From off winning a state title, Kim Mackay, a junior from Long Island’s
Kellenberg Memorial (Uniondale, N.Y.) High School, showed that she is one of the top 800 meter runners in the nation. Mackay took second place at the prestigious New Balance Nationals in Greensboro, North Carolina. Mackay finished in a time of 2:08.56.
Despite the fact that she was competing on a national level, Mackay saw no reason to change her strategy. “Going into the 800 meters at nationals, my plan was to run the race the way I ran it at states,” Mackay said. “I wanted to be in a good place after the first lap, so that I could kick the last 200 meters, and hopefully be close to the leaders.”
Mackay started her race slow and found herself in the back of the pack early. She was able to pull into fourth place at the beginning of her of the second lap, and then passed two runners in the final 200 to finish second. Mackay finished 1.26 seconds behind Claudia Francis from New York’s Cardozo High School. Bayside High’s Alaine Tate finished in third place.
Mackay was pleased with her finish, but not satisfied. “Crossing the line, I was very happy, but I knew there were some things I could have done differently to run a better race,” Mackay said. “I knew it was going to be a tough race, so I am happy to have placed so highly among such talented runners. I am very excited about coming in second, but I still feel that I have more potential. I am looking forward to proving it next year.”
