Senior Hannah McIntyre finished her final indoor season near the top at NCAA Division II Nationals. Earning her 10th and 11th All-American honors, she placed sixth in the 3,000-meter and fourth in the 5,000-meter races.
“They were both tough races, nationals is always pretty intense,” she said. “There’s just a lot of talent. The top five girls in each race are all capable of winning. So it’s just a fight to maintain position.”
While McIntyre stepped into Nationals ranked first in the 5,000-meter and third in the 3,000-meter, she wasn’t discouraged with her performance.
“My family came and that always makes the weekend really special,” she said. “My dad said that the 3k was his favorite race that he’d ever seen me run. That was special.”
McIntyre was joined at Nationals by teammates junior Ally Eads, sophomore Arena Lewis, and freshman Maryssa Depies. While Depies and Lewis ran the 5000-meter race alongside McIntyre, Eads ran the mile race preliminaries the day before. Eads said she was happy with her performance until the last quarter of the race.
“People were just trying to go for top three at that point, it was just tactical, so we went out super slow in the first 800 – which is the first half of the race – and then they closed in like a 61 or a 62 400, which is super, super fast for the last quarter of the mile and I just don’t have that leg speed to turn over from going kind of slow to really fast.”
Lewis and Depies both struggled in the 5,000-meter race, but McIntyre said that was normal for a first experience at Nationals, as she had similar experiences her freshman and junior years.
“They’re unlike any other races that you run throughout the whole season,” she said. “They’re packed with talent and so girls are fighting for place the whole time and it can be very overwhelming.”
Eads said she liked competing in an environment with elite athletes who worked hard to make it to Nationals, and Depies agreed the trip was a good experience.
“The trip was really awesome for nationals overall, just to travel and hang out with your friends,” she said.
McIntyre said she was happy with her races this weekend.
“I stayed in them. They were tough races and I fought hard,” she said.
The Chargers look to the outdoor season, which offers another chance at qualifying for Nationals.
“Looking forward to outdoor season, I know my performance wasn’t who I am as an athlete, didn’t demonstrate my ability,” Depies said. “So I’m just looking forward to another opportunity to get after it on the outdoor track.”
