Collier ready to seize opportunity at Pan Am Juniors

By Mary Albl of DyeStat

Heading into the USATF Junior Outdoor Championships 800-meter final, Caitlin Collier wasn’t sure of her plans.

After finishing with the top time in the qualifying round June 23, her high school coach Dan Dearing pulled her aside.

“I said, ‘You have to decide tonight if you want to go to Peru,’” Dearing recalled.

Her coach was referring to the chance to possibly run July 21-23 for the United States at the Pan American Junior Championships in Trujillo, Peru.

But it was a combination of nerves and the thought of already peaking this late in the season that lingered in Collier’s mind.

“I was a little nervous that I might not be feeling too great and might not perform too well right now,” Collier said. “But it’s an opportunity I couldn’t really pass up. I might not be able to wear the USA jersey again.”

Collier, a rising senior at The Bolles School in Jacksonville, Fla., solidified her spot on the roster the next day as she cruised to a victory in 2 minutes, 3.63 seconds.

For Collier, one of the best prep middle-distance runners in the country, her running career has been snapshots of seizing each opportunity as it comes.

“She’s a tenacious competitor,” Dearing said. “She can’t stand losing in anything.”

As an eighth-grader, she was pulled up to compete with the varsity team; a rare occurrence at Bolles, a Class 2A school. From that year on, Dearing and Collier mapped out a five-year training plan with the end goal to have her prepared for the collegiate level come 2018.

The blueprints have centered on controlling the training volume and improving different racing aspects each year progressively.

“We are not focused on going all out every season, we’re focused on building up until senior year,” Collier said.

In 2014, she beat out a handful of upperclassmen to win the 2A state 800 title in 2:13.54. Her mindset, “Why can’t I win too?”

Since then, she’s lowered her time in the 800 every season. She’s won four consecutive 2A state 800 titles, three 1,600 championships and 3,200 crowns in 2016 and ’17.

“I just remember after eighth grade, I looked at the national leader board for the 800 and I remember seeing Elise Cranny and everyone else at the top of the list at like 2:06,” Collier said. “And I was thinking that’s eight seconds. That will take, like, a while to get (there).”

For the 5-foot-11 Collier, it hasn’t taken long, as she’s made the most of her training plan.

With a real focus on her top-end speed this outdoor season, this past spring saw her win the women’s elite 800 race June 1 at the Festival of Miles in St. Louis. Collier bested a professional field in a personal-record time of 2:03.32.

“I think it wasn’t until she was halfway through that race that she really believed she belonged there,” Dearing said. “We came through the 400 meters in last place. You could see it in her eyes, she realized she could beat these girls. (It) was a lot of fun to watch.”

Dearing describes Collier as a funny, quirky kid. And even when she’s not racing, she still loves to be active.

“Sometimes after a hard workout on recovery days, I’ll go out and longboard and rollerblade, I like to be outside and get exercise,” she said. “Florida is always pretty good weather to go and do stuff.”

In less than two weeks, Collier will head to Peru with a goal to reach the podium. Dearing said a PR would be nice, but Collier’s best races have come when she puts herself in contact to win.

For Collier, she’s viewing Pan Am Juniors as just another new opportunity to make the most of.

“The most exciting part so far was getting the bag of USA gear,” Collier said. “I just had a smile on my face the whole time, like I could not wipe it off. It’s getting exciting as it’s getting nearer. It should be a really great opportunity.”