For sophomore distance runner Cory McGee, the 1,500-meter race is always the event she puts her heart into.
At the NCAA East Preliminary Round this past weekend, her effort paid off.
McGee secured a spot at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 1,500m for a second consecutive season with a time of 4:16.36.
In the preliminary 1,500m race, McGee ran alongside juniors Mandy Perkins and Agata Strausa in the same heat.
“It’s really nice because we know what each other are capable of,” McGee said.
“If one of us starts to fall back, we can always help each other out again.”
McGee previosuly qualified for the U.S. Olympic trials in the 1,500m with a personal-best mark of 4:12.61 at Stanford’s Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational on April 29.
McGee credits her success to the familiarity she feels when her teammates are racing on the track alongside her.
“Getting out on the track and knowing those girls you count on every single day in all parts of your life are right next to you, it just adds a whole other degree of a support system,” McGee said.
When running on the track, McGee looks out for her teammates. During the first round of the 1,500m this past weekend, McGee offered some motivation to Perkins.
“Mandy hadn’t been to Regionals before,” McGee said. “On the first lap I was like, ‘Stay up here, Mandy!’ and cheering for her in the race.”
McGee has even altered her racing strategy to help her teammates get into better position.
At the Southeastern Conference Outdoor Championships, McGee assumed the role of “the rabbit,” by taking the lead late in the race and setting a faster pace.
McGee’s maneuver set up Genevieve LaCaze to finish with a personal-best time of 4:13.44 and the victory. McGee was runner-up.
“Turning up [May 13] in the 1,500m and having so many girls in the race, it helped having Cory take the lead with 600 meters to go,” LaCaze said.
McGee will be heading to the NCAA Outdoor Championships as the Gators’ sole competitor for the women’s 1,500m.
While she will not have her teammates racing with her, McGee is still confident in her chances to pull out a victory.
“I still feel fresh,” McGee said. “I feel really confident and healthy, and I think it’s all going to come into place really well this next month with the NCAAs and the [Olympic] trials.”
Junior Cory McGee, who redshirted during last year's cross country season, is set to debut at the Wisconsin Adidas Invitational on October 19.
