Q&A with Maria Carrillo track & field athlete Lily Mulligan
SANTA ROSA, Calif. — A Q&A with Lily Mulligan who is a track & field athlete with the Maria Carrillo Pumas.
Sports participated in: Pole Vault, 4×1, long jump, 4×4
Years in current sport: 5
What are your personal goals within your sport/athletic dreams?
Lily Mulligan: Initially, my goal was to improve and get good enough to compete in college at the D1 level. I achieved that goal and have committed to compete and San Diego State next year. My next goal is to improve enough to succeed and do well in college.
What is the best piece of advice you received from a coach or mentor?
Mulligan: My coach tells me to remember, 鈥渁ll will come with time.鈥� He reminds me that I need to be patient. Vaulting is so technical that there is always something to work on and, if you fix one problem, there is always the next thing. He reminds me that improvement takes time and to focus on the little things. It is a complex sport. It is a must to be patient, not get annoyed, and at times to take a step back.
What do you love about your sport?
Mulligan: I鈥檝e tried most of the track and field events, except for distance running, and find that pole vaulting is kind of a combination of all of them. It is such a technical event that there is always something to work on 鈥� something that I need to improve upon.
What do you like to do outside of your sport?
Mulligan: I have a job at a local sports/outdoors store that I really enjoy. I like to hike and hang out at the beach. One of the reasons I committed to San Diego State is the opportunity to do both. I hope I can find time to try surfing. I also enjoy just hanging out with my friends.
Anything else you鈥檇 like to share?
Mulligan: My biggest challenge is that I get nervous and big meets. During the pandemic and after, we only had dual meets. We didn鈥檛 get to travel to the big highly competitive meets. When we were able to participate in the big regional meets, I found that my nerves impacted my performance.
This year I am dealing with my nerves and doing better (Lily won the event at the prestigious Stanford Invitational). I have the mindset that while the other athletes are as good or better than I am, we are all actually in the same boat. They are also competing with others that are as good or better than they are.
I try to keep positive, follow my pattern and routine.
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