, which is not always the case for people. I feel like some people hit a wall and kind of stay where they are, they could be amazing and that's great, but I just kind of took longer to get there."
How did you first hear about Roberts?
"I wanted to be able to do both nursing and track through the four years, and my mom really wanted me to go to a smaller, Christian school that had a nursing program and Division II athletics. It's hard finding a college that has all of those things, but my mom was looking online and found Roberts. My mom really liked it and looking back I'm happy she found it and led me there."
You initially qualified for nationals as a sophomore and did not perform as well as you had hoped, how did you learn and grow from that experience?
"I had a big PR (personal record) to get there and I didn't even know if I could qualify, so getting there was a big accomplishment. … I tried my best, but I had a bad day and finished last. I feel like I just took it as a learning experience. When you're there and you see all the All-Americans, it felt like the time difference was far away from where I was. I took that summer and that's when I started lifting more weights - I feel like the summer prior, I probably didn't take the off-season stuff as seriously - so I was like, 'I'm going to take it more like I've got to be ready to go.' Even though I was winning locally, it showed me that there were people out there who were better than me at that time and it gave me that competitive edge that I think I needed. It wasn't just about who I'm racing against during the season, I needed to be chasing the times that you need to get to be an All-American. So, yeah, I just started working harder, I guess."
How did it feel when you became an All-American the next year?
"It felt really good. The year before I felt kind of embarrassed and sad that I didn't do that great, and being the person that I was, I just looked at those people and saw them holding the signs, and now I got to be that person. It was like, 'Oh, this is really cool.' It was definitely just really exciting and I was just happy that all the hard work did pay off. At every nationals I would have my best time and that's what I wanted. I just wanted my absolute best performance when I was there."
Which of your school records are you most proud of?
"Probably my outdoor 200 time (23.32 seconds in 2018), just because it's my best one when I look at nationally or when I compare it. It's just a good time. and I was happy about. I wish I could have broke that 23 barrier, but it's still a good time."
What was the Division II experience like for you?
"I really loved being Division II. I feel like I learned a lot from my older sister (Olivia) going through Division I, and just seeing how consuming it was. … In Division II, especially with Coach (Merl) McGinnis, it was a lot more like flexible with the schedule and things. He was willing to work with you and it was a smaller group. So it was like, 'Oh, I can't be at practice, I have clinical at this time, can I go at 10 a.m. because I have nothing going on?', and he would accommodate, and it would be not just for me, but for a lot of the other athletes. … He always would say that school comes first and that was really important to me. He said that before I even went to Roberts, which was obviously big for my parents and for me because ultimately I was there to get my degree."
How did you meet your husband?
"My freshman year we went in a van to Spire Academy (in Ohio) to train. It was a distance medley relay and I was asked to do the 400 portion of it and he was on the men's relay. I want to say it was just the four men and four women and we took a van a day early to get to the meet. I ended up sitting next to him and we talked like the whole ride to the track meet, which is probably a few hours. That just kind of started it all."
Have you been together ever since?
"Yeah, we just kept talking after that and the rest is history, I guess."
What advice would you give to future student-athletes that might help them be successful?
"Having a good routine is always important and I think it naturally comes when you're a student-athlete. You have your classes, you always have practice at roughly the same time and you have your teammates to eat dinner with. I think staying in a routine is helpful because going from high school to college you have a lot more freedom with your time and schedule in certain ways. It's a little more all over the place with classes and stuff, so finding a routine and balance between focusing on your academics and your athletics and getting sleep. If you can get sleep, that is also good."
As a Roberts alum, what makes you the most proud about your alma mater?
"I'm proud of the people that graduate from there, I feel like they're great people. They're all amazing, successful people, doing amazing things, at least the people I've seen in the community and that makes me proud. I know a lot of them my age are having families, so it's cool to stay connected with a lot of them. It's a very tight-knit community because it's smaller. I feel like it's easier to see people from Roberts when you are out and about, especially now because I'm going to preschool stuff and school stuff, and I feel like I connect with a lot of Roberts' moms and nurses."
What did being a Redhawk mean to you?
"Being a Redhawk is about representing the school and your team and wanting to make them proud."
