Since she last raced at New Balance Outdoor Nationals, Cockrell raced at two of the biggest meets of her life. First was the US Junior Championships, which served as qualifiers for the World Junior Championships in Poland. Top two athletes per event make the US Team and Cockrell had some stiff competition. In the 400H she won her qualifying round with ease to auto-advance to the finals. In the final she took second to current Olympian Sydeny McLaughlin, but booked her trip to the World Junior Championships, and secured her spot on her second US team! Below is an interview of Cockrell after her second place finish.
Next came the US Olympic Trials where Cockrell was one of two high schoolers in an all pro and college field. In the first of three rounds Cockrell ran 56.53 to be the 6th fastest qualifing time to advance her onto the semi-finals! The semi-finals were the but cut from 16 down to 8 athletes. Anna took 6th in her heat, improving on her time from the day before running 56.51, but that left her out of a qualifying spot as she narrowly missed out on the finals finishing 11th. Which is great for how young and early Cockrell is in her career just being 18 years old and having much less experience than the rest of the field.
Cockrell is now flying out to Poland where she will hope to return a World Junior Champion! We wish her the best of luck and know that she will represent the great state of North Carolina well!
You've had a big last few meets, how was your mindset going into US Juniors after New Balance Nationals?
I was pretty disappointed after New Balance Nationals. It's crazy to say that because I set new PRs in all three of my events, but I wanted more from myself. I was hoping to go 55 seconds for the first time in 400m hurdles and that didn't happen, and I had a bad start in the 100m hurdle finals. So overall, I was frustrated after nationals and I was looking to make some serious corrections going into US Juniors.
What emotions were going through your head when you realized you've made your second US team?
It took a while for the realization that I made my second team to hit me because I made it for 400m hurdles, but I still had my 100m hurdle final 40 minutes later. I had to immediately start preparing for what was my second final of the day, so I completely shut everything else out of my mind so I could focus on having a good race and trying to make it in both events. After the 100m hurdle final, I was cooling down, and it finally hit me that I made another team and was going to Poland. I'm emotional (and a little crazy), so I ran over to my parents and started screaming and hugging them. There were so many emotions running through me. I was happy and relieved because I finally PRed in 400m hurdles, but at the same time I was a bit frustrated that I was one spot from making it for 100m hurdles. Overall, I'm just so grateful and honored to be on another USA team and compete in an international meet.
What are your goals for World Juniors?
I want another PR. Usually I'm running around, doing both hurdle events and sometimes the 200, so I'm looking forward to being able to completely focus on 400m hurdles. So I would say my goals are to execute, have some great races, PR, and have a little fun along the way.
What are you looking forward to most about the trip to Poland?
I'm looking forward to the entire experience. While I've previously traveled to Europe, I've never been to Poland. So for starters, I love that we'll be in a country that's completely foreign to me. I know there will be great competition in my event so that's awesome. This is Worlds, so I'm hoping I'll get the chance to interact with athletes from all over. Last year, I made a lot of friends on the team, so I'm excited to get to know more people and hang out.
What expectations did you have going into the US Olympic Trials?
I just wanted to get out there and run some good races!
How were your nerves compared to other big meets you've competed in?
I was incredibly nervous. At times, I got so overwhelmed I had to stop what I was doing just so I could breathe! The nerves faded a bit when I started warming up because no matter what meet you're at your warmup routine is exactly the same. But then when we walked out onto the track they came back full force. The crowd was so loud and engaged - especially during semifinals - and being on the track with women I've watched for years didn't help soothe my anxiety either. This was just a huge meet and it was unlike anything I've ever experienced.
Did you expect to make it through the first round?
Yes, I did expect to make it through the first round prior to the race. Then I ran terribly during prelims. I had a really fast start - which is what I wanted - but then I panicked and backed off too hard on the backstretch, and that completely took me out of the race. Since I didn't get the automatic spot to finals, I had to stand and watch the rest of the heats with my coach and pray that my time would hold up. I can't explain how stressful those few minutes were!
How do you think this experience will benefit you looking down the road 4 years for 2020 and other US Senior Championships?
I feel like this experience was extremely beneficial, especially since next year I'll be too old for juniors. I think the main way this has prepared me for the future is just exposing me to what this caliber meet feels like. It's hard to put into words the emotions that rolled through me and what the presence of the crowd and general atmosphere felt like. Nothing could've prepared me for all of that, its just something you have to experience to understand. So the next time I go to Senior Championships or 2020 trials, I'll know what it'll feel like to be out there and how to prepare for it.
Did you see yourself competing at a meet of this caliber when you started your season? Was it one of your goals?
We realized last year that my PR qualified me to go to Olympic Trials. I talked it over a lot with my family and my coach, and we decided that we'd wait to see how my season progressed before making a decision. Indoor went really well, and I competed against pros at the Camel City meet at JDL. That meet gave me a lot of confidence that I could compete at this level, and we decided we were going to go to Trials. After that, going to trials and competing well was added to my list of goals for the season.
Did you take any advice away from any of the pros or collegians you competed against?
Definitely. Like I said, I'm an emotional person, and I'm incredibly hard on myself. I knew making finals would be extremely difficult, but when I didn't I was devastated. I'm not ashamed to admit that I sat on the warmup field with my coach and cried. Kori Carter saw me crying, and came over to talk to me. She told me about how the year before she set the NCAA record, she didn't make finals. She said it was good to cry, and to let the pain I was feeling in that moment fuel me during every practice from now on. Kori taking the time to talk to me and share her experiences with me was so meaningful, especially because I've been watching her since middle school.