Milligan's Kearney qualifies for British Olympic trials

This story first appeared in the Johnson City Press.

Coming to Milligan was an easy and beneficial transition for graduate transfer standout runner Emily Kearney.

The former SCAD Atlanta four-time NAIA individual national champion already has some gaudy collegiate track bests, including 16:17.89 for 5,000 meters.

Last Saturday in Hardeeville, South Carolina, a long training block paid off with a win in the Mortgage Network Half Marathon by almost two minutes and one of the best marks in Great Britain this year.

Her time of 1:12:21 for the 13.1-mile road race is currently 10th and fourth-fastest all time in Welsh history.

"I talked through it an awful lot with my coach about 5:30/mile pace," Kearney said. "I believed it, but when I heard it, it sounded really fast. When I did it, I wasn't surprised, but at the same time, I couldn't believe I had just done it.

"It was a one of those mental things of hearing something and then it actually happening. It was really two different experiences."

LAND OF THE BEATLES

Kearney hails from Wirral, which is just outside of Liverpool.

"(East Tennessee) is pretty similar to North Wales, which isn't too far from here," she said. "Where I live on the coast is more flat, but the countryside is pretty similar to the landscape in Tennessee."

Kearney currently has only outdoor track eligibility, thanks to the spring season being canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"Through the conference meet and talking with her dad, we had already built a relationship," said Buffs coach Chris Layne. "I talked with her a little bit about what she wanted to do post-collegiately and it was mostly in passing."

OFF PACE AT FIRST

Saturday's race did not start off on the ideal pace for Kearney.

She needed 5:30 per mile, but the group started off 10 seconds behind pace in the first mile.

"It became pretty obvious after the first mile that we were not going to run 5:30 pace," she said. "My move really to separate myself came at about a mile and a half."

For her efforts, Kearney qualified for the NAIA outdoor national championships in the marathon and also received another surprise on Thursday morning — an invitation to the British Olympic marathon trials.

"When I read that email first thing this morning, I jumped out of bed," she said. "I ran downstairs yelling, 'Guess what! Guess what!' That was pretty exciting and I was not expecting that."

"She's ran a faster time this year than Jordan Hasay did for the United States," Layne said. "That's really all you need to hear if you follow women's distance running closely."

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Kearney is not the first British athlete to find success at Milligan.

Hannah Segrave and Nathan Baker — both from Middlesbrough, England, and the Nunthorpe School — have garnered national championship honors in the past.

"I think that it really does help to have a connection and appreciation for the British kids," Layne said.

IN THE CLASSROOM

Kearney is currently in the Masters of Humanities program, which is arguably one of the most difficult on campus.

"People often ask me how she is in the classroom," Layne said. "I tell them that she could probably be teaching some of the classes that she is in. She's that smart and you should see some of the artwork that she has done."