March 16, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -
By Dynasty McGee, GoPSUsports.com Student-Athlete Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - This past weekend, I witnessed one of the most competitive NCAA Championships that I've been a part of. We arrived in Arkansas on Wednesday to give us ample time to get a feel for the track. The first couple of workouts at the Randal Tyson Track Center went great, and everyone seemed ready for the competition.
After Thursday's workout, everyone put on their best for the NCAA Banquet where Coach John Gondak and Darrell Hill were recognized amongst other coaches and student-athletes.
We were more than happy to cheer on Rachel Fatherly who kicked off the competition for us on Friday. Next, Kiah Seymour competed, running an amazing race. Brandon Kidder had a tough race in the prelims of the mile but managed to advance to the finals.
Last to compete on Friday was the men's distance medley relay and it was an exciting race to watch. Brannon Kidder put Alex Shisler in a great position and Za'Von Watkins held that position. Watching Robby Creese slowly but surely close the gap between him and three other athletes was amazing to watch, but if anyone could do it, we knew it would be him.
Saturday night was showtime for the women's 4x4. We were a little nervous but excited at the same time. The goal was to win our heat and make it on to the podium. Megan Osborne was the pop off and competed well with the other first legs. She handed the baton to me and I took off. My goal was to either put us in first or get us close to it. Tichina Rhodes ran her own race, which was extremely smart. Kiah received the baton in third place and the runner in first place had to be 50 meters ahead. Kiah passed the second place runner and coming around the last curve she made her move and blew past the runner in first place! We ran fast enough to earn eighth place, making us All-Americans.
This felt like the hardest national meet for a couple of us. Some of us were coming off of injuries and even qualifying for the meet seemed almost impossible. I will never forget this meet or the women that were by my side every step of the way. I'm excited for the transition into outdoor season and to get more training under my belt. Our first meet is in two weeks and I'm expecting great things.