Gregory motivated to build her international resume

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Lauren Gregory (above right, John Nepolitan photo) is already a veteran of international competition, but the passport of the Fort Collins CO senior accumulated several more stamps even before she arrived in Scotland this week for the Great Edinburgh XCountry International Challenge.

Gregory recently traveled on a Caribbean cruise with her family, visiting Turks and Caicos, Dominican Republic, Aruba and Curacao, before returning to competition Saturday in the women’s junior 4-kilometer race at Holyrood Park.

LIVE WEBCAST INFO

“It was a lot of fun and our first time on a cruise, so that was interesting,” Gregory said. “I might have to get used to running on rugged ground because I’ve been running on the boring treadmill for the past week, but I will get back into it.”

Gregory finished 33rd in the women’s U-20 competition representing the United States at the 2015 IAAF World Cross Country Championships in China, the second American in the 6-kilometer junior race behind current Colorado junior Kaitlyn Benner, who placed 27th. Oregon freshman Katie Rainsberger – the top American junior with a fifth-place finish last year at Great Edinburgh – also competed for the U.S. in Guiyang and took 55th.

“I am extremely excited and had so much fun with the whole experience last time and cannot wait to see what this one will be like,” Gregory said. “I think having competed internationally before might just help figuring out how to handle the travel and racing, but either way it is just another race.”

Gregory, who placed third Dec. 3 at Nike Cross Nationals in Oregon, is joined on the American women’s junior roster by future Arkansas teammate Taylor Werner and Wisconsin freshman Alicia Monson, along with the second-, third- and fourth-place finishers from Foot Locker Nationals in Nevada Mareno of Leesville Road NC, Rebecca Story of Christian Academy of Knoxville TN and India Johnson of Hilliard Davidson OH (above left, John Nepolitan photo).

“(Taylor and I) are both so excited to be together on this trip to start creating this friendship now,” Gregory said. “I think we both had a lot of fun on my visit and I certainly can’t wait to hang out and race together on a team for the first time.”

The chemistry of Gregory and Werner, along with the depth of Mareno, Story and Johnson following their performances Dec. 10 at the Foot Locker Championships, could be instrumental in the U.S. trying to regain the women’s junior team title after Great Britain prevailed last year.

“We’ve been chatting non-stop about it and helping each other out,” said Werner, who earned All-America honors after placing 16th as a freshman at the NCAA finals.

“It’s super cool and I know we’ll have a great time.”

Gregory has already demonstrated once during her career that can she maintain an elite performance level following a long layoff from competition after a high school national final.

During her sophomore season, Gregory placed 11th at Foot Locker Nationals, then finished fourth in the women’s junior 6-kilometer race nearly two months later in her home state at the USA Cross Country Championships in Boulder, securing her spot on the American roster to compete in China.

“I took about a week off since it took me so long to get back to this spot after injury and have just been on my usual offseason pre-track schedule packet of progressive runs, tempos and long runs scattered throughout the week,” Gregory said. “I have been preparing for track how I usually do in the winter, but feel like I am still in cross country mode and this race is only a 4K of mud and fun.”

Gregory knows she is prepared for the challenge Saturday after competing in three consecutive postseason races – Colorado 5A state final, NXR Southwest and NXN – against Brie Oakley of Grandview CO, who concluded her undefeated season by capturing the individual title in Oregon.

She hopes that intense competition and past international experience can help her become the third straight high school standout to be the top American finisher in the women’s junior race, following a victory by Makena Morley of Bigfork MT in 2015 and Rainsberger last year.

“Every race of the season was a little confidence boost because I had expected this season to be more for building and less for PRing and such after last year,” Gregory said. “I think state made me confident as well because it just made me hungrier for what is to come. I am honestly just so grateful that I was able to train hard again and get back to a spot in my fitness where I can be racing like myself again.”