Peninsula grad Clark hopes to get back to running for Loggers in the spring

McKenna Clark has only gotten a taste of what being a college athlete is like in her short time at the University of Puget Sound.

As a sophomore nearing the end of her first semester of the year, Clark should have had three athletic seasons under her belt. When the world practically slowed to a crawl in March, safety precautions enacted because of the coronavirus pandemic took away her freshman track season.

Even as the fall and winter months have arrived, the pandemic has continued to last into the later part of the year. This has disrupted any kind of training and preparation for her sophomore cross country season as well.

Like many athletes and their teams, the initial call that the respective seasons were canceled left Clark and the Loggers’ track team stunned.

“The whole team [was] super shocked. We were like ‘is this really happening?’” Clark said. “We were in denial I’d say. Everyone was thinking that [the season would start] in two weeks, we’re okay. But we definitely weren’t expecting it, I was super sad for the seniors on the team because it was their last year and they didn’t really get to compete.”

Before enrolling at UPS, Clark already had an appreciation for distance running since she was a track runner for Peninsula High School. She was very consistent, proving to have good times in the 1600 Meters, 3200 Meters and a good leg in any relay she was in.

Clark’s consistency showed across all four years she ran as she competed in the district meet all four years she was in high school. Her experience with track translated to cross country where she also proved to be a very good distance runner in that regard.

Just like track, Clark kept having consistently good times in league meets which in turn placed her in district and state meets. She competed at state her sophomore, junior and senior years, with a best finish of 19 minutes and 54.1 seconds for 73rd during her junior year.

Despite all her success as a Seahawk, Clark still found the transition from high school to college intimidating.

“I definitely was super intimidated because I didn’t know what to expect,” she said. “But the team was so nice, they were so welcoming. It really was a really easy transition into college sports I felt like. It definitely felt it was harder… but my coach was super positive. She [said] ‘it’s okay, it’ll take some time’. It felt like a super easy transition from high school to college competition.”

In her brief time running for the Loggers, Clark has proven herself to be a valuable part of both the cross country team and track team.

Her first and only full season running cross country had Clark finishing no higher than 29th in the Puget Sound Cross Country Invitational with a time of 27:58.5. However, within her team, Clark was either the third or fourth Logger to cross the finish line.

As for track, the little competition she did have showed that she picked up right where she left off from high school. Her best finish was at the Ed Boitano Invitational where she ran the 800 Meters and finished seventh with a time of 2:34.95.

“I think my favorite part [of being a college athlete] is having the whole aspect of being on a team and also I feel a lot more motivated to do things with my day,” Clark said. “It’s kind of like a stress reliever to go and just run with your team, have fun and feel like you got a really good workout in.”

While there hasn’t been any organized team activity for Clark to participate in, she has been keeping busy by one of two ways.

The first of course is keeping herself active and running with a friend almost every day. Being more active is forcing Clark to push herself to get better and stay in shape since it is difficult to maintain the competitiveness a sports season would bring.

“I would definitely be training a lot more than I am right now. It’s just super hard to get back in the groove when you don’t have a team you can practice with,” Clark said. “For me, I struggle pushing myself when I don’t have someone else there to push with me. I run with an old high school buddy… We just do a couple miles. We don’t want to push it too much.”

Of course the other thing that is keeping Clark busy is maintaining her school work and a part-time job as well. As a sophomore, she has picked out her major to be psychology with an intent to minor in neuro science as well.

For the first time in many years, she has extra free time and is not preoccupied by a sport or a workout or anything like that. The freedom is nice, but like many college level athletes that are still side-lined, Clark is eager to race back to the track.

“I’m super excited. Hopefully we can go back in the spring because I am looking forward to track season,” she said.

Clark and the Loggers will wait along with other residents of Washington state until there is a lift on the lockdown that was issued by the government last November.

Until then, its self-workouts, school and work for Clark.

Reach Jordan Whitford at j.whitford@thenewstribune.com

This story was originally published January 5, 2021 at 6:00 AM.