State Champion spotlight: Tahlia Mullen (Lincoln Academy)
What were your preparations leading up to the state meet?
I'd been dealing with a hip-flexer injury for much of the season, so one the biggest ways I prepared for the state meet was simply keeping up with all the stretching and foam-rolling I'd been having to do in order to get healthy again. My workouts in the last couple weeks had to be relatively tame just because my top priority was making sure I would be able to compete at all.
How did you deal with the pressure and emotions that come along with competing in a state meet?
I usually try to distract myself by hanging out with my teammates and cheering them on in their own races. There were plenty of other people on my team dealing with the same nerves as I was, so there was definitely a bit of comradely on that front.
You were injured at the beginning of the season, so your buildup to the state meet was less than ideal. Coming into the meet you were the defending champion but only seeded third, how did you stay positive throughout the season?
My buildup was definitely less than ideal, and the injury persisted until late January actually. In simplest terms, it was a cycle of resting, thinking I'd recovered, racing, and re-injuring myself. I had to ride that cycle a few times before finally agreeing to take a full three weeks off with zero running entirely. I'm not sure I would attribute my success to an ability to stay positive more than just an inability to give up. It's a double edged sword though because refusal give up is also the reason the injury became so bad in the first place; I kept trying to practice and race when really I should have just taken a week or two off right at the beginning of the season.
At any point did you have doubts you would repeat as champion?
There were definitely doubts I would be healthy in time to qualify. I didn't get a chance to run my first 400 of the season until the very last opportunity (the last qualifying meet), and my hip flexer still wasn't at quite 100% then. Even after crossing that bridge, coming into states seeded 3rd in the 400m, my chances of winning definitely appeared slim. I'm very grateful I was able to pull it together in the end.
What was the feeling like after you crossed the line, winning your second straight 400m title?
I really wasn't sure it would be a possibility mid-season, and my chances looked only a little bit better going into states. I will say though that I'm probably more grateful of the win than I would have been if the season had gone more ideally.
Coming into the season what were your goals and did you achieve them?
My most basic goal this season was to defend my 400 title, that was really the most important to me. But after having gotten down to a low 58 last spring, I would have liked to have gone under 60 seconds (my 60.01 at states this year was admittedly a little infuriating). Still, given the circumstances and my relatively low expectations going into the race, I was still quite thrilled. I also would have liked to have won the 200 after having been outdoor state champion last spring, but again, given the circumstances, I'm perfectly content with state runner up finish. I'm also super happy for Ashley Anderson, she's an awesome competitor.
Mullen's 400m Progression
| INDOOR | Graph |
|---|---|
| 2017 | 1:00.01 |
| 2016 | 1:00.54 |
2016-17 Indoor Performances
| 2017 | SEASON | EVENT | MEET | DATE | PLACE | ROUND | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1:42.26 | Indoor | 600m | New England Indoor Track & Field Championships | 16th | Finals | > | ||
| 27.09 | Indoor | 200m | Class B Indoor State Championship | 2nd | Finals | > | ||
| 1:00.01 | Indoor | 400m | Class B Indoor State Championship | 1st | Finals | > | ||
| 27.51 | Indoor | 200m | KVAC Championship | 1st | Finals | > | ||
| 1:02.34 | Indoor | 400m | KVAC Championship | 1st | Finals | > | ||
| 1:03.21 | Indoor | 400m | KVAC: Bel,Cony,Ersk Acad,Law,Lin Aca,Mess,Skow,Wat, Win @ Colby | 1st | Finals | > | ||
| 27.43 | Indoor | 200m | KVAC:Bel, Bruns, EL, Lewi,Lin Acad, Mt. A, Ocean @ Bowdoin | 1st | Finals | > | ||
| 2016 | SEASON | EVENT | MEET | DATE | PLACE | ROUND | ||
| 7.85 | Indoor | 55m | KVAC: Bel, Ersk Acad, Law, Lin Acad,MCI, Mess, Skow, Wat | 2nd | Finals | > | ||
| 7.97 | Indoor | 55m | KVAC:Belfast, BWICK, Cony, Lewi, Lin Acad, Mess, Mt A @ Colby | 1st | Finals | > | ||
| 2:31.92 | Indoor | 800m | KVAC:Belfast, BWICK, Cony, Lewi, Lin Acad, Mess, Mt A @ Colby | 1st | Finals | > | ||
