It’s common for aspiring collegiate athletes to have dreams of hoisting an NCAA Champion trophy above their heads, of crossing that nationals finish line in first, and of taking home a title. However, that’s often as far as the dream goes. Going into college, a national title was the biggest goal I could fathom having, and it didn’t seem reasonable to have a goal beyond that. Why would I, when achieving it seemed nearly impossible and surely it would take all 4-5 years I had to get there?
So, when I won the steeplechase during my redshirt freshman season, it was a weird feeling. At first, I felt like I had achieved all my goals. Then, desire, expectations, and doubts immediately filled my head. How would I top this? What should I shoot for next? Will I be able to achieve bigger goals? Instead of basking in the moment of achieving my goal, I immediately jumped to how I could top it. In that moment, the goal of defending my title was born.
The next year, my build-up toward nationals felt very different. It wasn’t all new and groundbreaking; it was a mission, and I knew every single step. I had tunnel vision on my goal, and I fully expected myself to do whatever it took to achieve it. This made the season of title defense more nerve-wracking and high-stakes than my rookie season, but I also enjoyed the pressure of having something to lose. I worked with that pressure to motivate and inspire me to be my best and continually up my game. So when I stood on the line at nationals, I knew that I had done everything I could to set myself up for success. Watch the video below to see how the race played out.
