SENIOR DAY: Tulane Honors Track and Field's Mary Catherine Stovall
May 7, 2020 | Track & Field
EDITOR'S NOTE: Over the next few months, TulaneGreenWave.com will honor the 35 seniors that had their respective collegiate careers cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic through this SENIOR DAY series. We hope you the fans enjoy this series and remember the seniors from the 2020 graduating class.
Joining the Green Wave roster in the fall of 2016 as a member of the cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field teams, Mary Catherine Stovall quickly became successful both in the classroom and on the track. The Scotch Plains, New Jersey native was named to the 2016-17 American Athletic Conference All-Academic Team before going on to take the ninth best spot in program history in the 10,000 meter (38:31.27). In her third season outdoor in 2019, Stovall finished top ten in four meets, taking the gold in the 10,000 meter at the 37th Annual Victor Lopez Classic and finishing second in the 3,000 meter at the Cole-Lacon Conference Challenge. Earning career-best indoor times in the 3,000 meter and 5,000 in 2020, Stovall showed constant improvement and dedication to the team during her four years Uptown.
Today, we honor Stovall in our SENIOR DAY web series.
Q AND A WITH MARY CATHERINE STOVALL
What made you want to come to Tulane?
"I actually hadn't heard of Tulane at all before my senior year of high school, but it was popular amongst people at my mom's Temple who encouraged me to apply. It was significantly further from home than any other college I was considering, and I wanted to expand my horizons beyond the Northeast and have new experiences. I also knew it had excellent neuroscience opportunities and I was really excited to have a spot on the cross country team!"
What is your favorite memory from your time at Tulane?
"Essentially any weekend spent traveling with the team is a highlight for me. I love the racing aspect of traveling, but I also look back very fondly on the simple moments of downtime spent connecting with and having fun with teammates. I'd say my favorite specific weekend is a tie between my first track conference my freshman year and my first spring Rice meet. I remember feeling such a strong sense of pride watching my teammates of all different event groups come together to show such grit and determination to help us do well in the conference. I mentioned the Rice meet because it was my first time racing a 5k on the track, which was when it clicked that I was really more of a longer distance runner. Focusing on this improved my contribution to the team in following years."
What's next?
"I will be starting the application process for medical school this summer, and for the year in between I will be staying in New Orleans, working both as a medical scribe and at the Reily Center on campus. I plan to keep running and hope to come out for workouts and road runs with the team!"
I remember feeling such a strong sense of pride watching my teammates of all different event groups come together to show such grit and determination to help us do well in the conference.- Mary Catherine Stovall
From late last night: Mary Catherine Stovall won the 10K on the women's side with a time of 38:31.27, the new ninth-best time in team history! #RollWave???????????? More action starts today. Live stats here: https://t.co/QyDvjloMjx
— Tulane XC & TF (@GreenWaveXCTF) March 23, 2019
Mary Catherine Stovall breaks her 5K personal best by eight seconds! Great start this morning as she runs 18:24.90. #RollWave????????????
— Tulane XC & TF (@GreenWaveXCTF) April 20, 2019
MC Stovall's Career Bio
Career Top Times
Outdoor
1500m -- 4:57.25
3000m -- 10:35.58
5000m -- 18:24.90
10000m -- 38:31.27
Indoor
3000m -- 10:32.40
Mile -- 5:18.51
5000m -- 18:28.19
Cross Country
4k -- 16:36.2
5k -- 17:55.2
6k -- 22:26.1
As a senior (2019-20)
Indoor Track & Field
- Finished eighth in the mile with a time of 5:29.13 at the LSU Purple Tiger
- Finished 16th in the 3,000 meter with a time of 10:49.52 at the Samford Invitational
- Earned career-best times of 10:32.40 in the 3,000 meter and of 18:28.19 in the 5,000 meter at the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational
- Placed fourth in the mile with a time of 5:18.51 at the LSU Twilight
- Competed in the AAC Indoor Track & Field Championship to finish 41st overall in the 3,000 meter with a time of 10:37.92 and 24th in the 5,000 meter with a time of 18:40.38
Cross Country
- Placed 7th at the Nicholls Cross Country Invitational (5k) with a time of 19:23.4 (9/21)
- Placed 5th at the LSU Cross Country Invitational (5k) with a time of 18:46.4 (9/27)
- Placed 108th at the Texas A&M Arturo Barrios Invitational (6k) with a time of 22:26.1 (10/19)
As a junior (2018-19)
Outdoor Track & Field
- Competed in five regular-season meets and The American Outdoor Championships
- Took 4th in the 3000 at the Southern Miss Open (4/27), running a career-best of 10:35.58
- Finished in the top ten in the 5000 at the LSU Alumni Gold meet (4/20) in a career-best of 18:24.90
- Placed second at the Cole-Lacon Conference Challenge (4/13) in the 3000, running a time of 10:54.32
- Took the gold in the 10,000 at the 37th Annual Victor Lopez Classic (3/21) in a time of 38.31.27
Indoor Track & Field
- Raced in three regular-season meets and the American Indoor Championship where she set two personal records in the 3000 coming in 44th place, and the 5000 coming in 23rd
- Finishing 8th place at the Samford Invite 2019, Stovall also set a PR of 5:22.70 for the mile
Cross Country
- Competed in all four regular-season meets, The American Cross Country Championships and the NCAA South Central Regional
- Finished third at the Nicholls Cross Country Invitational (4k) with a time of 16:36.2 (9/1)
- Placed 11th at the LSU Invitational-Collegiate Division (3m) with a time of 18:51.4 (9/15)
- Placed 38th at the Texas A&M Invitational (6k) with a time of 23:12.7 (9/22)
- Competed in the Wisconsin Pre-Nationals (6k), finishing 213th (23:23.7, 10/13)
- Finished 49th at The American Championships (6.2k) with a time of 25:00.0 (10/25)
- Competed in the NCAA South Central Regional (6k), finishing 90th with a career-best time of 23:05.1 (11/9)
As a sophomore (2017-18)
Outdoor Track & Field
- Competed in five regular-season meets and the American Outdoor Championships
- Placed 23rd in the 1500 at the AAC Championship (5/11) with a season-best time of 4:57.25; was also 41st in the 5K in 19:27.96 at that meet
- Finished fourth in the 5K at the Southeastern Strawberry Relays (4/13) in 19:32.50
- Had a personal best in the 5K with a time of 19:00.85 at the Victor Lopez Classic (3/22)
- Placed sixth in the 1500 at the Tulane Early Bird (3/2) with a time of 4:59.50
Indoor Track & Field
- Raced in one regular-season meet and the American Indoor Championship
- At the LSU Bayou Bengal (2/2), took 10th in the 3K in 11:02.77
- Had a season-best 10:48.02 in the 3K at the AAC Championship (2/24), placing 50th
Cross Country
- Participated in four regular-season meets, The American Cross Country Championships and the NCAA South Central Regional
- Finished 5th in the Allstate Sugar Bowl XC Festival (5K) (19:58.7, 9/9)
- Ran in LSU XC Invitational (5K), placing 15th (19:56.2, 9/16)
- Finished 155th at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational (5K) (19:56.2, 9/29)
- Finished 278th at Pre-Nationals (6K) (23:47.2, 10/14)
- Competed in The American Championships (6K) with an 85th place finish (24:57.2, 10/28)
- Competed in NCAA South Central Regional (6K) with a 134th place finish (22:55.1, 11/10)
As a freshman (2016-17)
Outdoor Track & Field
- Competed in five regular-season meets and the American Outdoor Championships
- At the AAC Championship (5/12), came in 46th in the 5K with a time of 19:17.77
- Began her Green Wave outdoor career with a fifth-place finish in the 1500 at the Tulane Early Bird Invitational (3/3)
- Had a season-best 1500 time of 5:01.31 at the Houston Alumni Invitational (4/8)
- Member of Tulane Athletics 3.0 Club spring 2017
Indoor Track & Field
- Raced in two regular-season meets and the American Indoor Championship
- Began her career with a season-best 10:50.37 in the 3K at the Samford Friday Invite (2/10)
- Raced to a fifth-place showing in the mile at the LSU Twilight meet (2/17) with a time of 5:31.71
- At the AAC Championship, came in 50th in the 3K with a time of 10:51.61
Cross Country
- Competed in four regular-season meets, the American Championships and the NCAA South Central Regional
- Personal-best time of 24:07.3 in the 6K at the American Championships (10/29)
- Career-fastest time of 19:29.37 in the 5K at the Brooke Memphis Twilight Classic (9/3/16)
- Placed 5th at the Allstate Sugar Bowl XC Festival (17:55.2, 9/10)
- Was named to the 2016-17 American Athletic Conference All-Academic Team
- Member of Tulane Athletics 3.0 Club for fall 2016
- Named to Tulane University's Spring 2017 Dean's List
Upcoming Senior Day Schedule
May 8 – Senior Day on Tim Ruetzel (Men’s Tennis)
May 10 – Senior Day on Meghan Doyle (Beach Volleyball)
May 12 – Senior Day on Corey Dauphine (Track and Field)
May 13 – Senior Day on Brinton Hoover (Sailing)
May 14 – Senior Day on Skyler Guillot (Track and Field)
May 15 – Senior Day on Tarin Mergener (Beach Volleyball)
May 16 – Senior Day on Robert Price (Baseball)
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