Emily Hancock will suit up for the Life University Running Eagles next track season.
The 2021 Gilmer High honor graduate ran hurdles, pole vaulted and was a member of the record setting 4x400 relay team during her time as a Lady Cat.
Hancock discussed her college recruitment and noted the University of North Georgia and Piedmont College were also in contention but she chose to attend Life for its academic setting.
“It’s a private college so classes are going to be smaller and I think I’ll have more one-on-one time with my teachers,” she said. “It wasn’t as much about track as the time I’ll get to have with the teachers.”
Life has an undergraduate enrollment of just over 700 and is located in Marietta. Hancock said staying in Georgia was a priority.
“Almost everyone there is an athlete. There are very few people there who are not an athlete of some sort,” she said. “It’s a very beautiful campus and everyone there was very friendly when I visited. It’s a place where they do care about your academics.”
Hancock credits her parents (Nicholas and Kristina) and coaches for helping her get to this point academically and athletically. She plans to study biology at Life and eventually make an impact as an educator.
“It’s going to take me four years to get my bachelors in biology. Then I want to go back to school for a year to get certified to teach high school science,” Hancock said.
“My brother is autistic, and I know how hard it has been for him to make it through high school. I want to make sure future kids have it easier and fair. I’m not going into special education, but I want to make sure people who have learning disabilities and are in normal classes have it fairly, and I believe I can make a change in someone’s life by doing so.”
Joining the track team
Hancock participated in karate when she was younger. She joined the band at Clear Creek Middle School and was a member of the marching band during her time at GHS. Her track career started in ninth grade and she considered going out for the team the year prior.
“I wanted to try it in middle school but I just didn’t have enough time and it was difficult for my parents to pick me up from all the different practices I was involved in,” Hancock said. “Once I got into high school and could drive myself I figured I could try it.”
Before her time at GHS was up, Hancock ran the 100- and 300-meter hurdles, pole vaulted and was a member of the 4x400 relay team. The Lady Cats won the team region championship her freshman season, which marked their second in a row.
Hancock qualified for state as a sophomore in the pole vault by clearing 7’ 6”. The environment of that meet at Albany’s Hugh Mills Stadium helped Hancock decide she wanted to run track beyond high school.
“Just how big that track meet was and the adrenaline there, I figured it would be the same adrenalin I would get from college track,” she said.
GHS was unable to make a region run in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic put a stop to high school sports from coast to coast. The track season had just gotten underway when news of its demise arrived.
Gilmer was back on the track for a full season in 2021. Low participation kept the Lady Cats from contending for a region championship and they finished third in the team standings.
At the meet, Hancock placed second in the 300-meter hurdles (50.94), third in the pole vault (8’) and fifth in the 100-meter hurdles (18.24). Along with Reagan Boling, Taylor McCormick and Naomi Coombs, they finished second in the 4x400 (4:17.71).
Hancock’s marks in the 300 hurdles, pole vault and 4x400 qualified her for sectionals. She once again topped out at 8’ in the pole vault and improved her 300 time to 50.54 for respective finishes of fifth and sixth to qualify for state. The 4x400 team also qualified for state and their time of 4:13.14 supplanted their previous school record.
Hancock’s pole vault height remained at 8’ at state for ninth place. She turned in a preliminary time of 51.36 in the 300-meter hurdles. After the Lady Cats’ 4x400 quartet ran a 4:14.39 in prelims, they posted a state finals time of 4:21.52 for seventh.
“Overall, it was a very pleasant experience,” Hancock said of her time at GHS. “The team was always supportive. You could always hear Gilmer High School cheering on their track runners no matter where we were. We had a lot of team spirit and it’s always been like that. You can look at some other teams and they won’t be cheering at all.”
Focusing on 300-meter hurdles at Life
Hancock has run the 300-meter hurdles her entire track career and only started running in the 100-meter event as a senior.
“The 100 is more fun and enjoyable than 300, but 300 hurdles — you can ask anyone who does track — is most likely the hardest event you’ll ever run,” Hancock said. “I enjoy it because not many people would even bring themselves to do that and it’s something that makes you stand out.”
She noted the transition was smooth because of her hurdling experience.
“They play a hand in each other. You can train with 100 hurdles and it will help you in the 300 and vice versa,” said Hancock. “I did train a lot for 100 this past year just because it was a newer event and I’d never run it besides this year. But that training helped me in the 300 hurdles a lot.”
At Life, Hancock will run the 300 hurdles but hasn’t ruled out participating in more events.
“I’d love to work my way up to running both hurdles (300 and 100), but they only signed me to run 300,” she said. “I believe my times will be cut down by a lot now that I don’t have to focus on four events and can just focus on the 300. That should help my form and times a lot.”
Life competes in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics as a member of the Mid-South Conference.