University Southern California Trojans
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/ Track & Field
Getting To Know Bailey Lear
November 27, 2018 | Track & Field, Features
Freshman sprinter Bailey Lear was the 2018 Texas 5A Girls 400m champion and had an outdoor high school personal best of 52.73 in the event, fourth among all high school seniors. She won the 400m with a time of 53.20 at the Texas Tech Open Indoor Meet last season to set the Texas high school girls indoor record, breaking four-time NCAA champion Courtney Okolo's record set in 2012. Lear also won the 400m at the 2017 Brooks PR Invitational and at the 2017 Texas Track & Field Coaches Association Meet of Champions. The three-time team captain was named to the Academic All-District team all four years of high school and graduated Cum Laude.
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Q - So, how do you like USC so far?
B.L. - I love USC. I've had nothing but good experiences here so far. The track team is great, and when we all get together we have a great time… I can't even think of a time that it hasn't been fun or that we weren't laughing. The classes are great. They can be challenging, but it's all about who you are, if you're taking time to study and getting your work done. But overall, it's a great school and my experience has been amazing.
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Q - Are you noticing any major differences between high school and college track and field?
B.L. - Definitely. Â In high school, track is definitely not taken as seriously as it is in college. There's a total difference. In college, you can tell that everyone wants to be great, and everyone has that same energy. Everyone is practicing, we're all competing, we're all making each other better.
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Q - Do you have a certain routine that you follow when preparing before races?
B.L. - I usually eat oatmeal that morning… I'm not really the type to listen to music or anything, I just know it's race day, so when I wake up I'm ready, I'm refreshed. I drink water, I always stay hydrated and make sure I'm getting nutrients… just making sure that I'm ready for the day and doing everything that I can to have that perfect feeling before a race.
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Q - What is your favorite memory from racing in high school?
B.L. - Oh, I don't know. It was all so fun. I guess my favorite memory from high school was… the state championship for the 4x400m. It was the last race, we were all like, 'come on, let's do this, no matter what, we may be going in as the underdogs,' and then we just ran as fast as we could. We all put our all into it, and it was just a good race.
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Q - How do you like to spend your free time, either on or off campus?
B.L. - I like to go shopping (laughs). This is not a good thing, but I love to go shopping, I love Nike stuff, athleisure. I love things like laser tag or the movies, people think it's lame, but I find stuff like that fun. I just doing things with my friends if we're all together. We went to Knott's Scary Farm, Six Flags and Universal Studios… it was all so much fun. Even though it wasn't too scary, I was with my friends, so it was fun.
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Q - You are a Communication major with a minor in Entrepreneurship. Are you planning to go into those fields after graduation?
B.L. - I definitely want to do something in sports marketing, but… I'm a freshman. I want to do that now, but I'm not sure what I'll want to do four years from now. It definitely will be something in the sports field. I know this is crazy, but I feel like my calling is to help people, so I also want to do something that helps people. I always wanted to be a nurse, but I still want to work in sports. I'm kind of all over the place, but as long as I'm helping people and doing something in sports.
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Q - Do you want to continue running after graduation as well?
B.L. - Definitely, definitely. For sure going to the Olympics. That's the goal.
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Q - What are you most looking forward to this season?
B.L. - I'm just looking forward to the whole season because I know it's going to be great. The way that we're getting everything done in practice and we're all working hard, and how it's all going to come together. Just being able to score for the team is a big goal. The 4X400m… I can see it now, it's going to be great. Everything about it is going to be great. We're putting our all into the practices, nobody's being lazy… I guess what I'm looking forward to the most is the first meet. Just to see what it'll be like to run in a college meet.
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Q - So, how do you like USC so far?
B.L. - I love USC. I've had nothing but good experiences here so far. The track team is great, and when we all get together we have a great time… I can't even think of a time that it hasn't been fun or that we weren't laughing. The classes are great. They can be challenging, but it's all about who you are, if you're taking time to study and getting your work done. But overall, it's a great school and my experience has been amazing.
Â
Q - Are you noticing any major differences between high school and college track and field?
B.L. - Definitely. Â In high school, track is definitely not taken as seriously as it is in college. There's a total difference. In college, you can tell that everyone wants to be great, and everyone has that same energy. Everyone is practicing, we're all competing, we're all making each other better.
Â
Q - Do you have a certain routine that you follow when preparing before races?
B.L. - I usually eat oatmeal that morning… I'm not really the type to listen to music or anything, I just know it's race day, so when I wake up I'm ready, I'm refreshed. I drink water, I always stay hydrated and make sure I'm getting nutrients… just making sure that I'm ready for the day and doing everything that I can to have that perfect feeling before a race.
Â
Q - What is your favorite memory from racing in high school?
B.L. - Oh, I don't know. It was all so fun. I guess my favorite memory from high school was… the state championship for the 4x400m. It was the last race, we were all like, 'come on, let's do this, no matter what, we may be going in as the underdogs,' and then we just ran as fast as we could. We all put our all into it, and it was just a good race.
Â
Q - How do you like to spend your free time, either on or off campus?
B.L. - I like to go shopping (laughs). This is not a good thing, but I love to go shopping, I love Nike stuff, athleisure. I love things like laser tag or the movies, people think it's lame, but I find stuff like that fun. I just doing things with my friends if we're all together. We went to Knott's Scary Farm, Six Flags and Universal Studios… it was all so much fun. Even though it wasn't too scary, I was with my friends, so it was fun.
Â
Q - You are a Communication major with a minor in Entrepreneurship. Are you planning to go into those fields after graduation?
B.L. - I definitely want to do something in sports marketing, but… I'm a freshman. I want to do that now, but I'm not sure what I'll want to do four years from now. It definitely will be something in the sports field. I know this is crazy, but I feel like my calling is to help people, so I also want to do something that helps people. I always wanted to be a nurse, but I still want to work in sports. I'm kind of all over the place, but as long as I'm helping people and doing something in sports.
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Q - Do you want to continue running after graduation as well?
B.L. - Definitely, definitely. For sure going to the Olympics. That's the goal.
Â
Q - What are you most looking forward to this season?
B.L. - I'm just looking forward to the whole season because I know it's going to be great. The way that we're getting everything done in practice and we're all working hard, and how it's all going to come together. Just being able to score for the team is a big goal. The 4X400m… I can see it now, it's going to be great. Everything about it is going to be great. We're putting our all into the practices, nobody's being lazy… I guess what I'm looking forward to the most is the first meet. Just to see what it'll be like to run in a college meet.
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