Meet Report: 2023 Lee University Last Chance

My last college meet of the season was last weekend in Cleveland, Tennessee at Lee University’s last chance meet. I ran here both in 2021 and 2022, and the overall experience this year was similar: crowded and hot. This year, there were more competitors than in either of the previous two, and it felt even hotter; even though I made a point of drinking a ton of water, I was still pretty dehydrated most of the day.

I woke up the morning of the meet with pretty bad back pain—I wasn’t sure that I’d be able to run at all. Fortunately, after warming up, the pain was tolerable, so I decided to at least try the 100.

100m prelims: 10.71 (+1.5)

• I was in the first heat of the event, which helped me time my warmup a little better. Trying to time warmups when the event has more than a few heats can be pretty tough otherwise.
• My starts have felt tentative the last few races, and today wasn’t an exception. I think it’s psychological because I’m able to get pretty good pushes in practice.
• Overall, I felt like I executed my race well, with maybe just a bit of overstriding towards the end.
• 10.71 ties my all-conditions PR that I set last year!

100m semifinals: 10.76 (+1.2)

• I qualified for the semifinals as the 5th of 8 by time (after the 8 heat winners); the semifinals were about 90 minutes after the preliminary round.
• Despite my best efforts, the heat got to me, and I was dehydrated to the point of minor cramping during my warmup.
• My start was better than the preliminary round, but I faded harder towards the end.
• I was disappointed with the time, as I felt like I had a really good opportunity to PR, but 10.76 is still the second-fastest time I’ve ever run.

I don’t have any meets for a couple of months now, so I’ll have the chance to fully recover from my back injury. My next and final meet of the season will be the USATF Masters championships in July in Greensboro, North Carolina.