Mackenzie Condon finished her high school career last weekend in spectacular fashion by placing 11th in the nation in the heptathlon at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals.

The meet took place June 13 to 16 at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, N.C.

The heptathlon consists of seven events: 100m hurdles, 200m dash, 800m run, high jump, long jump, shot-put and javelin. Condon set personal records for five of the events.

“Getting to compete at nationals in the heptathlon was something I was so truly grateful for,” she said. “It’s a long tough multi, and it was really hard to qualify, because the entry guidelines say they only take 20 people.”

At the end of May, Condon made Vineyard history by becoming the first regional high school woman to win an all-state championship, by placing first in the pentathlon at the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association state championships. For nationals she added the javelin.

“Honestly, I love throwing the javelin,” she said.

Overall, Condon finished 11th in the 100m hurdles, 12th in the high jump, 18th in the shot-put, 15th in the 200m dash, 13th in the long jump, 10th in the javelin, and third in the 800m run.

A few weeks ago at Condon’s signing day with Harvard, head track coach Joe Schroeder commented on her love of throwing events.

“As soon as we told her she didn’t look like a thrower, well, that made her go and get stronger on the throws” said Mr. Schroeder.

Going stronger and pushing through is part of Condon’s DNA.

“In the winter I had six respiratory infections, and I was so tired,” she recalled. “I’d get these coughing fits. Everyone told me it was because I was pushing myself too hard, doing too much with school, sports and the newspaper,” she said.

Coach Schroeder disagreed.

“He said, ‘look, if you were sick because you pushed yourself then you would have been sick your freshman year. Mackenzie, you’ve got Lyme.”

He was right. After some rest and treatment Condon began easing back into workouts. Fits of coughing interrupted her workouts, but she was happy to be on the track at all.

“Running makes me happy, and when I was sick I was unhappy because I wasn’t out there,” she said.

Condon said she doesn’t yet know what events she will be running next year at Harvard, whether she’ll being doing multi events like the pentathlon and the heptathlon or single events. Either way, she said she is looking forward to the whole experience of college

“I’m excited to go to college because there’s so much else I want to do,” she said.

Does that include more elite running? The Olympics?

Condon smiled and shook her head. “No, I mean when I’m running I’m a better person, the best version of myself. But that version of me comes out whenever I’m doing something I’m passionate about. It isn’t all about running for me. There is so much more.”