Last spring, members of Davidson’s women’s track program met to select a captain for the 2017-18 indoor and outdoor seasons.
Even with several rising seniors on the roster, the Wildcats settled on a teammate entering her junior year.
Tori Long commands that type of respect.
The former Center Grove standout is one of the premier 400-meter runners in the Atlantic 10 Conference. Long owns school indoor and outdoor marks as well as the admiration of most everyone she comes in contact with.
“It’s the way Tori conducts herself at practices. She a very hard worker and is very kind,” Davidson coach Jen Straub said. “Tori is supportive of her teammates no matter what their event is. She is amazing. I wish she was here for five more years.”
Long, who placed seventh in the state in the 400 as a Center Grove senior, entered her freshman year at Davidson having competed in only a few indoor meets.
Depending on the venue, lanes at indoor meets can be slightly narrower than what athletes experience during the outdoor season.
“The indoor 400 is all about competition, winning those small battles and being composed while running in a tight space,” Davidson assistant coach Brian Doyle said.
It didn’t take much time for Long to adjust to running two 200-meter laps on a rubberized Mondo surface with no weather conditions. Now, she’s carrying that success over to the outdoor season as well
The Wildcats started their outdoor track season at the Coastal Carolina Invitational on March 9-10. Long ran a time of 58.19 seconds to finish third, following it with her personal-best 200 time (25.81) at the 49er Classic in Charlotte.
Long’s time in the 200 placed her 56th of 144 runners; she also helped Davidson take 14th in the 4×400 relay.
Even with all of her experience at the collegiate level, Long admits it takes time adjusting from indoor competition.
“With indoor meets you get so used to the tight turns and there is no weather to worry about,” Long said. “Running outdoors feels a little bit foreign at first. It’s just kind of a mental shift.”
At Center Grove, Long participated in the 300 hurdles along with being one of the state’s best in the 400. Straub sensed Long would have better success in the Atlantic 10 focusing on being a quarter-miler.
“When I was a freshman they thought I was going to run the hurdles. But they put me in the 400, and that’s my passion,” Long said. “I love the challenge of putting the work in. It’s never perfect, but you can always see progress.”
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Davidson women’s track records currently held by junior Tori Long:
<strong>Event;Time</strong>
400 meters (outdoor);56.52
4×400 (outdoor);3:51.01
400 meters (indoor);59.06
500 meters (indoor);1:15.93
4×400 (indoor);3:56.00
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