KALI MAGANA FLIES OVER THE FINISH LINE AFTER BREAKING THE LAST CHANCE 800m RECORD!
Some people operate on the Four Ps. Preparation Prevents Poor Performance. Louise Mcgehee's Kali Magana uses the Four Ps when she competes, but her Ps are a little different.
Push, Pace, Position, and Pray.
She mentioned the Four Ps last May when she won four gold medals in the LHSAA Class A State Outdoor Championships. And she mentioned it again on Saturday when she broke Rachel Fereday's one-year-old meet record (2:17.26) in the 800m at the LSU Last Chance Qualifier with a time of 2:16.69.
However, it was Magana's performance in the 60m which gave her the fuel she needed to do something special in the 800m.
She finished No. 13 in the 60m with a time of 7.90.
"It (the 60m)was rough race for," Magana said. "That's what made me so mad, I was like OK..I got to come back in the 8 and do something. I was disappointed. I haven't run that time in a minute. I was like I got to get it together for the 8."
She certainly did just that, getting out to the front early in the race with John Curtis' London Parker.
"First, I looked at my competitors," Magana said. "I knew people were going to push and shove me so I definitely wanted to get out. I knew I had the speed that some of them don't have. We worked on a lot of pace work this week. I was like you have to get out and pace yourself. Don't get out too fast. Can't go too slow. My coach told me the times that I have to run. He said you have come in 1:04 in the first 400. OK, kind of fast, but I have to pace myself."
Magana followed the plan to T coming in at 1:03.9 for the first 400m of the race.
In the back half of the race, she leaned on her Four Ps.
"Basically, at the end, I just pushed myself," Magana said. "The four Ps. Push, Pace, Persevere, and Pray."
At the end of last year's indoor season, Magana ran a personal record 2:14.61 in the Emerging Elite 800m at the Nike Indoor Nationals. The time is No. 2 all-time indoors in Louisiana trailing only Rachel Fereday's 2:14.50 at the 2023 LHSAA State Indoor Championships.
Will she be able to use her Four Ps to move to No. 1 on Louisiana's all-time 800m list at the 2024 LHSAA State Indoor Meet? We cannot wait to find out.