FINISHING KICK: Princeton University men’s track star Connor McCormick, middle, competes in a race this spring. McCormick ended his Princeton career on a high note as took fourth in the 1,500 meter final at the NCAA Championships this June at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. McCormick rode a blistering finishing kick to a time of 3:37.27 as he garnered first-team All-America honors. (Photo by Andrew Lemay/Princeton Athletics)
By Justin Feil
Connor McCormick made the final stretch of his final race for the Princeton University men’s track and field program one to remember.
And one to build on.
The Tigers senior was back in ninth place going into the final 250 meters of the men’s 1,500 meter final at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on June 12 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., when he started to make his move.
“I had to go then and it definitely hurt me a little bit running in lane three, but I think it was probably the right decision to just go and be like whatever, if I blow up, I blow up, at least I need to give it my shot,” said McCormick. “Maybe it took a little bit of a toll on my legs, whereas I probably wasn’t finishing the last 50 meters as strong as I wanted to. But I think it was definitely just a you-need-to-go-now type decision and deal with the consequences.”
McCormick moved up in the standings and was running four abreast down the home stretch behind eventual winner Simeon Birnbaum of Oregon. McCormick kicked hard to finish fourth overall in 3:37.27 to garner first-team All-America honors, only nine-hundredths of a second behind race runner-up Trent McFarland of Michigan and six-hundredths behind bronze medalist Gary Martin of Virginia. He was one of seven All-American events for Princeton under Tiger head coach Jason Vigilante.
“It was definitely somewhat of a high note,” said McCormick.
“Definitely in the moment, I was very disappointed I didn’t get second because second was within a 10th of a second. But overall, reflecting on it, it felt really good being able to place and score and represent the team and Vig, it was definitely a good feeling overall.”
McCormick made the most of what was his first trip to the outdoor NCAAs. In the preliminaries, he won his heat in a school record 3:35.81 — eclipsing his own school mark from earlier in the spring.
“I was more happy with the win,” said McCormick. “Even though I just had to be top five, I was more happy with the win than the time necessarily.”
He turned to his finishing speed again in the final to jump up significantly for a top-four finish. That move is something he’s been able to rely on in some big spots, though he wasn’t sure how it would play out against such a talented field at NCAAs.
“I definitely have a really good kick,” said McCormick. “I think that’s maybe my greatest strength.”
The Princeton men had several athletes perform well at the ultimate college level. Greg Foster’s 26’ 4.5 long jump earned him fourth place as well and a first team All-American nod. Myles Hogan placed 12th in the 5,000 meters in 13:52.05 for second-team All-America honors.
“Myles ran from the start of the senior year all the way through the end, setting an Ivy League record in the 5K winning the cross-country title,” said Vigilante. “He ran some phenomenal times. Indoors, he broke 4:00, outdoors, he ran what would be equivalent to a 3:55 mile. He’s just been brilliant, and it was a good way to finish off his Princeton career. And Gregory, he may go down as one of the best Ivy League track and field athletes ever. So I just consider myself very lucky to be the coach here and to work with these guys every day.”
Joey Gant was second team All-America in the men’s 400 after taking 10th place in 45.60 seconds. Brian Boler and Jackson Shorten both were second team All-America in the men’s steeplechase. And Gant teamed with Jonathan York, Kavon Miller and Xavier Donaldson for 14th in the 4×400 relay to earn second team All-America acclaim.
“I couldn’t be more proud of our group,” said Vigilante. “It’s one thing to compete at the Ivy League level, but the NCAA championship is a completely different animal. There are 300 Division I schools, and the level of competition is on par with the Olympic Games in some events. A young man set the world record in the 110 hurdles (this year). So if you’re good at the NCAA track meet, you are pretty much at the world-class level.”
It was newsworthy just for McCormick to get to the NCAA meet given what his last year has entailed. His 2025 outdoor track season was cut short before regionals by a stress fracture in
his back.
“It’s definitely something that was super scary, but I pretty much took all of last summer off from running, but I was still in the gym doing good workouts on the bike, and then I was able to get back into running in August,” said McCormick. “I started working out in September, and cross country was still like a little bit being super cautious, but then, once the second semester started, I was really able to just be like, it’s time to really get it going, and give it my all.”
While McCormick has been told that his back won’t ever fully heal, as long as he doesn’t aggravate it, he can run with the injury. After building back his strength and fitness, he came on well in the indoor track and field season to make his first indoor NCAAs, where he ran 3:58.45 for 13th place and second team All-America honors in the mile. He came off that milestone to finish fourth at the outdoor NCAA East Regional to get to nationals.
“Regionals was a little bit nerve-wracking, but after getting out there and just trusting in everything that I had built, it turned into kind of the expectation to make nationals,” said McCormick. “So just definitely super proud to even make nationals. It’s not easy. So I was pretty happy with that.”
His indoor success coupled with his outdoor times and training sent McCormick into the NCAAs with more confidence than ever. He hadn’t always believed coming up through the years that he could compete with the most talented runners, but he felt that possibility going into nationals.
“Definitely the regional meet helped and just the season as a whole really helped me build that confidence,” said McCormick. “I was a little less nervous going into the prelim and the final as I was indoor or some other big meets. Really actually believing at this time that I can go out there and compete with anyone, I didn’t really place myself anywhere, but I definitely thought that I could make the finals. And if I made the finals, you have got to race to win it. I put myself in a position where that could have been a possibility, so I’m happy with that.”
McCormick has been a steady riser for the Tigers, all while balancing being an Operations Research and Financial Engineering (ORFE) major. He has been an excellent student in the classroom and of the sport.
“Every year he’s gathered steam,” said Vigilante. “And he’s refined his racing abilities to the point where he’s one of the best guys in the country. So I’m really proud of him that he’s been able to just keep getting better and better and discover how good he can be over the course of four years.”
McCormick doesn’t think he’s done improving yet. He has an NCAA season of cross country and a season of indoor track and field eligibility left that he will use this coming year while studying for a master’s in management from the University of Oregon.
“In general, since I started running, even just for fun in middle school, maybe not every season per se, but every year I’ve generally gotten a little bit better and better,” said McCormick, a native of Longmont, Colo. “So that definitely gives me confidence to think that I can still maintain that improvement. And I think I definitely still have a lot of room to grow.”
Improving every year doesn’t happen for everyone, but McCormick has seen results from a steady approach. He climbed from being a supporting member of the team to an All-Ivy finisher for the Princeton cross country team his junior year. He helped the Tigers as a team last year by moving away from his 1,500/mile focus to take on the 800 meters to generate more points for the team. This year, he came back to the 1,500. He lowered his times and moved up to a top-two finisher at Ivy Outdoor Track Heptagonals over his final two years.
“Consistency has been the greatest thing that I’ve found for improving,” said McCormick. “Even through injuries, just keeping a level head and just keep pushing forward. Don’t let anything, don’t let a bad race and injury, just anything like that, really deter the path. It’s fine to have bad days, but then once you start having bad weeks and months, it can really derail a whole year of your running career. So I think just hopefully staying healthy — knock on wood — and just continuing to train hard, sleep well, hydrate, do little things right, and keep a keep a level head and stay confident, I think that’s definitely the way to get there.”
Princeton teammates Myles Hogan and Jackson Shorten will join him at Oregon for graduate studies as they use their final NCAA eligibility. They’ll be looking to make the most of their last chances to compete in college and continue to develop as well. McCormick is looking forward to putting the Princeton uniform on one more time at the USATF Outdoor Championships July 23-26 in New York before turning the page on his Tigers career.
Competing at Oregon is another step toward his Olympic dream. When he finishes his NCAA eligibility, he will have just one year until the U.S. Olympic Trials for the chance to make the U.S team for the LA 2028 Summer Olympics.
“That would definitely be the goal, I’ll just take stock of where I’m at after I finish indoors,” said McCormick. “And maybe if a pro contract is on the horizon, and I think I do have a shot at making the Olympic team, that would definitely be something I’d want to pursue. I think I would definitely be able to make the Olympic Trials based off of my times that I’ve ran being good enough to qualify. But thinking if I have a chance to make the actual team would be a whole different story. That’s why I’m going to Oregon; I think that’s where I will be able to extend and maximize my running potential to the highest degree.”