Wolverine Athlete Spotlight: Connor Mora
9/17/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
Wolverine fans have seen junior Connor Mora take a big leap in the past calendar year. Mora competed in three races in-uniform during the fall 2014 cross country season before taking a step forward during the transition between indoor and outdoor track seasons this past spring, and he pinpoints that time frame as an important juncture in his development. Mora built on the momentum of a career-best steeplechase finish (8:45) last spring to qualify for the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds, where he just missed out on a trip to the NCAA Championships. Now a valuable contributor in the U-M lineup, Mora has continued that positive trend with a pair of top-three finishes in the opening two weekends of the 2015 cross country season, including a third-place showing at Penn State last weekend to help U-M to the team title. Mora sat down with MGoBlue.com to discuss the growth he has seen and felt over the last year, the team's collective confidence heading to East Lansing this Friday (Sept. 18), and how he approached this summer's training cycle after a big track season in the spring.
On when he felt himself taking that 'next step' in his career to becoming a steady contributor ... "I would say there was a transition coming off of our indoor season into the outdoor season. My feet finally got used to the training at the end of the indoor season, and I saw myself as being able to accomplish something greater than I had accomplished in the previous two outdoor seasons. With my strong suit being the steeplechase, I went into that part of the year with some high goals. Overall, the transition was really good going into the outdoor season last year."
On the team's confidence after a big win at Penn State's Harry Groves Invitational last weekend ... "Our confidence is at a very good level at this point in the season. We definitely do not want to get ahead of ourselves. Looking at the teams that we did beat, these early season meets are very nice for the opportunity to gain some extra confidence and beat some quality competition early on. Overall, I think it is a positive for us as a team, running in these smaller meets. We get the opportunity to open things up a little bit and put in some good work early in the season."
On racing on more golf courses this season than in years past ... "I think the terrain that we train on benefits us a lot when we get later into the season, especially running on golf courses and flatter, faster courses in general. Coach Sullivan has us doing a lot of hills and Radrick Farms is a bit of rougher terrain for us to train on, so I think the transition to running on golf courses and flatter surfaces gives us the opportunity to open up and feel stronger when we get the chance to race."
On how he approached training this past summer, after such a successful outdoor campaign and running 8:45 in the steeple to qualify for NCAA Regionals ... "I focused more on maintaining what I did in the spring. It worked for me, so I wanted to stick to it throughout the summer and I was able to do that. My mind was very focused on training throughout the summer to make sure I came into this fall with decent fitness. I know everyone put in the work this summer and I wanted to come in and be able to contribute and put a good effort towards the championship season."
• Previous Spotlight: Aaron Baumgarten
Communications Contact: Chad Shepard
Players Mentioned
