In a historic performance against many of the nation’s top collegiate runners, redshirt senior Emily Mackay became the first female runner in the Binghamton cross country team’s history to compete at the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships on Monday.

“Considering that I have struggled to stay healthy these past few years, to be able to run consistently and the fact that I’ve been healthy for over a year now means a lot,” Mackay said.

Mackay kicked off the 6K race in Stillwater, Oklahoma sticking to the front pack of 50 runners. The senior passed the first kilometer in 39th, but quickly made her way into the leading 25 by the halfway point.

“For the first 2K I was just having fun,” Mackay said. “It was a great experience. It was just surreal being in a pack of so many fast girls.”

Despite the caliber of the opposing runners, Mackay held strong and refused to give up her position. Then, in the final kilometer of the race, Mackay shot up from 21st all the way to 14th, and crossed the finish line with a time of 20:34.50 and earn All-American honors.

“[The race] went way better than I was expecting,” Mackay said. “I had no idea I had a shot at top 15 … I knew it would be great to get top 40 and have that All-American status, but I didn’t know how realistic of a goal that was.”

Mackay now sits among an elite few in Binghamton program history. She is not only the 14th All-American athlete in BU’s Division I history, but the first women’s cross country runner in the team’s Division I era.

The race was slated to be challenging since its announcement. The Division I race brings in runners from the best schools in the country, including NC State’s three-time high school national champion, freshman Katelyn Tuohy, who broke four national records during her time at North Rockland before joining the Wolfpack for her freshman year. Additionally, UMass Lowell’s graduate student Kaley Richards, who Mackay edged out by a fraction of a second at the America East (AE) Championships earlier this month, was set to compete in the 6K.

“I knew there was going to be great competition there,” Mackay said. “Honestly I tried to just stay excited and not let the nerves get to me, just keeping in mind that it’s a great experience and it was an honor just to be there. No matter what happened I really wanted to enjoy it and soak it all in.”

Mackay beat both runners to the finish line, running almost six seconds faster than Tuohy and a full 12 seconds quicker than Richards. She also beat out most of the 253 finishing athletes in the race.

“It was very helpful mentally knowing that I was in that top 40,” Mackay said. “It gave me the energy that I needed, knowing that I could potentially be an All-American, to finish strong.”

During her time at Union-Endicott High School, Mackay broke both Section IV records for the 1500M and 3000M runs. She also competed at the 2014 Nike Cross Nationals 5K as a junior and finished 71st with a time of 18:54.

Continuing her running career, Mackay graduated in 2016 and redshirted her freshman year at Oregon State before joining the Bearcats where she continued to break records. At the 2020 Boston University Valentine Invitational, she shattered her previous school record in the mile by seven seconds, clocking in at 4:46.38. Mackay also has two AE track and field relay titles to her name, a cross country AE title and now an All-American award.

“I’m so thankful that I have this opportunity to compete at the Division I level and to do it in my hometown,” Mackay said.

With Binghamton’s cross country season officially over, the Bearcats will now look toward the upcoming outdoor track and field season. The first meet for the BU is set to begin on Saturday, March 27 at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania. Working off of the energy from Monday’s performance, Mackay is excited to get back on the track.

“I’m excited to get to race on the track because it’s been over a year,” Mackay said. “I’d like to run a couple personal bests in the 800 and 1500, maybe run a 5K on the track for the first time competitively. I’m super excited for things to come.”