VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Mia O'Neil loves to put in the work. Listening to her talk, it's obvious she has a passion for track, "The competition of it, everything about just getting to the starting line and having to be on your own running to the finish line. The adrenaline that it brings is unmatched."
It sounds like O'Neil is a coaches dream. Tom Anderson is her coach at Landstown High School who says, "She's very unselfish. She's caring. She puts others before herself. Typically with sprinters, they tend to be a little more high maintenance and Mia is nothing like that."
And on the track, Anderson says O'Neil has great range, "Most people usually possess one particular strength in that they're very ballistic but they can't carry that top end speed or they don't have the top end speed. She has it all."
O'Neil had the fastest high school time in the nation in the 300 meters in the indoor season. While she competes in the 100, 200 and 400 meters in the outdoor season, O'Neil is the reigning state champion in the 400 meters. That is one tough event which she loves the most, "Overall it's just a sprint race and it's whoever has the heart to finish." Well sure, but aren't you dying at the end, "Doesn't matter. As long as you've got the heart for it, you have the will to win, there's a way to finish it."
O'Neil is great in the classroom and has combined her smarts with her athletic ability to earn a track scholarship to the University of Tennessee where she will be running this fall.