Senior distance runner Travis McKay, making his fourth appearance at NCAA Regionals this year, is hoping to bring home some gold for the Bulldogs this season.McKay, from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, earned his regional bid with a win in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Georgia Relays on March 17.
He also earned SEC Track and Field Runner of the Week for the third time in his career after being the first runner in the country to post a regional qualifying mark.
He regularly competes in the 5,000- and 1,500-meter runs as well.
“There’s added pressure for the Regionals that it’s my last chance to do this,” McKay said. “By the time you get to your senior year, if you’re going to do something, you’ve got to get it done then.”
McKay described the steeplechase as the obstacle course of track and field events.
It is a 3,000-meter run with a barrier that must be cleared each lap.
One barrier is in a 12-foot pool of water, and the goal is to clear both the barrier and most of the water.
“The difference between these barriers and the hurdles in other events is that if you hit a hurdle, it falls over,” McKay said. “If you hit a barrier, you fall over, and that can be pretty bad.”
McKay said he feels like he has been working towards a strong showing at the NCAA Regionals his entire college career.
“I didn’t have a great year last year,” he said. “But this year, I’ve already picked up my times only three weeks in, and there’s definitely been a big buildup since cross country to this season.”
McKay faces his toughest competitionat the NCAA Regional, but he said that he enjoys the fact that he will face many of the same runners he sees at the Southeastern Conference Championships.
“A lot of the top competition at regionals, I’ll see two weeks beforehand at SECs,” he said. “You want to race well at SECs because you’ll end up seeing those same guys again.”
McKay finds that competing in cross country is an advantage for him coming into the track and field season.
“If you excel in cross country, you’re probably going to excel in track because there’s a lot of similarities,” he said. “Having a good cross country season, staying injury-free and really fit at the end of cross country, it prepares you to have a good track season.”
One of McKay’s goals is to help lead his team to a strong showing at the SEC Championships, he said.
He believes the team is much stronger this year due to members maturing and recruiting several talented transfers, he added.
“The SEC Championships is a huge meet for us, especially because we finished last in last year’s SEC meet,” he said. “We are working hard to make sure that doesn’t happen. We want to score a lot more points and definitely be in the hunt more than we were last season.”
Many other MSU track and field runners have already qualified for regionals, and McKay said he thinks that many of his teammates have chances to make the NCAA championships.
The track and field team will also be hosting the Bulldog Invitational Saturday, the only home meet of the season.
They look to take home top honors in several events and build on their strong showing at the Alabama Relays.
“This meet is the transition point of our season,” McKay said. “This is when we move into the heart of our season, starting with the Texas Relays.”
He said his teammates are excited to be hosting the meet this weekend, especially as part of the Super Bulldog Weekend festivities.
“It’s always fun to have a home meet and run on your own track,” he said. “We’ll get a few fans out to watch us, and we’re looking to win this meet on both the men’s and women’s side.