Scholar Stories: Economics Gives Hartman Perspective on Track, Possibilities off Oval
3/31/2021 10:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field, Features
Continuing the series that began in 2016-17, each Wednesday MGoBlue.com will highlight a Michigan student-athlete and their academic pursuits. These are our Scholar-Athlete Stories, presented by Absopure.
By Kyle Terwillegar
In a sport like track and field that demands peak performance right on the outer limits of what the human body is capable of, the 400-meter distance is a particularly challenging endeavor. The necessary combination of speed, endurance and strength -- of both the physical and mental varieties -- is best explained by Vail Hartman in the language of his chosen field of study at Michigan, economics.
"Basically the 400 is all about energy conservation," said Hartman, a senior from Okemos, Mich. "If you sprint when you get to 100 meters in, then you're not going to be able to sprint all of the remaining 300 meters, but if you don't start sprinting all-out at the 100 meters mark then you will be able to save enough to sprint hard the last hundred meters. You'll learn how to balance the opportunity cost of certain race strategies that match your physical strength at that time."
That 400-meter strategy of energy conservation Hartman described is a microcosm of economics' broad definition as the study of how society allocates scarce resources.
But it is the 4x400-meter relay that brings out the best in Hartman.
Those metaphorical resources seemingly become less scarce for Hartman when he switches from the individual 400-meter event to his role as the anchor leg of the relay, entirely changing the calculus with which he approaches the distance.
"There's something special about running for your teammates," he said, "and you just feel like you can never let them down. The energy in the 4x400 is always crazy because it's the last event, everyone's watching it, it's always loud, and people are lined up around the track. You can just feel the energy and it's just fun."
That was on full display during the 2019 outdoor postseason as Hartman helped lead the Wolverines to an unlikely second team All-America finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Entering the NCAA East Preliminaries as the second-to-last seed and running without two of the runners who helped post the qualifying time -- All-American Taylor McLaughlin and eventual NCAA Championships qualifier Roland Amarteifio -- expectations were low for Hartman and teammates Desmond Melson, Ian Davis and Alex Schwedt.
With a berth to the NCAA Championships on the line, Hartman stepped onto the track on a hot, humid night in Jacksonville, Fla., as the anchor leg for the first time in his college career. He got the baton from teammate Schwedt in fifth, just .12 seconds ahead of Mississippi State. Halfway through his lap, the Bulldogs' Cameron Crump started to overtake him.
Neither man knew it at the time, but only one ticket to nationals would come out of this footrace. That's when Hartman heard athletic trainer Christina Fanning yell out encouragement that helped him rally.
"I could hear her voice out of everyone right there when he passed me and I was like, 'I'm not letting this dude get away from me,'" he said.
Sticking with Crump all the way to the line in a finishing kick he described as the hardest he has ever pushed in his life, he leaned at the line in a textbook photo finish. When the official review was complete, Hartman had edged out Crump by .005 seconds. Michigan was going to nationals.
They recaptured the magic two weeks later in Austin, Texas, at the NCAA Championships, finishing 14th for second team All-America honors, again after entering as the 23rd seed among 24 qualifiers.
"I'm anchoring against people who are on full-ride scholarships and we didn't even have one scholarship between all of us combined," Hartman said. "We were racing people who are elite athletes and we literally had three walk-ons on our 4x400 team at nationals. That just built confidence and we just had a new perspective going into the next season. Literally anything is possible. Anything can happen on the day, you're capable of more than ever thought you were, and your mind is your biggest limit."
The feeling of being an underdog has at times extended beyond the track during Hartman's time at Michigan, particularly early on in his career as an undergraduate. He picked Michigan for the challenge of succeeding at a world-renowned institution that, in his words, "balances high academic standards, a prestigious athletic program and a rich social life," but it was precisely those pressures that led to self-doubt.
"I thought that everyone here was smarter than me, and I had no confidence in the classroom," he said. "I was so scared to participate."
Stemming from insecurities and perceptions surrounding his identities as a Black man and as a student-athlete, he developed a case of "impostor syndrome" in his first semesters in Ann Arbor, despite twice earning Academic All-State honors in high school.
"People always think that I'm a basketball player, it's the first thing they ask me," he said. "It's never about my studies or profession, it's just like, 'You're a tall black guy, so you have to be a basketball player,' every single time. I feel like I'm looked at as though I got into Michigan only because I'm an athlete or because I'm black and had to fill a racial quota or something."
But success begot success in the classroom, and over time, he has grown much more confident in his own merits as he studied economics in the College of Literature, Science and the Arts, with a minor on the Cappo Sales Track in the Ross School of Business.
"I want to understand how the world works, and I want to understand human behavior and why people make decisions," he said. "Economics provides a model that simplifies those very complex problems, and I thought it was the perfect way to give me an overview of the world and how everything works. It's a very versatile major, so I'm positioned to do pretty much anything in business with it."
Just as valuable as his coursework in his journey in Ann Arbor has been the Michigan Athletics Career Center (MACC), which has provided countless opportunities for Hartman to hone his skills and knowledge ranging from seminars to assistance securing internships.
"My experiences with MACC are the fundamental reason for my success in the processional world to this point," Hartman said. "I wouldn't have my current internship right now if I wasn't working with Maurice Washington and Julie Fielding all along. They have always gone the extra mile for me, they always believed in me.
"I also want other student-athletes to see what is possible when you buy into what they're preaching at the Career Center. You can do some little things now that can completely change the trajectory of your life."
Through the MACC, he has secured valuable experiences interning with Northwestern Mutual and University of Michigan Credit Union, and has an upcoming opportunity with Bank of Montreal Capital Markets in New York City with teammate Ayden Owens.
Still, while Hartman has successfully overcome the limits he placed on himself in his own mind early on and personally thrived academically, athletically and professionally as a result, he still routinely faces the very real external challenges posed by structural racism and implicit bias within his field of choice and the world at large.
The events of 2020 and into 2021 -- both the global pandemic and the mass protests for social and racial justice -- have further laid bare to Hartman the inequities inherent in American life against him and other people of color.
"I remember I was doing my virtual internship when the protests started and it was so hard for me to focus on what was going on because the whole day I just wanted to be on my phone getting updates on Twitter in real-time," he said. "It was very emotionally taxing, and I didn't even feel like doing the work for my internship because I had to know everything that was happening, because there was so much going on."
He and his sisters decided to make their voices heard and went to at least three different Black Lives Matter protests around the state, including Lansing, Ann Arbor and Detroit.
Hartman acknowledges that the financial sector where he has interned is "dominated by white males," and he hopes to be part of the generation -- ideally as an entrepreneur at the head of a small business -- that changes that reality to be more inclusive and diverse.
"If I end up being an entrepreneur, it all comes down to creating the right culture and having diversity and inclusion initiatives," he said. "And while I'm working for someone else, it'll just inspire me to pave the way for other people of color who are coming behind me. As I continue to break into places where there's not a lot of people like me, I have to understand that there's going to be a spotlight on me. I need to have a sense of urgency and understand that it's critical every day for me to come in and do my best because it's going to reflect on other people who look like me and decide whether or not people behind me are going to get an opportunity."
If Hartman and the millions of people who have protested spark lasting change for social justice in America, then he hopes to be part of the last generation that needs to approach career advancement with that mentality.
In the meantime, there is work to do and Hartman is ready to do it in the same way he has achieved success on the track: together as a team.
"I think this year, people have gotten a greater understanding of how the government operates and people have a more expanded vocabulary around these issues," he said. "They understand the importance of participation and more people are acknowledging their ignorance, acknowledging their privilege and understanding that they can and should do more. This is a social issue that has the potential to change the way people think."
Players Mentioned
