Most athletes dream of having the opportunity to continue their skills at the collegiate level once they graduate from high school.

The dream became a reality for Hailey Gillispie, who just recently completed her collegiate running career at Rogers State University in Claremore.

"It was a great experience," said Gillispie, about her collegiate career. "Running in high school was awesome, but it's completely different running with the big girls....fast girls (in college). It just gives you a lot of drive to get better, even though, coming out of high school, I thought that I would be okay and I'd be able to run with some of the fast girls.

"You learn really quickly that that's not always true. You have to work up to that."

Gillispie competed in cross country and track and field at Henryetta High School, finishing her high school career in 2014, helping the Lady Knights capture the Class 3A state championship in track and field.

Gillispie felt that being able to compete in cross country and track and field in high school made it easier for her to make the transition to college running.

"I think so," said Gillispie, about making the transition from high school to college. "Coach McCormick was an awesome coach and I will say that I have had experience with good coaches, having my dad (in cross country) and Coach B (Brent Wion). Coach McCormick was no exception. He pushed us hard in the classroom, on the track, on the course, but he also pushed us to be good people too.

"It was an extention of high school because he was the same kind of coach that I had in high school."

At Henryetta, Gillispie ran cross country during the Fall for her father, head cross country and boys track and field coach Tim Gillispie, and ran distance and relay races in track and field under the late Brent Wion.

In her senior year at Henryetta, Gillispie, along with teammates Aundrea Hamric, Daisy Van Meter, and Jessica Fairres, set the state meet record in the 3200 meter relay during the Lady Knights' 2014 state championship run with a time of 9:33.70.

After receiving her high school diploma in May of 2014, Gillispie signed a letter of intent to compete in cross country and track and field at Rogers State University.

Gillispie began her collegiate career as a Hillcat September 6, 2014, at the UCO Land Run in Edmond, Oklahoma. The former Henryetta runner crossed the finish line in a time of 23:12.35, which was good enough for 42nd overall and helped the Hillcats to a fourth-place finish at the meet.

"I was very nervous," Gillispie said, about her very first collegiate meet. "I was very big on distance running anyway. I always said that I wasn't going to run cross country in college, so I was really nervous to see how I would actually do in a 5K (race) because I had run, maybe, two or three 5Ks before then."

After her first collegiate cross country meet, Gillispie felt better about her decision to run for the Hillcats in the Fall.

"I got more into it," the former HHS standout stated. "I realized that I could actually run distance (races). My freshman year wasn't my best year, obviously, as I got better, but I came to realize that I could run distance and I could be good at it."

Gillispie's other times that year were 21:28.45, 28:42.3, 21:36.68, and 27:22.4, respectively. The 27-minute and 28-minute times came while running in 6K races in Minneapolis, Minnesota and Wichita Falls, Texas, respectively. Gillispie also had the opportunity to run on a course during her freshman season at RSU she was very familiar with - Gordon Cooper Technology Center in Shawnee, which is the site for the Oklahoma high school cross country state meet every year.

The following season, Gillispie's best time in a 5K collegiate race was 20:54.22, which occurred October 3, 2015, at the Chile Pepper Festival in Fayetteville, Arkansas, competing against another county runner, Beggs' Regan Ward. Ward finished sixth in the race, while Gillispie was 54th.

In her junior season, Gillispie continued to improve, recording a season-best time of 19:49.06 at the Southern Stampede in Joplin, Missouri on September 17, 2016. Gillispie also recorded one other time under 20 minutes during the 2016 cross country season, finishing with a time of 19:57.09 at the OBU Invitational in Shawnee on October 8, 2016.

Gillispie's final two races of her junior cross country season were 6K distances with the former Henryetta runner running a season-best time of 24:11.9 October 22, 2016, at the Heartland Conference meet in Mansfield, Texas. Gillispie then had the opportunity to compete at the NCAA Regional Championship meet in Denver, Colorado on November 5, 2016, finishing 91st overall with a time of 25:18.

In her senior season of cross country, Gillispie turned in times under 20 minutes in three of her four 5K races, including a career-best 19:02.08 at the Greater Louisville Classic September 30, 2017, in Louisville, Kentucky. Gillispie's other sub-20-minute times in 2017 were 19:09.30 at the Southern Stampede September 16 and 19:35.40 at the UCO Land Run September

2. Gillispie's other time in a 5K race in her final collegiate cross country season was 20:07.8 at the FHSU Tiger Open October 7 in Hays, Kansas.

In her first two seasons running track at Rogers State, Gillispie had eight of the 10 best times in school history in the 800 meter run, including the first five best times. Gillispie's best time in her first two track seasons at RSU was a 2:21.55 May 6, 2016, at the Great American Conference Track & Field Championships in Shawnee.

"It's pretty awesome" Gillispie said, about having her name listed in the Top 10 All-Time Record list at Rogers State University. "Once again, I feel really honored. I do have to say that it was from my coaches pushing me, because, I knew that I could do it, but it took some work and they believed in me and they just pushed me to be my best."

The only runner in the 800 meter run All-Time Top 10 list at Rogers State in Gillispie's first two seasons at RSU was teammate Ashtyn DeRoin. Both of DeRoin's times on the list were bested by Gillispie at the same meets.

On March 21, 2015, DeRoin ran a time of 2:26.45 at the Tulsa Duels at the University of Tulsa. Gillispie finished 0.06 seconds ahead of her RSU teammate, finishing with a time of 2:26.39.

On April 24, 2015, DeRoin ran a time of 2:24.00 at the Missouri Southern Invitational in Joplin, Missouri. Gillispie was 0.74 seconds in front of DeRoin with a time of 2:23.26.

Gillispie's other Top 10 times in her first two seasons at Rogers State were 2:21.89 (April 29, 2016), 2:23.25 (April 9, 2016), 2:23.37 (May 8, 2015), 2:24.98 (March 10, 2016), and 2:25.99 (April 18, 2015).

Gillispie's time lasted until April 28, 2017, when the former Henryetta runner broke her own record at the MSSU Bill Williams/Bob Laptad Invite in Joplin, Missouri with a time of 2:17.36.

In her senior season, Gillispie once again broke her own school record with a time of 2:17.08 at the Great American Track and Field Championships in Magnolia, Arkansas April 19. The record stood for less than one month, as Gillispie once again put her name atop the school record list in the 800 meter run, finishing with a time of 2:15.60 at the Azusa Pacific Twilight and Multi Invitational in Azusa, California on May 10, 2018.

"It was awesome," the former HHS runner said. "I had a couple of the school records in the 800 and I kept breaking my own school records, but to lower it to what it was, was pretty awesome."

Gillispie also holds the top two spots on RSU's All-Time Top 10 list in the 1500 meter run.

"In the 1500, Rogers State had never had anyone run under a 4:50 (time)," Gillispie said. "So that was pretty cool that I ran seven seconds under that."

Christi Dougherty held the top spot in the event with a time of 4:54.21, set on April 18, 2015. Dougherty's time held up until April 27, 2018, at the MSSU Bill Williams/Bob Laptad Invite in Joplin, Missouri when Gillispie shattered the record with a time of 4:48.97.

Two weeks later, on May 12, Gillispie broke her own school record, finishing with a time of 4:43.82 at the Oxy Invitational in Los Angeles, California.

Because of her hard work in both the classroom and on the course and track, Gillispie was selected to the Google Cloud Academic All-America Team in 2018.

"It was an honor," said Gillispie, about receiving the prestigous award. "I worked hard in the classroom to get my 4.0 (GPA), but I worked hard out on the track and the course too to get the recognition that I had."

Being selected to the Academic All-American Team came as a total shock to the former Henryetta runner.

"It was, honestly, a surprise," Gillispie said. "I knew that I was nominated, but I was really surprised that I got it."

Gillispie has this little piece of advice for anyone that has the aspirations of being a successful runner in both high school and college.

"Keep pushing yourself," the former HHS runner advised. "When you start out, you might not be the best. You might not be the fastest....the strongest. You may not be able to run the furthest, but if you just keep pushing yourself and believe that you can do it, then you'll achieve great things."

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Hailey Gillispie

Height: 5-7

Hometown: Henryetta, Okla.

High School: Henryetta HS

Prev School: Henryetta HS

Major: Marketing

Personal: The daughter of Tim and Leslie Gillispie, she said she chose RSU because of "the great running program and the home-like atmosphere of the campus."

Prep: Competed for four years on the cross country and track and field teams at Henryetta High School for head coaches Tim Gillispie (cross country) and Brent Wion (track and field) ... Earned all-state honors twice in track and once in cross country, while setting four school records during her prep career ... Named a Wendy's High School Heisman state finalist as a senior ... Helped set an Oklahoma Class 3A record winning a state championship in the 4x800 relay for the second-straight year ... Turned in a runner-up and two fourth-place finishes at the state track meet after qualifying for four events for the fourth-consecutive year ... Recorded a ninth-place finish at the state cross country meet as a sophomore and placed 11th as a junior.

2014: Ran in five of RSU's six meets as a true freshman ... Posted the fastest 6k time of her career at the Midwestern State Carnival in 27:22.4 ... Turned in her best 5k race time of 21:28.45 at the Southern Stampede ... Named to the Heartland Conference Academic All-Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll.

2015-16: Raced in all five events for the Hillcats during her sophomore season ...Earned All-Great American Conference honors in the 4x400 meter relay during her track campaign ... Registered her season-best time in a 5k at the OBU Invitational running 20:54.22 ... Clocked in her fastest 6k time of the year in the season finale at the Heartland Conference Championship with a 27:29.9 ... Named to the Heartland Conference Academic All-Conference President's Honor Roll.

2016-17: Ran in all six events for the navy and red during her junior season in cross country...Posted a career-best time of 19:49.06, breaking the 20 minute mark for the first time in her career, at the Southern Stampede on Sept. 17 in the second event of the season...Finished in the top 50 in three of the six events...Went under 20 minutes again at the OBU Invitational in a time of 19:57.09 to take 42nd overall...Placed a season-best 26th at the Heartland Conference Championships on Oct. 22 with a time of 24:11.9 in the 6k race.

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Top Times

Track and Field

200 Meter Run: 28.24

400 Meter Run: 1:01.42

600 Yard Run: 1:31.01

800 Meter Run: 2:15.60 (school record)

1500 Meter Run: 4:43.82 (school record)

MILE: 5:23.83

5000 Meter Run: 19:57.69

Cross Country

5K: 19:02.1

6K: 23:22.1

10K: 1:40:00.6