Cunliffe A Beast on the Track

NORMAN --- Freshman sprinter Hannah Cunliffe is anything but sweet when it's time to compete. She is a confident, competitive beast. And that inner beast-mode kicks into high gear the moment the gun goes off.

“I'm a really competitive person and I don't like to lose,” said Cunliffe. “I like winning. I like running fast. I'm good at it.”

Cunliffe, the Sooners' coveted recruit, has sparked a fire in the OU track and field program in perhaps record time.

“We're a transitioning program and the culture is changing in the program,” said Kevin Tyler, OU track and field assistant coach for sprints, hurdles, and relays. “We're a young group and we don't have the time for the freshmen to be spending three years maturing. We don't have that luxury and Hannah establishes the bar really high. She shows that you can do well at a young age and there don't need to be any barriers.”

Natasha Harvey, another Sooner assistant who works with the sprints, hurdles and relays, agrees.

“[Hannah] has had a positive impact on our group specifically as well as our team, which is kind of interesting since she's only been here for about seven weeks,” Harvey added. “If she sees that her teammates could do some things a little bit better, she will kindly talk to them and is not afraid of that. She is very positive and motivating and she approaches training with intent.”

Just two months after her arrival, Cunliffe, who enrolled at OU in January, took second place at the Big 12 Conference Championships in the 60-meter dash with a 7.28. Beyond that accomplishment, Cunliffe has placed herself among the elite nationally.

Cunliffe, ranks No. 11 in Division I track and field for the 60-meter. She is one of only three freshmen to qualify for the collegiate national championships in her event. Still, when she approaches the blocks, all of the numbers and titles vanish.

“Before I get in the blocks, I pray so my mind gets cleared because sometimes you start overthinking,” said Cunliffe, 19. “I just pray and ask God to clear my mind so I can be at ease and run my race.”

Her composure was tested during her second meet of the year at the Don Kirby Invitational in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Flight delays and misplaced luggage marked the beginning of the team's trip, then Cunliffe found herself frustrated during the meet.

“That day, five minutes before I got in the blocks, I just wanted to cry because I was so frustrated,” Cunliffe remembered. “I just told myself to 'leave it alone' because I had a couple of rivals in that race. I just told myself 'just win, whatever the time is that's what it's going to be.'”

Cunliffe got a PR with an at-altitude 7.28.

“I was like, if I can run that in that situation, I should be able to run faster in a situation that was normal,” Cunliffe said. “I see where I am and just want to be better.”

Not only has Cunliffe left her mark on the track, she has placed her name in OU's history. She is the first true freshman to qualify for the NCAA Championships in the 60 meter since at least 1999 and may be the first true freshman to qualify for the meet in this event since the OU women began competing in the NCAA. She will open NCAA competition on Friday at 7:25 p.m. in Fayetteville, Ark. The top two of each semifinal plus the next four fastest times advance to Saturday's 7 p.m. final.

“It's really exciting. I was just trying to come into the season and get top three in Big 12 and I wanted to PR, of course,” Cunliffe said. “I'm really happy that I achieved that as a freshman. It put a big smile on my face when I saw it.” Cunliffe got her sea level PR of 7.28 in the Big 12 final.

We're a young group and we don't have the time for the freshmen to be spending three years maturing. We don't have that luxury and Hannah establishes the bar really high. She shows that you can do well at a young age and there don't need to be any barriers.”
Kevin Tyler, assistant coach

Cunliffe, who is the third oldest of nine children, has not lost any of her motivation by the quick success.That success included being named the 2015 Big 12 Indoor Track and Field Female Co-Freshman of the Year just weeks after her collegiate career began. She is used to much of the hoopla -- it's a reminder of home.

“My house is like a circus, there's something always going on,” Cunliffe said. “It's like a reality TV show.”

She is also familiar with the athletic limelight. Cunliffe had a remarkable youth track and field career. She set the national high school record for freshman girls in the 60 with a 7.47. She earned international acclaim as a member of Team USA, finishing fourth in the 200-meter dash at the 2013 World Junior Championships. She also owns six AAU Junior Olympic titles- two in the 100 meter and four in the 200 meter.

“She's trained at a high level for most of her career and she's been a consistently high performer since those days,” Tyler said.

Cunliffe was destined for track and field from the start. Her father, Michael, a former long jumper at Washington State, began coaching her when she was eight years old. He is a Level V certified coach through the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF), the international governing body for track and field. It is the highest coaching certification attainable.

“My dad really pushed me a lot,” Cunliffe said. “He wouldn't let me slack. Sometimes, if I'd fall short, he would really encourage me. He made me look outside of the box. I didn't get to do a lot of things in high school that everyone else got to do. I only went to one high school dance.”

Still, she does not feel she missed out.

“Most people told me 'it's high school, you need to have fun, you need to live,'” Cunliffe said. “To me, 'having fun' and 'living' is being an average person. And that's not what I wanted to be. I wanted to be successful and exercise my gift to the best of my abilities.”

Her father made sure of that. If training under an elite coach, who also was her father, was not difficult enough, Cunliffe's path to OU would definitely bring about morechallenges. Her late arrival to the Norman campus was due to falling short of academic credits. While she took an online course to add those credits, rumors in her hometown spread. Cunliffe, who had the continued support of her family, never let that shift her focus from track.

“I just don't like it when people talk bad about me,” said Cunliffe, who was home schooled with her younger siblings by her mom. “My dad raised me and my siblings to be tough. A lot of people try to intimidate me. It just kind of makes me laugh. They think I'm just some cute little girl out here doing sprints.”

According to her coaches, her approach and her personality have rubbed off on her teammates in a positive way.

“She's really easy to work with, as opposed to some kids that are that good when they're young. They are difficult because they have very peculiar or specific needs and they need to be met,” Tyler said. “She hasn't come in with any kind of ego. She's fit in with the group really well and she relates to them.”

And according to Harvey, Cunliffe's personality is contagious.

“She's one of those people that you want to be around,” Harvey said. “She's really mature for her age and carries little to no stress with her. And she's always smiling.”

Pleasantries aside, Cunliffe is not to be underestimated. She has Olympic-sized goals and will not let any hurdle slow her.

“I see her going professional and getting a huge contract,” Harvey said. “Being at the top of the world in her event is not a lofty goal.”

Barriers and naysayers beware, Cunliffe has one message for you.

“I have an aggressive side to me and it really shows on the track,” Cunliffe said. “Every time you're in a race with me, just know you're going down.”

By: Akilah Laster, Athletics Communications Graduate Assistant

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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