Though Delaney Hennigan (12) has run cross country and track all four years of high school, she didn’t realize that it would result in committing to SDSU until she competed at one of the most prestigious track and field events in the country.
“During my sophomore year, I went with my relay team to the Nike Outdoor Nationals,” Hennigan said. “We flew all the way to Oregon and it was so much fun. We medaled, and we got put on the big screen. It was one of the most amazing experiences in my life, and I knew right after my first race in Oregon that’s what I wanted to do in college.”
She became passionate about running during her sophomore year, but Hennigan said that she didn’t always plan on going further with the sport.
“[Running] wasn’t always my dream; I kind of envisioned playing soccer in college for a really long time, because I’ve done that since I was 6,” Hennigan said. “Both my parents were D-I runners. My dad did cross country and my mom did track in college, so they made me do track. I was not happy about it at first, [though] I had some solid marks.”
Hennigan said that SDSU was an unexpected choice for her at first, but she ended up loving the program.
“At first I had my heart set on going out of state for college, but during my visit, I just loved everything,” Hennigan said. “The team really stuck out to me; it seemed like a close-knit group and the gut feeling I got when I was there was that I felt really at home and like I belonged there.”
Hennigan said that to get to her current point in her athletic career, she prioritized balance between track and cross country.
“For cross country, I put a little less pressure on it, because it’s hard to be in that fully intense mindset year round,” Hennigan said. “I try to not get burned out and just do [track] for fun. During that time, I’m building up my endurance. We do overloading and tapering, building up our mileage and intensity, then, at the end of the season, tapering off so we can race better when it matters. Physically, I’m doing all the work, but I don’t put mental pressure on myself, so that during track I can really focus. It’s a lot easier, because I really do love the training.”
With the transition from high school to collegiate sports, Hennigan said that she is looking forward to having track become even more ingrained in her lifestyle than it already is.
“I’m excited to have my schedule working around track because it’s really hard to balance right now,” Hennigan said. “Right now, my teachers are very focused on school, and my coaches are just focused on what I’m doing at practice. It’ll be nice to have my college experience centered around track, and to have people helping me to prepare and perform the best I can. Athletically, I envision myself getting better as an athlete and having a good environment to do that. I can’t wait to be around people who have the same goals as me so I expect it to be a really fun journey as an athlete.”
