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Dexter all-stater Nea to run cross country, track at D-I Missouri State
DEXTER -- “Some athletes have that ‘it’ factor. Margo has the ‘it’ factor,” Cleats of Fire coach Kevin Ellis said of Dexter senior Margo Nea.
Missouri State University noticed ‘it’ and offered her a scholarship to run cross country and track and field at the NCAA Division I university located in Springfield. She signed her letter of intent on Monday, Nov. 25, at the Bearcat Event Center.
“I knew she had the goods when she was in the seventh grade,” said Ellis, who has coached Nea since last summer for the youth track and field club located in Poplar Bluff. “I knew watching her run in the seventh grade, that kid has the ability to run at the next level.”
Ellis wasn’t the only one who thought Nea was Division I material.
“I could see it coming. I figured it would actually be her choice as to where because she had such a dominating year,” Dexter cross country coach Leonard Morse said. “She let that 27th place at state (in 2018) motivate her this year. She worked hard all summer. First meet of the year down at Memphis, she set the school record. She won seven races. I’m not surprised and I’m thrilled she’s getting to run at the next level.”
Nea also considered the University of Missouri-Kansas City, Missouri Southern State University and Southeast Missouri State University. MSU was the perfect fit for Nea.
“The team was so great. I felt so welcomed. I felt part of the team when I went for my visit,” Nea said. “The coaches were amazing and they were nice. They acted like they were very excited for me to be there. I feel like the training there will be very good. I liked that about them.”
MSU was a fit for Nea, academically. She plans to study biology with a pre-physician assistant track. She wants to be an orthopedic physician assistant.
“That was another big part of Missouri State was their academics are very important to them,” Nea said. “The study hours that they have with their athletes and their academic advisers for athletes were super nice.”
During her senior year, Nea broke her own school record (19 minutes, 32.9 seconds) multiple teams and won an all-state medal with a 25th place in the MSHSAA Class 3 Cross Country Championships in Columbia.
Nea has more to accomplish this spring, as she attempts to win all-state medals in the MSHSAA Class 3 Track and Field Championships. Last spring, she won an all-state medal in the 1600-meter run with a sixth-place finish in a personal-best 5:28.65. She also competed in the 800 but didn’t win a medal, despite recording a personal-best 2:29.92. She placed 11th. The top eight finishers won all-state medals.
“Margo is a self-motivator,” Dexter track and field coach Kim Waldner said. “She knows what she wants and she is going to go out and get it. She has a mindset of what she can do and how she can get better.”
Waldner is confident Nea will be an all-stater again this year.
“She will be an all-state athlete with no doubt, and not just one time all-state,” Waldner said. “She will get two easily this year and she will be a contender for the top spot this year.”
Ellis likes Nea’s dedication to be the best that she can be.
“I remember when I first met her and asked her how many miles she runs in a week,” Ellis said. “She said maybe 12 to 15. I said you need to jump to 40 or 60. She thought I was crazy. If you’re going to compete with the best kids in the nation, those are the miles you have to put in. She slowly came around. She started running eight miles a day, nine miles a day, 10 miles a day and it’s really made a big difference.”