LAWRENCE, Kan. - Kansas has lots of brown stuff growing out of the ground for miles, some cows who sleep two feet away from the edge of dirt roads and not much else, it seems.
Kind of like East Lansing.
And for Katie McGregor, her trip to Kansas wasn't too much of a big deal, either.
McGregor won her seventh and biggest individual title of the season at the NCAA Cross Country Championships yesterday, becoming the first Michigan individual champion in the school's history.
But like what Kansas has to offer, it wasn't anything special to her.
For this young woman, winning championship after championship is just another day.
"I'm proud of myself, I'm proud of my team, but it's just another race, and I may or may not win the next time," McGregor said. "Just be happy with what you get."
Before the race, McGregor had little to worry about. After all, it's no big deal.
"We've prepared for this all season," McGregor said. "There's no point getting uptight about it."
McGregor showed nothing but modesty following her incredible victory.
After crossing the finish line, she didn't scream and shout. She didn't taunt, yell or spill a jug of gatorade on her coach.
Instead, she smiled, hugged her teammates and helped clean up Michigan's tarp area.
She thanked her teammates and gave thanks that the race was over, and she performed well.
This is Michigan's new cross country national champion.
McGregor just smiled when she received her award, a small plaque which she'll "just add on to the other ones."
During the awards ceremony, McGregor stood on the podium proudly, but during her short interview, all that spurted from the microphone were compliments for the other runners.
"All these girls are here for a reason," McGregor said. "I'm not the only good runner out here."
McGregor was quite content with the competition and fun she had with her teammates.
"We had a lot of fun" together, McGregor said.
And her coach?
He said "good job" and that's about all there was to say.
This is Michigan's new champion.
Surprised?
McGregor's cool celebration wasn't a shock to her teammates. They all know that she doesn't even keep track of her personal best times.
"She doesn't care about any of that outside stuff," sophomore Julie Froud said. To compete "is all that she wants. It's incredible to be her teammate."
McGregor vanquished record after record in her career as a Wolverine.
Michigan coach Mike McGuire calls her "the best kid I have ever coached."
And at the same time, it's not a big deal.
How does she do it? How can she remain so blasé about success, even success on the level of a national championship?
"It takes a good coach, motivation and great teammates," McGregor said. "You train well with them, they make you feel good about yourself, they make it fun and that's the most important thing."
If only we felt that way about our jobs, our homework and life in general.
But then again, we're not Katie McGregor.
11-24-98
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