The Collegian popped into Ahearn Field House where the K-State volleyball team has been getting re-acclimated to the non-air-conditioned confines during summer workouts. We sat down with junior middle blocker Katie Reininger to get a look at the Colorado native’s life off the court.
Q: What is your favorite place to eat at in Manhattan?
Reininger: I don’t know if this is my favorite restaurant, but I visit it way too much … I like to eat at McAlisters. I always get the same things when I go there, and the people there know me very well.
Q: In honor of the new movie “Jurassic World,” what is your favorite dinosaur and why?
Reininger: I would have to go with a velociraptor, because they’re very fast and – I think – more scary than a T. rex because they can come at you at very fast speeds and eat you up.
Q: What is the last movie you saw?
Reininger: I’m kind of in the middle of a movie – I’ve paused it a lot because I’ve been busy – but I’ve been watching “The Hunt for Red October” right now, so that’s kind of a classic. And I watched the beginning of “The Godfather,” so I need to finish those two.
Q: What is your favorite TV character and why?
Reininger: Well, as a child growing up I always enjoyed SpongeBob Squarepants, so he’s probably my favorite TV character. I still refer to him on a daily basis.
Q: Who would you say is your hero?
Reininger: I’d have to say my parents, but especially my dad. He was basically an Olympic athlete; he rowed for the national team, then he had cancer (and) survived cancer, but unfortunately was no longer able to be on the team. He’s my biggest hero for the sacrifices he’s made for myself and my family, and his life advice and his motto for how he goes about doing things that I’m currently doing right now.
Q: Favorite sport aside from volleyball?
Reininger: I really like rugby – which sounds weird – and also my boyfriend runs for K-State, so I’m starting to get into the whole track and field thing and I really like it.
Q: Favorite non-sports hobby?
Reininger: Recently, I’ve gotten in the habit of going out and exploring. Kansas is actually more interesting than a lot of people say it is. It’s not flat, there’s so many hills. So I’ve gone out and taken drives, I caught some fireflies the other day so that was fun and I found a turtle on the road so I really like exploring.
Q: Do you have a gameday schedule and, if so, what is it?
Reininger: It’s a pretty set schedule. We wake up, we eat breakfast, we lounge around the hotel or around K-State. The we have around an hour warm-up stuff and then after that we eat as a team and then we usually decorate the (mini volleyballs) that we throw out (during pre-game). And finally right before the game, around 30 minutes before we need to be out there, we play music in the locker room and dance which is kind of our pre-game ritual.
Q: What does the future hold for Katie Reininger?
Reininger: I think the future is very bright, because as an athlete for K-State we have many opportunities after college. I have no idea what I’m going to do yet. Kansas has grown on me so I might stay here, I don’t know if I’ll go back to Colorado. I really want to write and illustrate my own children’s book so that’s a long-term goal.
