PA Salute to Seniors: Michael McLaughlin - Baldwin HS

 

PA Salute To Seniors: Michael McLaughlin - Baldwin HS

What was your most memorable race/competition?
My most memorable race came my sophomore year cross country season at the Red, White, and Blue invitational because it was the first time I broke the 18 minute 5k barrier. This was the first time I was a point scorer for the team, as I was fifth, and I had taken almost 4 minutes off of my time from this same meet the year before.

 

Where did you face your biggest competition?
My biggest competition probably came at the 2013 Red, White, and Blue invite my senior year. The course record was nearly broken and seven kids broke 16 very early on in the year. I also set my PR here even though I don’t think I had a particularly good race.

 

Out of all of your high school accomplishments, which stands out the most?
I would say that my biggest accomplishment is probably just improving as much as I did from my freshman to senior year. My first ever high school 5k was somewhere around 23 minutes, but thanks to my coaches and teammates I was able to bring my time down to sub 17 by senior year.

 

If you could do it all over again, what would you change about your athletic career in high school?
I would cherish the memories a bit more. I loved every minute of it, but those four years really did fly by and I’ll really miss being a Baldwin athlete.

 

What were the most difficult obstacles you had to overcome?
I had a stress fracture in my tailbone in the beginning of outdoor track my sophomore year, so it was frustrating trying to come back from that and try to accomplish the goals I had set for myself that year. Another obstacle that was difficult for me early on was learning that you cannot PR every meet. Even though you try to get better everyday, PRing in every meet is just not realistic, especially with how often we competed in the middle of every season.

 

What will you miss the most?
The family atmosphere that was created by the team. During all four years we always had fun and each year we grew closer and closer as a team and I made some of my closest friends through this sport.

 

Do you have any advice for younger athletes?
This sport takes patience and a lot of hard work. You cannot get frustrated after a bad day, or even a string of bad days. There will most likely be more bad days than good, especially in the early going, but when you have that breakout race all of the bad days will have paid off.

 

How have your coaches influenced your performances and your life goals overall?
Coach Wright has influenced me very heavily throughout my high school career. He always treated everyone equally no matter how good or bad they were at running and made sure that no matter what invitational we went to everyone had a chance to run. He also got myself and many others into volunteering at races all over the Pittsburgh area, which were always fun and helpful. Lastly, he has always encouraged me to work hard and helped me develop a tenacious attitude in and out of the sport.

 

What are your college plans?
I am attending Edinboro University to study journalism and run both cross country and track.

 

 

 

Shout-Outs?
- Mom and dad. You got me into the sport, even though neither of you are runners, but you always believed in me and were there every step of the way.

- All the runners who came before me to make the program what it is today.

- The guys I had the pleasure of running with prior to my senior year. Paul, Juice, Cain, Kuchta, Parker, Colin, Labash. You guys really showed me the ways and were great leaders for the team. Most of all you guys always believed in me so thank you for everything.

-  Dennis Doyle. I was glad to have you as my training partner this past year and happy to have my best season with you by my side every step of the way.

- George Kelly. You were the one who began pushing me as a freshman and always knew what to say after a bad race. I’m glad that you and I were the only ones to stick around all four years.

- Finally Coach Wright and Coach Bunny. There’s so much I could say to both of you, but I’ve done that already, so I’ll leave it at this: You the real MVP’s.