Friday Features: MC's McDonald Excelling as Two-Sport Athlete
By Chris Megginson
When choosing a college,
Andrea McDonald dreamed she could play soccer and compete in track and field, but had come to believe she'd have to settle for one sport.
While visiting Mississippi College for a soccer only visit, she told Coach
Darryl Longabaugh about track and field and he called track coach
Butch Ard to his office. Ard looked her up on the computer and offered a scholarship on the spot.
"I didn't think I was going to do both, but MC changed that all around. It was a no-brainier (to choose MC)," McDonald said.
The New Orleans area native made an immediate impact on the Choctaws' women's soccer defense in 2015, setting the MC record for shutouts in a single season with 10 and led her team to a runner-up finish at the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Championships in Florida.
"I was used to breaking records in high school for track, so it was really cool to see I could break a record For soccer, because that had never been done for me personally," McDonald said.
The individual record and team success produced self-applied pressure to perform better the next year.
Coming out of her freshman soccer season, McDonald began her transition to collegiate track and field.
"The competition was eye-opening," McDonald said. "It kind of humbles you. There's all of these great athletes out there. It's not just a walk in the park."
McDonald said the transition was a struggle, but she improved as she moved through the season. She closed the year on top, posting personal best marks of 38'7" in the triple jump and 18'4.25" in the long jump at the Gulf South Conference Championships. She went on to beat her javelin throw distance with a throw of 115'11 at the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Outdoor National Championships, but her highlight was claiming the NCCAA national title in the high jump with a leap of 5 feet, 5.75 inches.
"When I won nationals it really was a help the next two seasons that it's going to be a rough start and transition, but at the end you just need to stay patient and everything is going to fall into place," she said.
Claiming the high jump title was fitting for McDonald, who says that is the one jump that helps her the most in goal.
"That's actually what got me here," McDonald said. "I told coach I might be a short goalkeeper but I have high jumps to back me up. It really helps me with crossbar saves and especially being explosive on one-on-ones."
She has gone on to help MC soccer to a 36-11-7 record with a program career record 24 total shutouts. Her 35 career wins and 0.73 goals against average are second all-time at MC.
In 2017, MC won its first Gulf South Conference regular season title, sharing the top spot with Lee University, and finished runner-up to Lee in the GSC Tournament. The Choctaws also reached the NCAA Division II Tournament for first time as the No. 1 seed in the NCAA South Sub-Regional.
"We set our goals very early this year, and it's always to win the conference final. I feel like we've done a pretty good job getting as close to our goal as we can," she said about her junior season.
During the 2017 season, McDonald produced a 0.56 goals against average on the season, which ranked Top 25 in the nation, and received First Team All-GSC and D2CCA All-South First Team honors and a United Soccer Coaches All-South Second Team selection.
"Andrea is both an outstanding athlete and young lady," said Darryl Longabaugh, MC women's soccer head coach. "She played a huge role in the success of the team this past year. We won several games just from what she was able to do in goal. Anything and everything that she does is always done with 100 percent effort."
With indoor track and field season underway, McDonald now prepares to transition back into track in January, joining the team a little later after a "very physical soccer year."
She says the transition each winter is "challenging, but it's not impossible."
As she prepares for her junior season in track, McDonald once again sets her sights high wanting to make her first appearance in the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships this season and to place nationally before her career is over.
"She is an extremely focused and driven student-athlete," Ard said. "It takes a lot to play one sport at a college level, but to compete in two and add the coursework takes a special type of student-athlete. We are extremely proud to have Andrea as part of the Mississippi College community and have her represent our college."
Off the field, McDonald is studying to be a physical therapist, which in some ways is a tribute to her late grandfather, David Call.
Growing up, McDonald lived next door to her grandfather and watched as he underwent physical therapy and respiratory therapy for various illness and surgeries. While she's played soccer since kindergarten, it was actually his respiratory therapist when she was 11 that helped get her into track and field, competing in AAU and Junior Olympics before high school.
Today, she competes with Call's signature tattooed on her wrist and says she tries to model her life after the way he treated people and always tried to put a smile on everyone's face.
Follow Megginson on Twitter @jcmeggs. Email comments to megginsonjc@gmail.com.
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