By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Rarely at a loss for words, Tiffani McReynolds wasn't sure how to answer a question about her mindset or expectations going into the U.S. Track & Field Olympic Trials that begin Friday at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.
            Ranked 11^th in the 100-meter hurdles, McReynolds ran her Olympic qualifying time of 12.72 seconds two years ago at a professional meet in Padova, Italy.
Coming back from a hip injury that sidelined her most of this year, the former Baylor All-American and three-time NCAA runner-up ran her first hurdles race two weeks ago "just to make sure my hip didn't pop going through 10 hurdles."
            "I'm really struggling with my mindset," said McReynolds, 29, who trains in Los Angeles. "If I'm completely honest, two weeks ago I didn't know if I was even going to be able to be here. I'm still trying to wrap my head around it. Even this morning, I was like, 'OK, I'm really in Eugene.' My speed is definitely something that comes naturally. But, in a situation like this, I feel like it really is up in the air. Like, I have no expectation . . . at all."
            "Little Tiff," who shared Baylor Track Athlete of the Decade honors with 17-time All-American Tiffany Townsend, finished fifth in her semifinal heat two years ago and narrowly missed the finals at the USA Championships in Des Moines, Iowa. She also made the semifinals at the 2016 Olympic Trials in Eugene, just two years after her collegiate career ended.
            This time, she'll be chasing world record-holder Kendra Harrison (12.43) and some of the top collegiate athletes, including 2021 NCAA champion Anna Cockrell from USC (12.54), LSU's Tonea Marshall (12.44) and 2019 NCAA 60-meter hurdles champion Chanel Brissett of Texas (12.52).
            "As a professional, it was a little difficult to have a full indoor season and an outdoor," McReynolds said. "You did have the American Track League, which was good. But typically, most of us are going overseas for a whole European Tour indoor, which is like six or seven meets. And then, you come back and start preparing for outdoors and have your meets. Everything seems pretty compressed as a professional."
            This is actually McReynolds' third Olympic Trials. In 2012, coming off a sophomore season that saw her win the second of her four-straight Big 12 indoor titles in the 60-meter hurdles and fourth-place finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships, she didn't make it out of the first round in Eugene.
            Her collegiate career ended in 2014, when McReynolds became the first Big 12 athlete to win the same event in four-consecutive conference meets and the first Baylor athlete to earn All-America honors in the same individual event four times. She finished second in the 60-meter hurdles for the third time at the NCAA Indoor meet and then made it to the 100-meter hurdles final for the first time, placing fourth at the NCAA Outdoor.
            Baylor coach Todd Harbour said the one word he would use to describe the 5-foot-1 "Little Tiff" is tenacious.
            "Her tenacity was incredible," he said. "Maybe it was that little-person complex, but she was fearless and a warrior. Just a battler. You saw that in her the first time you saw her compete."
            That tenacity has been tested over the last year and a half as McReynolds dealt with the COVID shutdown and then the hip injury that kept her sidelined for about four months.
            While there was not a tear, her hip kept popping out of alignment and "it would cause me to have kind of a dead leg," she said.
            "Getting my body back to being able to hurdle has been such a huge blessing, like truly miraculous," McReynolds said. "I didn't think I would be running hurdles again this year. Honestly, I really didn't know how long it was going to be."
            Staying in Los Angeles, McReynolds has trained with legendary coach Bob Kersee since her previous hurdles coach, Ryan Wilson, retired back in September. She also does some personal speed-training coaching on the side, "but I would love to start doing some more creative projects, I guess, since I'm a space where that's super available."
            Baylor freshman Ackera Nugent, who will run in the Jamaican Olympic Trials next week, broke McReynolds' school record in the 60-meter hurdles at the Big 12 Indoor Championships with a 7.91 clocking and then won the NCAA Indoor title two weeks later.
            "Of course, you're a little bit hurt, just because you worked so hard for that," McReynolds said. "But no, I was all for it. That was amazing. I got to speak with her a little bit just through Instagram and shared congratulations and told her that the record is definitely in great hands."
            McReynolds, whose preliminary round in the 100-meter hurdles is scheduled for 7:04 p.m. CDT Saturday, is part of a large contingent of current and former Baylor athletes at the U.S. Olympic Trials. Two-time NCAA champion Trayvon Bromell is ranked No. 1 in the 100 meters (9.77), while Wil London III is a hopeful in the 400 meters (44.63) to at least get to the finals and into the 4x400 relay pool.
            Coming off a third-place finish at nationals, junior All-American Tuesdi Tidwell is in the women's pole vault and is joined by 2021 NCAA Indoor men's champion KC Lightfoot. Other current Baylor athletes competing are 2021 NCAA Indoor champion Aaliyah Miller in the 800 meters, Alex Madlock in the triple jump and Howard Fields III in the 400.
            The list of former Baylor athletes at the Trials includes Olicia Williams in the 800 meters, Maggie Montoya in the 10,000 meters and 2019 Baylor Hall of Fame inductee Lauren Paquette in the 10K and 5,000 meters.
            "Wil's got a great opportunity, and Trayvon, for sure," Harbour said. "You never know about some of those other races, but we're represented very well here, just a great group. I'm proud of all of them."
            Here is a schedule for past and current Baylor athletes competing at the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials:
 
USATF Olympic Trials
Day 1 - Friday, June 18, 2021
6:58 p.m. CT - 400m (Men) - 1st Round: Wil London III, Howard Fields III
7:54 p.m. CT - 5000m (Women) - 1st Round: Lauren Paquette
8:15 p.m. CT - Triple Jump (Women) - Qualifying: Alex Madlock

Day 2 - Saturday, June 19, 2021
6:30 p.m. CT - Pole Vault (Men) - Qualifying: KC Lightfoot
7:04 p.m. CT - 100m Hurdles (Women) - 1st Round: Tiffani McReynolds
7:34 p.m. CT - 100m (Men) - 1st Round: Trayvon Bromell
9:35 p.m. CT - 400m (Men) - Semi-Finals: Wil London III, Howard Fields III

Day 3 - Sunday, June 20, 2021
7:55 p.m. CT - Triple Jump (Women) - Final: Alex Madlock
8:03 p.m. CT - 100m Hurdles (Women) - Semi-Finals: Tiffani McReynolds
8:19 p.m. CT - 100m (Men) - Semi-Finals: Trayvon Bromell
9:15 p.m. CT - 400m (Men) - Final: Wil London III, Howard Fields III
9:43 p.m. CT - 100m Hurdles (Women) - Final: Tiffani McReynolds
9:52p.m. CT - 100m (Men) - Final: Trayvon Bromell

Day 4 - Monday, June 21, 2021
5:30 p.m. CT - Pole Vault (Men) - Final: KC Lightfoot
7:40 p.m. CT - 5000m (Women) - Final: Lauren Paquette

Day 7 - Thursday, June 24, 2021
7:00 p.m. CT - Pole Vault (Women) - Qualifying: Tuesdi Tidwell
9:00 p.m. CT - 800m (Women) - 1st Round: Aaliyah Miller, Olicia Williams

Day 8 - Friday, June 25, 2021
5:02 p.m. - 800m (Women) - Semi-Finals: Aaliyah Miller, Olicia Williams

Day 9 - Saturday, June 26, 2021
7:40 p.m. CT - Pole Vault (Women) - Final: Tuesdi Tidwell
8:44 p.m. CT - 10,000m (Women) - Final: Lauren Paquette, Maggie Montoya

Day 10 - Sunday, June 27, 2021
6:52 p.m. CT - 800m (Women) - Final: Aaliyah Miller, Olicia Williams