Katie McGregor
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Katie McGregor (born September 2, 1977 in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American track and cross country athlete.
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[edit] High school
McGregor attended Willoughby South High School in Willoughby, Ohio. She was the state champion of Ohio in the 3,200-meter run with a time of 10:49.74 as a freshman (1992), and a state champion in the 1,600-meter run with a time of 4:56.32 as a senior (1995).
[edit] College
McGregor continued running as a student-athlete at the University of Michigan in the fall of 1995, majoring in kinesiology and competing in both cross country and track and field. She was named Big Ten Conference Freshman of the Year in cross country. During her junior (1997) cross country season, she was name Big Ten Athlete of the Year after winning the individual title with a time of 17:14. During the indoor track season the following winter (1998), she won the two NCAA titles, one individually in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 9:24.68, and another running the 1,600-meter anchor leg in the distance medley relay, clocking a 4:38 split. McGregor’s running success continued during her senior cross country season, when she won seven out of eight meets, including the Big Ten title in a time of 17:16, the Great Lakes Regional title in a time of 17:02.39, and the NCAA championship in a time of 16:47.21. For her efforts, McGregor was honored with the Honda Award, given to the nation’s top female cross country runner. During her final outdoor track season, she won her final collegiate championship, winning the Big Ten title in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 16:32.83. She later bested this time at the NCAA meet, taking third place with a time of 16:15.75. During her time at Michigan, she was a three-time NCAA champion, eight-time NCAA All-American, and three-time Big Ten Conference champion.
[edit] Post-collegiate/professional
Following college, McGregor remained in Ann Arbor and continued training and competing under sponsorship from Adidas, transitioning from the shorter distance races to the 10,000-meter run. In the spring of 2000, she achieved her first major post-collegiate victory, winning the 10,000-meter run at the Stanford Invitational, setting a meet record with a time of 32:33.62. She competed in the event at the Olympic trials later that summer, but did not qualify to represent the U.S. team in Sydney, Australia. The following year, she moved to Minneapolis, and began training with Team Minnesota.
Over the next few years, McGregor competed in variety of distance races, performing well, and continuing to improve upon her personal best times in several running events. Highlights during 2004 included a second-place finish at the U.S. Cross Country Championships (8,000-meter distance), as well as personal bests in both the 5,000-meter and 10,000-meter runs prior to the Olympic Trials. At the Olympic Trials, she narrowly missed qualifying for the games in Athens, taking fourth place in the 10,000-meter run. 2005 saw her personal best times in all races continue to improve, culminating in a come-from-behind victory in the 10,000-meter run at the U.S. Outdoor Championships in May. She competed in the event for the U.S. team at the IAAF World Outdoor Championships in Helsinki, Finland in August of 2005, taking fourteenth place overall as the top U.S. finisher, with a personal best time of 31:21.20.
