DANVILLE, Ky. - Serena McNeilly was a six-time All-American during her first two seasons at Centre College but she looks like she has yet to hit her peak.

The junior competed at Vanderbilt in the pentathlon against 23 competitors — most were Division I athletes — and finished fifth overall while breaking her own school record with a winning mark of 5 feet, 9 1/4 inches in the high jump. She also had a personal best of 18-9 1/2 in the long jump to finish second in that event. She amassed 3,560 points, another school record.

"I feel like I've grown a lot as an athlete. I know myself more as an athlete, and I'm able to kind of figure out what I need in order to succeed and collaborate with my coaches a lot more on what I need to do. I have definitely grown in confidence," she said.  "Two years of competition has definitely helped. I don't show up and freak out anymore. I know what I need to do. It's not too nerve racking anymore."

Considering the success she's had, why would she ever "freak out" over anything?

"I don't know. I feel like I put a lot of pressure on myself freshman year. I thought if I messed up everyone was gonna be so disappointed. My coaches were like, 'We're not disappointed. We just want you to succeed,'" McNeilly said. "That made sense because if I let myself freak out, then I won't do well. But it took my freshman year for me to just relax and trust myself, a my coaches and my training,"

McNeilly shared her thoughts on a variety of other things as she prepares to compete again this weekend in the Centre Invite:

Question: Is the high jump definitely your best event?
McNeilly: "I don't know. Every time I think high jump is my best, triple jump comes through, and then it kind of swaps. But I feel like high jump right now is definitely leading."

Question: Why did you compete in Nashville against a predominately Division I competition?
McNeilly: "We had already done it last year, and it is great competition. It is kind of nerve wracking to have only one meet for the pentathlon. If I messed up in Nashville, I still had our home meet to redo it."

Question: Were you surprised you did so well and even won two events?
McNeilly: "I wasn't too surprised about the high jump. I was really hoping I would win it. I kind of knew where those girls were at because I'd competed with them last year. It was definitely my goal to win high jump, and I knew I could do it."

Question: So what if you qualified for the pentathlon at the NCAA Division III Championships but were also qualified in the high jump or other events?
McNeilly: "We were already talking about it last year because for a while I was qualified in all four events. We were kind of talking about what I would do but I ended up missing the pentathlon by two places. I was ranked 22nd instead of 20th. I just did the three individual events. But we are definitely talking about doing all four this year. There are a lot of events but most likely the pentathlon and long jump would be day one and then the high jump and triple jump day two. I think it is definitely doable."

Question: Is there one event you really want to strengthen before nationals?
McNeilly: "When I competed at Vandy, my hurdles weren't as strong, but they definitely will be better. So I'm not too worried about hurdles, but I would definitely love to see my shot put and 800 go better."

Question: How hard is the shot put for you?
McNeilly: "It's definitely hard, especially since I have no throwing background in any way. I was a gymnast. There are a lot of great multi athletes who throw well on the D3 level and I feel like we all have similar body types.  I know that it's doable. I just have to figure out how to do it. The biggest thing with shot put is explosiveness. I feel like I have that."

Question: So how is your time in the 800-meter run considering you made it clear you are not a fan of distance running?
McNeilly: "Last year I had a 2:38 but I started with a 2:41 this year. I still don't like it. I just suffer through it but I definitely have to focus on it a bit more. But it is not fun. I think a 2:35 is doable for me this year."

Question: What has made you just continue to get better and better in the high jump?
McNeilly: "I definitely changed the way I've trained. My freshman year I used to do high jump two or three times a week. I think that's helpful for some people, but my technique is not the worst in high jump, so I don't really need all that. I only practice high jump once a week and it really helps me put a lot of focus on doing really good jumps in those 40 minutes that I'm jumping. My confidence has definitely helped. It is not easy to jump if you're shaking and freaking out."

Question: Is the high jump scary for you?
McNeilly: "My coaches could definitely tell you that high jump is the scariest event for me. I definitely struggle practicing it sometimes, and I feel like you wouldn't think that. My coach is very patient with me, and sometimes we have to bring it all the way back down in practice, but I work through it now."

Question: Have you kind of set any personal goals or do you kind of avoid doing that?
McNeilly: "I definitely love to have a lot of goals. I like having one big goal that's almost unattainable, and then little goals along the way so I don't get too discouraged so I can keep crossing things off, but still not stop. But if I get close to my unattainable goal, I just move it up."

Question: So what are you majoring in?
McNeilly: "I'm majoring in Biochemistry.  I want to go into dentistry. We have no health careers in my family, but I was always interested in health careers. I was planning on being a doctor or going pre med, but I really like the hands-on aspect of dentistry."