Quick Chat: Bryce McCray
March 09, 2022 | Track & Field, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Georgia freshman sprinter Bryce McCray comes by his physical gifts naturally. His father, Danny, won an Olympic gold medal as part of the United States' 4x400 relay team in 2000 — this after he played football and ran track at Texas A&M in the 1990s.
Like father, like son — at the SEC Championships, McCray ran the third leg of the winning 4x400 relay, and he will be competing in the event at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships this weekend at the Birmingham Crossplex, in Birmingham, Ala.
During a recent Quick Chat, McCray, from Richmond, Texas, talked about his start in track, running the 400 hurdles versus running the straight 400, his love of Whataburger, why relay teammate Delano Dunkley is the funniest person on the team, and much more.
Here's some of what he had to say:
Frierson: What first got you into track and field?
McCray: Back in seventh grade, I played two sports, football and basketball. All of the skill-position kids in football would automatically move over to basketball after football season, and then on to track after basketball season. I did that with them, and a large part of me trying to do track was just to avoid offseason football workouts.
After basketball, I'd have to go do weight room lifting and all that, and I didn't want to do that, so I did track instead. ... I was only good enough to run in some of the meets, and I only did one event, the 300 hurdles. I literally would get sixth place at every single meet and it's the first time where I'm not really that good, because I had a lot of success in football and basketball. When it came to track, it just wasn't clicking for me.
In eighth grade, that's when I really made that shift mentally, like, nah, I'm not going to go out with getting sixth place all over again. From the very first meet, I got first place and then so on, really. That's how I got started on the road to here.
Frierson: For those of us that never got recruited in a sport, what is it like when you first start getting letters and calls?
McCray: It's like a dream come true, like I'm finally here. I've been working this hard and questioning if I'm ever going to get that opportunity to compete at the next level. and now that I'm finally getting these recruiting calls, letters, etcetera, it felt really nice. It reassured me that all of the hard work that I'm putting in is getting recognized.
Frierson: Running the 400 hurdles versus just running the 400, is running the hurdles a lot harder? Are you having to think way more in one of them?
McCray: Both of those races are really thinking races, honestly, but you'd assume that the 400 hurdles would be significantly harder just because the 400 is hard enough, and to put some hurdles over it too, that's crazy. I actually believe the opposite, though. I think the open 400 is harder because when you're doing 400 hurdles you still have time to think and you're following a rhythm. And there's not really a rhythm in the open 400, it's just you've got to go, maintain, and go again.
In the hurdles, you have to make sure that you're going to attack these hurdles with a certain amount of steps. You have to establish that rhythm early and just hold on to it.
Frierson: What's something you could eat every day and never get tired of it?
McCray: Probably some Whataburger — a honey barbecue chicken strip sandwich, for sure. When I went home for Thanksgiving, as soon as I got home I got that. And the same thing for Christmas. I'm just going to make that a tradition from now on; whenever I touch down in Texas, I'm getting some Whataburger.
Frierson: Do you have a creative side? Is there anything creative you do or wish you could do?
McCray: I wish I could produce beats. I feel like I can imagine some beats and they're unique in my head, and I would just like to be able to just do that for fun, at least. That would definitely be something I would look forward to doing.
Frierson: Who is the funniest person on the team?
McCray: That would have to be D-Lo. He's like an extremely random person, and he'll just throw you off guard with a lot of things that he does. I feel like that in itself is funny, plus a lot of things he says are really funny. He's just a funny guy.
Frierson: Is he funny also because you're a freshman and he's a fifth-year senior, so there's a pretty big age difference between you?
McCray: When I got here I didn't even notice that he was 23. These guys all took me in and you don't feel the age gap when you're around them, you just feel like you're all the same.
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
Staff Writer
Georgia freshman sprinter Bryce McCray comes by his physical gifts naturally. His father, Danny, won an Olympic gold medal as part of the United States' 4x400 relay team in 2000 — this after he played football and ran track at Texas A&M in the 1990s.
Like father, like son — at the SEC Championships, McCray ran the third leg of the winning 4x400 relay, and he will be competing in the event at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships this weekend at the Birmingham Crossplex, in Birmingham, Ala.
During a recent Quick Chat, McCray, from Richmond, Texas, talked about his start in track, running the 400 hurdles versus running the straight 400, his love of Whataburger, why relay teammate Delano Dunkley is the funniest person on the team, and much more.
Here's some of what he had to say:
Frierson: What first got you into track and field?
McCray: Back in seventh grade, I played two sports, football and basketball. All of the skill-position kids in football would automatically move over to basketball after football season, and then on to track after basketball season. I did that with them, and a large part of me trying to do track was just to avoid offseason football workouts.
After basketball, I'd have to go do weight room lifting and all that, and I didn't want to do that, so I did track instead. ... I was only good enough to run in some of the meets, and I only did one event, the 300 hurdles. I literally would get sixth place at every single meet and it's the first time where I'm not really that good, because I had a lot of success in football and basketball. When it came to track, it just wasn't clicking for me.
In eighth grade, that's when I really made that shift mentally, like, nah, I'm not going to go out with getting sixth place all over again. From the very first meet, I got first place and then so on, really. That's how I got started on the road to here.
Frierson: For those of us that never got recruited in a sport, what is it like when you first start getting letters and calls?
McCray: It's like a dream come true, like I'm finally here. I've been working this hard and questioning if I'm ever going to get that opportunity to compete at the next level. and now that I'm finally getting these recruiting calls, letters, etcetera, it felt really nice. It reassured me that all of the hard work that I'm putting in is getting recognized.
Frierson: Running the 400 hurdles versus just running the 400, is running the hurdles a lot harder? Are you having to think way more in one of them?
McCray: Both of those races are really thinking races, honestly, but you'd assume that the 400 hurdles would be significantly harder just because the 400 is hard enough, and to put some hurdles over it too, that's crazy. I actually believe the opposite, though. I think the open 400 is harder because when you're doing 400 hurdles you still have time to think and you're following a rhythm. And there's not really a rhythm in the open 400, it's just you've got to go, maintain, and go again.
In the hurdles, you have to make sure that you're going to attack these hurdles with a certain amount of steps. You have to establish that rhythm early and just hold on to it.
Frierson: What's something you could eat every day and never get tired of it?
McCray: Probably some Whataburger — a honey barbecue chicken strip sandwich, for sure. When I went home for Thanksgiving, as soon as I got home I got that. And the same thing for Christmas. I'm just going to make that a tradition from now on; whenever I touch down in Texas, I'm getting some Whataburger.
Frierson: Do you have a creative side? Is there anything creative you do or wish you could do?
McCray: I wish I could produce beats. I feel like I can imagine some beats and they're unique in my head, and I would just like to be able to just do that for fun, at least. That would definitely be something I would look forward to doing.
Frierson: Who is the funniest person on the team?
McCray: That would have to be D-Lo. He's like an extremely random person, and he'll just throw you off guard with a lot of things that he does. I feel like that in itself is funny, plus a lot of things he says are really funny. He's just a funny guy.
Frierson: Is he funny also because you're a freshman and he's a fifth-year senior, so there's a pretty big age difference between you?
McCray: When I got here I didn't even notice that he was 23. These guys all took me in and you don't feel the age gap when you're around them, you just feel like you're all the same.
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
Players Mentioned
Sprints
/ Track & Field
Hurdles
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