The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Get to know the newcomers: Megan Siebert
09.07.2010 | XC: Women_Old, Track & Field / Cross Country
Sept. 7, 2010
Freshman harrier Megan Siebert joins the Texas Women's Cross Country team following an outstanding high school career. A four-time qualifier for the UIL Cross Country State Championship, Siebert was also named Most Valuable Player in both track and cross country each of her four years at Pearce High School in Richardson, Texas.
Since arriving on the Forty Acres, Siebert has wasted no time making an impact for the Longhorns. This past weekend, she placed second in 11:06.49 at the Johnny Morris UH Invite, where UT placed six in the top seven to take home the team title with a perfect score of 15.
Siebert recently sat down with TexasSports.com to talk about life in Austin and her UT experience thus far.
What made you want to come to the University of Texas? I have always wanted to come here. It's been my dream ever since I can remember. I have a little baby picture of me doing the "Hook `Em" sign. My whole family are Longhorns, so it's always been a given that I've wanted to be a Longhorn. Running track and cross country for UT is a dream come true. I always told myself I was born to be a Longhorn with that baby picture, so getting that phone call and knowing that I was getting to run for the University of Texas was so exciting.
What do you like about Steve Sisson as a coach? He's a really cool guy, really nice, and he understands you. He's really good about listening to you. If you need something, he'll take care of you. He's more about listening to the body and I've been adapting pretty well. He's a really good coach.
What was it like finally being able to compete for Texas? It was so cool just to wear the uniform. I was just telling myself constantly during the race, "I'm a Longhorn. I'm running for UT right now." You don't understand how much I wanted to come here, just because it was so hard and getting the scholarship helped me get here and succeed with my dream. It was a big time in my life.
How did it feel doing so well in your first race? I was so excited about finishing second. I just had no idea what to expect, and I'm used to that distance so it's going to be a little more intense next week when it's a 5K.
The team is fairly young. How has that facilitated the adjustment process? Jourdan [Ellis], Sara [Sutherland], Jessica [Harper] and I all came in together and have been close every since. We all have the sorority life, the running life and the school life and we do it all together. It's so helpful, because if we need to go somewhere, we know if we have to get home early, make sure we are on time for things, and keep each other updated. It makes things a lot easier.
How well have you learned to balance school, your other activities, and being an athlete? I knew it would be hard, but I've been like that my whole life doing basketball, volleyball, cross country, track, softball, lacrosse, everything. On top of that I've had school, so I knew what I was getting myself into. I definitely knew how hard it was going to be.
How do you like being so close to home? Being from Dallas, I kind of figured Austin was the perfect distance - far away from Dallas but not too far. If I ever want to go home I can. I also have family here, a cousin who is a sophomore, so that really helps.
What do you like best about Austin? I just love the city, it's so pretty! I love Town Lake and we get to run on it for training almost every day. That's my favorite place to train. I'm a really big animal lover and we see lots of dogs. I just like everything about the city though. It's so pretty and there is so much to do, and it's not flat like Dallas, so I really love the hills.