Meghan McDonald: A Simple Choice Leads to College Athletics

By Dustin Waleff, Sports Editor Photo Courtesy of Nate Fagnano Sometimes it takes a little luck to become a college athlete, and for rising junior runner Meghan McDonald, that...
by August 16, 2021
By Dustin Waleff, Sports Editor
Photo Courtesy of Nate Fagnano
Sometimes it takes a little luck to become a college athlete, and for rising junior runner Meghan McDonald, that is exactly what happened.
Following her first 5k race with her father, McDonald joined her middle school track team, for her seventh and eighth grade years, as the only long-distance female runner on her team, running the 400-meter, 800-meter, and the mile races.
 
Upon finishing middle school, McDonald chose to quit running to focus more heavily on her dance and competing in dance competitions.
 
McDonald said, “I decided to quit because I preferred to dance and compete in dance competitions, I was a competition dancer my entire life, and as I became more serious, I had to stop other extra-curricular activities.
 
“I started with Irish Step Dancing when I was five years old, then transitioned to more modern dancing around 13 years old. However, by the time I became a senior in high school, I grew tired of dance and decided to go back to running and gave cross-country a try.”
 
In her final year at Northwestern Lehigh High School, McDonald enjoyed her first year of cross-country, allowing her to improve on her 5k time and gain a healthier lifestyle.
 
As she applied to Susquehanna University, McDonald checked a box signifying her interest in varsity or club sports, which is where the luck came into play.
 
Upon applying and getting accepted to Susquehanna, former cross-country and track & field coach, coach Richards reached out to McDonald, and asked her if she was interested in joining both the River Hawks women’s cross-country and track & field teams.
 
“I know I was definitely not the fastest or at college times yet, but it was a confidence booster to know that a college would let me try out,” McDonald said. “Some of my high school friends discouraged me from this opportunity saying it was a big commitment to athletics in college. In my mind I still wanted to try it since I didn’t run that much in high school. I jumped at the opportunity and now it is one of the best things about being a River Hawk!”
 
However, the Coronavirus pandemic threw a wrench into McDonald’s plan during her sophomore year at Susquehanna.
 
Early in McDonald’s return to campus for the fall 2020 semester, she tested positive for COVID-19, having to spend 12 days in isolation housing. During her isolation, McDonald had no symptoms and felt healthy, so she continued doing her own workouts will isolated.
 
Yet, as McDonald was cleared to leave the isolation housing, she was held out of practice to get an EKG, before being allowed to return. When McDonald was told that there was a possible problem with her heart, she was held out of practice for three more weeks until she was able to get a complete echocardiogram, and was cleared, but at that point the cross-country season was finished.
 
When the indoor track & field season got underway in November, one of McDonald’s family members passed away, leading to McDonald stepping away from campus and traveling to North Carolina for the funeral.
 
Unfortunately for McDonald, after returning from North Carolina, Susquehanna shut down for the remainder of the semester due to a rise in COVID cases among university students and staff.
 
After winter break, and returning to campus, McDonald was finally able to get back to training with the River Hawk track & field team, and ultimately got back to competing with the return of athletic competition after nearly a year of no River Hawk athletics in the spring of 2021.
 
Moving forward, McDonald is looking to become tougher and hopes to make a bigger impact for the cross-country, indoor track & field, and outdoor track & field teams.
 
McDonald said, “I would like to be able to contribute a little more to scoring points for the team, I also have the work ethic and drive, but I want to work on being mentally through all of my races.”
Tags
Categories
Sports

by The Quill - Aug 10, 2021

by The Quill - Aug 21, 2021
No Comment