Oct. 11, 2006
Running the Trails with…Lisa McKinney<?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>
Each week USCsports.com will feature a different runner on the cross country team as they continue through the 2006 season. This week’s featured harrier is freshman Lisa McKinney, a biology and pre-med major from <?xml:namespace prefix=”st1″ ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags”?>Downington, Penn. McKinney is one of two Cooper Scholar’s on the team and has been the only freshman to run varsity the entire season thus far.
When Lisa McKinney bested her previous high school 5K time by about 30 seconds in her first collegiate meet this season, she realized it was best to start increasing her expectations in her first year at the University of South Carolina.
“My goals coming in were that I wanted to make the travel squad and compete at the (SEC) championships,” McKinney said. “Now my goals have elevated to be one of the team’s top five runners and to also run well at the conference championships.”
McKinney’s words come after making a big impact on the USC cross country team as a freshman from Downingtown, Penn. In the preseason, Coach Stan Rosenthal said that McKinney could be a surprise top five runner for the Gamecocks this season, and she started strong at the USC Invitational by finishing third on the team and seventh overall at 18:58.
“I was nervous but confident because I knew I had worked hard,” McKinney said of her first meet. “The meet had a different atmosphere than a high school meet. I was very happy with how I ended up performing. I bested my high school times by 30 to 40 seconds, so I was happy with that.”
She continued the strong start the next weekend at the Clemson Invitational, helping the team win its first two events of the season for the first time. McKinney finished ninth overall to solidify her spot on the team’s varsity squad and recently posted a new personal record time of 18:48 at the Auburn Invitational on Sept. 30.
“I didn’t think I’d start that well,” McKinney said. “I was really surprised how I’ve performed so far and didn’t expect to make such an impact that early.”
Her presence was also critical at the Great American Festival held Sept. 23 in Hoover, Ala. The Gamecocks concluded the prestigious event tied for fourth with Samford and Clemson, a situation that calls for each team’s next runner to be the deciding factor for the tiebreaker. McKinney placed three spots ahead of the next Samford runner and five ahead of Clemson’s to give Carolina the tiebreaker.
“Preparing for this season, I trained harder than I ever have before,” McKinney said. “During the summer I ran 40 mile weeks. I was really confident with my training that I’d be prepared for the season.”
Adjusting from high school life to college life was the next thing that McKinney had to prepare for as she left West High School to join the Honors College at USC. Much like a great number of the 2006 team, McKinney comes from the northeast and came to USC to escape the fall weather and attend a school with competitive academics.
“I wanted to go to a Southern school and USC also had a big school atmosphere,” McKinney said. “When I came here I loved it and knew it was the place for me. I had a lot of fun on my recruiting visit and really clicked with all the girls.”
One of the girls that McKinney clicked with was fellow freshman Emily Hartley from Naperville, Ill. The two became such good friends on the visit that they decided to room together if they both decided to attend USC, which they both ended up doing. Junior teammate Megan Robers hosted McKinney on her official visit and is also one of the reasons that she had such a great time when visiting USC. She and other upperclassmen have since helped McKinney with the transition from high school to college in all aspects.
“Megan has really helped me adjust to being here at college,” McKinney said. “Karen (Wigal), Rebecca (Chain) and Nicki (Breves) are also all great captains. They all really helped me with anything that I needed since I came here.”
As one of six freshmen who make up one-third of the roster, those upperclassmen have been instrumental in McKinney’s growth in her first season at USC. With everything from the increased freedom to heightened expectations as a collegiate harrier, McKinney has taken everything in full stride while doing her best to become a factor in helping her team to a solid year and hopeful top half finish at the conference championships.
“College is different than high school,” McKinney said. “There’s a big adjustment in managing time and getting everything done that you need to do. It’s also a lot harder to juggle academics with cross country. College cross country is a lot harder as far as training and competing, but it’s worth it.”
