Caitlin Collier won the adidas Dream Mile Qualifier at the Raleigh Relays in US #1 4:46.63

by Darrin DeTorres

On an unusually hot November day, cross country runners from the state of Florida toed the line at Apalachee Regional Parkway in Tallahassee for the FHSAA state cross country championships. In the competition was a Bolles girls team that had won the last three state team titles and favored for a fourth. On this team, their leader Caitlin Collier would also be looking to capture an individual state title as she was one of the heavy favorites coming in. With 10 meters left in the race, Caitlin had all but won. Unfortunately, this would be as close as she got to the title as she collapsed right before the finish. Alyssa Pujals from Pine Crest passed Collier to capture a 4th individual title for Pine Crest in as many years. With great maturity and determination, Caitlin had the frame of mind to get across the line and, in turn, helped Bolles capture the 4th team title in a row.

Similar to the regular season, the postseason was much the same for Collier. As one of the best teams in the South East, Bolles traveled to Cary, North Carolina, to compete in the NXN SE Regional Championships. The top 2 teams in the race would earn automatic bids to compete in Nike Cross Nationals, and the top 5 individuals not on qualifying teams would also receive the invite. Bolles finished a disappointing third, missing the trip by one place as a team and Collier finished 7th missing the trip by one place as an individual. In the span of 3 weeks, Caitlin missed out on a state title by about 10 meters and being a national qualifier by only 4 seconds.

Fortunately for Collier, cross country is not her bread and butter. If we fast forward four months, she is no longer trying to be the best runner in 2A. Instead, she’s vying for a spot amongst the nation’s top athletes. As the two-time defending 800-meter state champion who also won a 1600m title in 2015, Collier is on track to be Florida’s next great middle distance runner.

This past Friday, Caitlin was accompanied by her family and Coach Dan Dearing to North Carolina where she competed in the adidas Dream Mile qualifier at the Raleigh Relays.

Going into this weekend, Collier had a stellar month of running under her legs. In early March at the Bolles Bulldog Classic, Caitlin ran a great 1600/800 double where she won both events easily in times of 4:51 and 2:10. Caitlin followed up those performances with a US #1 2:08.11 win in the 800m and a 55.4 for the 400m split in the 4x400 at the Deltona Invitational. Her times made even more impressive by the fact that she was uncontested, having won each race pretty handily.

The Raleigh Relays would prove to be different than what Collier had seen all season.

In most races this season, competitors have traveled to race her as the top dog, Bulldog, in Florida. Now with the tables turned, she would go to compete with the best female distance runners in the country.

The field included Nevada Moreno, a cross country All-American and the 2015 New Balance Indoor National Champion for the mile and Libby Davidson, also a cross country All-American and the runner-up in the 2-mile at the 2016 New Balance Indoor National Championship.

The girls line up.  The gun fires.  Out to the early lead is Moreno. Collier opts to jump on her hip and hang on. The first lap goes by, and Caitlin is clocked at a quick 69.3.  The pace then slows dramatically to a 77.6 at which point the race has played right into her strengths. As the top 800 meter runner in the field, if not the country, the race had just become a kicker’s dream. The third lap goes by with Moreno still leading and Collier splitting about 71 seconds. Collier allows Moreno to lead for 1400 meters before taking the race and dropping a 65.6-second final lap. Collier wins in 4:46.63 over Moreno, who ran a 4:47.36.

After the event, we were able to catch up with Bolles head coach, Dan Dearing, and talk a little bit about the race. When asked about how he prepared Collier mentally going into the race, Dearing said it was, “Not about chasing a fast time; it was about chasing competition.” He stated that she is a “fierce competitor” and “hard worker.”

“She is the kind of girl you trust in an important race to do her best.” Which is what she did.  They took the trip as an opportunity to try and earn a spot in the dream mile and in achieving their goal, all the pressure was taken away, and now Collier can focus fully on helping her team chase a state title on the track.

Talking to Caitlin about her race she said going in “If I can stay on her hip I can push myself.” She managed to hang on for 1400 meters before taking the lead and winning the race. “It feels good trusting my training, and it paid off,” she said.  When asked about her confidence following the race she humbly stated that she was just happy to have the opportunity to compete with the best girls in the country.

Going forward, Caitlin will have six weeks before she gets the chance to defend her state titles at the FHSAA Class 2A Track and Field Championships at IMG Academy. She will be looking to score points for her team in the 800, 1600, and 4x400. After that, she will have another six weeks to train for the Adidas Dream Mile in Boston, where she will have the opportunity to cement herself as one of the best Florida middle-distance runners of all time.

Caitlin's Athletic.net Profile