By Kevin Mills,Staff Writer

There was a time that Anna Willard wondered if she had already reached her peak.

The former Telstar athlete had competed in cross country and track at Brown University, but still had not reached the level she had envisioned. She began to wonder if she’d ever get there.

“I’d always hoped to be at this level by the time I graduated from college,” said Willard. “When I was a junior, and I wasn’t there yet, I just thought maybe my greatest days were behind me.”

She discovered just the opposite. Instead, her best days were ahead. Willard not only reached All-American status during the indoor track season her senior year, but also accomplished the same feat in the outdoor season.

“It was awesome,” said Willard. “This year has been absolutely phenomenal. The improvement has been mind-boggling.”

Willard recently placed sixth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the NCAA Championships in Sacramento, California. It not only made her an All-American, but also set both a new school record and personal record.

“I ended up coming in sixth, which was where I was seeded,” said Willard. “I thought I would be anywhere in the mix. All of my races, I was pretty much by myself. So I wasn’t really being pushed at all. I was happy that I came in the seeding I was running, and it was nice to come out with a PR.”

Willard had also been an All-American during the indoor track season. She finished eighth in the distance medley relay’s at the NCAA Indoor Championship in March.

She’s also qualified to compete in the U.S. Outdoor Track and Field Championship in Indianapolis this week, but said Wednesday she’s 90 percent sure she won’t compete. The 3,000 steeplechase begins today.

Willard had a 1,500 race at Randall’s Island, N.Y., on Tuesday and plans to race in the 3,000 there next Wednesday. She’s gunning for a new school records in the 3,000 after breaking the school mark in the 1,500 on Tuesday.

She already holds the school mark in the outdoor 800 and 5,000 and the indoor record for the 1,000. She is also part of the school record holding 4×800 and distance medley relay teams for indoor and outdoor track.

The primary reason for her change of fortune may be her new coach and a new approach. After eight years at Columbia, Craig Lake became the Director of Men’s and Women’s Cross Country and Track and Field at Brown. She brought a whole new perspective and new results to Willard’s training, and it didn’t take long to see the differences.

“It was after our conference meet in cross country,” said Willard. “I dropped a minute and 15 seconds. To me, that was out of the blue, but to her, it was what she expected. I realized I could be as good as I thought I could.”

Willard says her training has been tapered differently and not only made her feel faster but also fresher.

“I just feel so much stronger,” said Willard. “A lot of our practices (before Lake) were at race pace. So by the time we got to races, I was tired or I had peaked too early.”

Lake also brought a more serious approach to all facets. Willard learned that to be a top-level athlete, it meant being serious and more determined in not only her training but also in how she lived day-to-day life. She conformed her eating habits and lifestyle to fit her training and her goals.

“I don’t think I realized how much more dedicated I had to be to be at another level,” said Willard.

When she ran her first mile to start the indoor season, she produced a PR by 12 seconds. In the steeplechase, she could foresee significant improvements.

She began competing in the event only when they needed to fill an opening. Having played basketball as well as running track at Telstar, she thought she might have the athletic ability to handle both the running and jumping.

“I said How about I give it a try,'” said Willard. “First time, I ran it, I broke the school record. After that, it was clear that it was my event.”

She dropped 20 seconds off her initial time in a year. She hoped for similar success this year.

“I thought I could probably do that again but by the end of the season, it was 30 (seconds),” she said. “So that was good.”

Willard’s improvement has been so rapid, she’s got her sights on challenging for an Olympic berth down the road. She’s able to compete as a Brown athlete until August. After that, she’ll still have a year of eligibility left. She plans to attend graduate school next year at the University of Michigan and will compete in outdoor track there. The following year will be an Olympic year. So it is conceivable that she could be poised to earn a spot.

“I really hope to run a 9:40 to be in contention for the Olympic trials,” said Willard, who ran a 10:06.83 in the NCAA Championships earlier this month. “That’s really not much of a drop.”