FARMINGDALE, N.Y. | In celebration of NCAA Division III Week (April 7-13), the Farmingdale State College athletics department will be highlighting the experiences, perspectives and passion of our student-athletes.
Division III Week is a positive opportunity for all individuals associated with Division III to observe and celebrate the impact of athletics and of student-athletes on the campus and surrounding community.
In order to highlight the diverse array of student-athletes who proudly represent Farmingdale State athletics, we will feature a selection of individuals throughout the week. You will get to know them better as they share their responses to five questions about what it means to be a Division III athlete at FSC.
Our next student-athlete spotlight is senior men's track and field sprinter,
Dontay Taylor (Layou, St. Vincent and the Grenadines).
Dontay is in his second year with the Rams, after transferring to Farmingdale State from Kingsborough Community College. He was born Barbados and grew up in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, before moving with his family later in life to Brooklyn. Last spring, he helped the men's outdoor track and field team to its first Skyline Conference championship since 2019, winning gold medals in both the 100 and 200-meter dashes. An Aviation Administration major, Dontay works a host of home events for the Department of Athletics at Farmingdale State College, and is a fixture around Nold Hall and the athletic fields.
Q&A
What has made your Division III student-athlete experience so great/special?
My Division III student-athlete experience has been wonderful! The reason for this is the friendly and encouraging atmosphere that I have been exposed to. The environment here at Division III wants to see the best for you. They have helped me not only on the track but academically as well. Coming off my Indoor season, I not only achieved medals at a conference championship and gained personal best across my events, I also gained a 4.0 GPA for the 2024 Fall semester. This led me to make the President's List for academic achievement.
What's your favorite Division III memory at Farmingdale State?
My favorite Division III memory at Farmingdale State is winning the Skyline Championship. To be part of a family that worked so hard to win the Conference Championship was truly amazing. It was the Farmingdale Men's Track and Field first championship since 2019 (and third championship in Farmingdale history). To add the cherry on top, I won gold medals in the 100m and 200m and ran my best times ever. Specifically, running a 10.99 in 100m was one of the proudest moments in my track and field career.
Give an example of a moment when you felt like a leader within your team; explain what led to that moment, and how you executed your leadership traits.
A moment when I felt like a leader within my team was when I led practice. I enjoy opportunities to help drive my teammates to execute workouts to the best of their abilities. For example, I led one of our recent practices. We had block starts on the curve and I wanted to make the workout as much fun and motivated as possible. I made a challenge that if the person behind you passes you that you will have to do push-ups. This made them run harder and still have fun. Everyone was laughing and enjoying themselves while still executing the workout. I received good feedback from my peers about the workout as well. Being able to help my teammates with any problems they have is a leadership trait that I treasure.
Division III affords student-athletes the opportunity to balance many initiatives at once (e.g., academics, athletics, job/family, etc.). How has this balance allowed you to be successful both at FSC and in life during your time here.
Being a Division III athlete has taught me how to be more flexible with my time, balancing schoolwork, practice, and other extracurricular activities. One of the advantages of Division III athletics is the ability to focus on personal goals and lifestyle while still being actively involved in a sports team. I really appreciate the routine I've developed, starting my day with an early workout, attending classes, and then going to practice or a match. On days when I don't have classes, I use the time to work before practice or spend it with friends. Having a set schedule that I've created for myself keeps me motivated and organized. If I were in a different division, I likely wouldn't be able to balance everything as seamlessly, and would probably need to focus more on either school or the sport.
