MILWAUKEE — When Megan Wallace started her track and field career, it was the long jump that kept her on the track.
"I think in middle school that's what everybody did. Everyone gave it a try and I started it then, fell in love with it, and just continued it through high school. Now I've been doing it for the past five years," says Megan Wallace, national record holder at the DIII level and Marquette heptathlon record holder.
"The longest event I've been doing is the long jump. I've been doing that since 7th grade," says Megan.
It was the same event that eventually placed her at UW-Eau Claire. It was as a Bluegold that Megan was introduced to the heptathlon.
"There was an upperclassman who had done it and she came and talked to me one day in the weight room. Right away I went and talked to my coach Chip and he said 'well Monday go to hurdles practice,'" says Megan.
Comprised of 100-meter hurdles, high jump, shotput, 200 meters, long jump, javelin, and 800 meters, Megan tried some of these events for the first time in her freshman year of college.
"I was very nervous because I had never hurdled or high jumped before, and those are two main events. Javelin, I had no clue what javelin was. So to pick up a javelin for the first time was interesting and is a lot harder than people think," says Megan.
Four years later, Megan set an NCAA DIII record in the heptathlon. But with an extra year due to COVID, Megan wasn't satisfied.
"I knew right away that I wanted to use that last year of eligibility. I knew that I had the potential to do great things and I wanted to continue on, which I did here at Marquette," says Megan.
Choosing Marquette for her graduate degree, Megan went from a Bluegold to a Golden Eagle.
"I had to go through the transfer portal and the recruiting process again, but I knew Marquette would be a perfect fit, being closer to home. And it truly was," says Megan.
Setting personal best in individual events throughout the season, Megan kept eyeing the heptathlon record at Marquette.
"Going into the Big East Championships, I knew that I had the potential to break the school record. It was actually one of my goals, was to break the school record," says Megan.
After day one of the competition, Megan was in a good spot, even after having to rerun the 200-meter event, which helped her score.
"Basically we ran the 200 but we started at the wrong line. So we had to rerun, so instead of 7 events I did 8," says Megan. "So I came back and I had a huge PR. My PR previously was 25.55 and I ran 25.16. So that definitely helped my score tremendously."
After day two, completing the long jump, javelin, and 800 meters, Megan had a score of 5340. It was enough for a bronze medal and the Golden Eagle record.
"This past week at practice was super bittersweet. Very emotional, I can't believe my collegiate track career is over, but I'm super thankful for all the moments, friendships, and memories that I've made through the years," says Megan.
