(Fort Dodge) Atlantic alum Taylor McCreedy is entering her sophomore season as a distance runner at Iowa Central.
McCreedy was the Triton’s #2 runner last fall on a team that placed 6th in the nation. McCreedy was 26th individually at the NJCAA National Championships. “The national meet was a lot of fun. It wasn’t necessarily the weather we would have liked, but it was super windy that day so we all did the best we could with the circumstances. Being the #2 runner was definitely a really cool experience. I came into the season as the #3 runner so I was able to work my way up a little bit. 26th was a little bit lower than where I wanted to compete at, but getting the experience and being able to learn from it helped down the road, especially for track.”
McCreedy carried the momentum into a strong indoor season. “I didn’t think I would do as well as I did. I definitely surprised myself at the University of Nebraska with that 3K I ran. I never thought I’d be able to break my best high school time at an indoor meet on a 200 meter track, but I broke it by over thirty seconds.”
Another highlight during the indoor season was running on the national runner-up 4X800 and Distance Medley Relays. “That was a super cool experience being able to run with those girls. It gives you something else to work for.” McCreedy says, “You’re not running for yourself, you’re running for your teammates. As soon as you receive that baton to the moment you hand it off you’re not thinking about you. You’re thinking about those other three girls and what you can do to put those other runners in the best position possible. So those went great.”
In the outdoor season she was a national qualifier in the 3000M Steeplechase and 4X800. “Being able to qualify for the outdoor national meet was just amazing for me. I’m very grateful that I got to qualify for all three national meets.”
McCreedy has put in a big summer of mileage. Cross Country season is right around the corner. “All I’m looking to do is just improve and get better. We are running at a lot of the same places we ran last year, so I’m hoping to break some of those times. I’m hoping to bring down my cross country time to under 18:30.” The team starts the year August 26th at Iowa Western.
Atlantic graduate Taylor McCreedy:
