Point Loma High School (PLHS) alum and University of California, San Diego (UCSD) sophomore runner Anna Lee McGregor has broken the UCSD school record in the 400-meter race twice this month.
She broke the record first on April 4 at the Division Challenge with a time of 56.51 seconds and then broke her own record Friday, April 18 with a time of 56.46.
“Breaking the 400-meter record was very exciting. I love being on the team. I was much more shy last year but I feel more comfortable this year,” McGregor said.
Her coach agrees.
“From a coaching point of view, Anna is everything you can ask for,” said UCSD women’s track and field coach Darcy Ahner.
“She was very quiet in her freshman year, but when she’s running, Anna is a competitor, all business and aggressive. She’s the perfect athlete to have on your team,” she said.
McGregor is coming off a successful freshman season in 2007, during which she was a member of the 4-by-400 relay team that won the UCSD Triton Invitational with a time of 3:47.48.
McGregor has also set the school record at the NCAA Division II National Championships with a 6th-place finish time of 3:44.27.
McGregor placed fourth in the 400-meter All-Cal championship with a time of 57.80 and fifth in the 400-meter San Diego City Championships.
McGregor set a preliminary time of 56.66 in the 400-meter race at the CCAA championships and placed second in the 400-meter race with a time of 56.69.
The transition from high school to college is not always an easy one, but for McGregor it has been smoother than she expected, she said.
“I had to adjust to lifting more weights during the week. We hardly did that in high school, but at UCSD we have to lift two to three times per week and work out more in college, five to six days a week, about 2 1/2 hours per day,” McGregor said.
While at PLHS, McGregor was part of the Pointer 4-by-400 relay team that finished second in the division during the 2006 CIF finals.
“My best memory of high school is when we broke the school record in the 4-by-4 relays because of the friends I had on the team,” she said.
McGregor was also part of the PLHS 4-by-100 relay team that placed third in the division in the 2004 CIF Finals and a member of the Peninsula Soccer League from 1993 to 2002.
Because of her success at Point Loma High and during her freshman year at UCSD, one might assume the pressure would be too great at times. Yet McGregor has taken her early accomplishments in stride.
“I think I’m at my best when I feel nervous. When I don’t get nervous I have had some mediocre results. So a little bit of nerves are good.”
Ahner agrees.
“She does her best when the pressure is on. Anna is able to bring up her intensity and does her best in the bigger competitions,” Ahner said. “She’s been top-notch in everything she’s done here.”