How many state titles did you win in GA (what event and years) and other honors you earned.
I actually never won a state title in high school. I was a six-time individual and two-time team state runner-up though! My last high school race I even got a state meet record and still got second. However, I did qualify for Footlocker nationals my senior year (2015), have several top ten all-time times, and was part of the state record 4x1600m team.
Foot Locker South (photo by Dan McCauley)
Where did you run at in college and how did you fare there?
I ran for Furman University for four years. During that time, I earned two cross country All Americans, an outdoor track Second Team All-American, and five conference championships. I was also a part of three national qualifying cross country teams, including 7th and 9th place teams. Additionally, I ran a 15:45 5k, a 9:11 3k, a 4:18 1500, and a school-record 33:35 10k, .
Tell us about journey from post graduation to where you are now in life.
I'm still working on the graduating part (three more weeks!), but I will be attending Princeton University in the fall to pursue a Ph.D. in chemistry. Furman gave me some great research opportunities while I was there, which allowed me to get the experience I needed to figure out my next steps. I am super excited to see where the next chapter leads me. I am also hoping to keep the running and racing going as much as possible, but I haven't fully figured out what that looks like for me yet.
How has COVID-19 affected your daily life?
Well, I am finishing college at home and my senior track season has been cancelled. I miss my friends and my team a heck of a lot. It's strange because you expect to kind of know when you are having your last workout with your college teammates, your last day going to class on campus, and your last meet. I didn't know that I was experiencing any of that when I was experience it. I am grateful, though, that all of those experiences were pretty positive for me, and I think that says a lot about my college experience overall. It has made me very grateful for the almost four years and eleven seasons I got to experience at Furman.
Anyone you'd like to thank along the way?
I would like to thank my parents, first and foremost, for turning my college meets into vacations (including a wedding anniversary or two in Ames, Iowa) and supporting me every step of the way. I would also like to thank my coaches, especially Coach Rita and the rest of the coaching staff at Furman, for giving me opportunities, pushing me, and believing in me. To all the teammates I've had over the years, thank you for making running such a fun experience. To my Furman senior gals, I know this didn't end exactly the way we imagined, but thank you for the crazy, amazing ride of the past four years! Wouldn't have wanted to do this with anyone else.
