CHARLOTTE, N.C. (May 24, 2018) – Before she was a basketball star, before she was a track and field standout, before she became the greatest female athlete in Oklahoma Christian history, McKenzie Stanford already was pursuing her true passion.

Cows.

Stanford not only is a star in athletic arenas, but also in arenas where livestock shows are held. She was raised on a dairy farm, after all, so from the age of 2, Stanford has been involved in displaying her family's dairy cows at shows around the nation.

Those shows are as much a part of her life as athletics, and that's saying something, considering her success at OC – which has included becoming the first athlete in university history to earn All-America honors in two unrelated sports (basketball and indoor track and field) at the NCAA Division II level.

She'll seek All-America outdoor track and field honors Friday when she competes in the high jump at the Division II Championships at the Irwin Beck Complex. The senior from Perkins enters the meet with the fourth-best mark this season in Division II, a school-record leap of 5 feet, 9¾ inches on March 31.

It will be the last collegiate athletic event for Stanford, who has competed in track and field events since the first grade, winning numerous local, regional and national honors along the way. It's obvious Stanford is a fierce competitor and while she can be animated when discussing athletics, her eyes really light up when the subject of livestock shows, and particularly her beloved dairy cows, comes up in conversation.

"They are seriously – as funny as it sounds – they really are your best friends," Stanford said of her cows. "You're out there (on the farm) and you spend all your time with them. … You have to lead them. It requires so much time but it is so worth it. The nice thing with the dairy (cows), you don't have sell them. With beef (cows), you have to sell them once the show season is over, but with dairy (cows), you don't have to do that, so they really are like a part of the family."

The farm on which Stanford grew up is located near Cushing, and like many farm kids, she began performing farm-related duties at an early age. That included participating in livestock shows – she treasures a picture of herself taken when she was just 18 months old, in her mother's arms, as her mom led a cow at one of those shows. Stanford began leading animals not much later.

"We had this old cow – she was a monster – I got to start leading her by myself when I was 2," Stanford said. "Then I started showing in peewee showmanship when I was 3. There was a picture in the Tulsa World of me walking my cow at the Tulsa State Fair."

As a child, Stanford participated in agriculture youth organizations such as 4-H and FFA. She's displayed cows at state fairs all over the country as well as at national shows, supported by her parents, grandparents, siblings and extended family members including her uncles Gene Hall and Patrick Myers, who now run the family's dairy.

As she has in athletics, Stanford has enjoyed much success in livestock showing through the years. She said the keys to a good performance showing dairy cattle include making sure the animal is "skinny and not fat," has a straight back, straight feet, balanced udders and normal-size teets.

"It's so much work," Stanford said. "People don't understand 4-H and FFA kids. You could take somebody who's in (those organizations) and who's not and you can tell a difference. It's a whole new aspect on life. You have to work for what you get. I think that's the main thing I learned being in FFA and 4-H.

"Stuff just isn't given to you. (Showing has) taught me a lot of responsibility. … However good I want to be, that's kind of on me. You have to work hard to be the best."

Stanford's journey in athletics also started early. She began dribbling a basketball at age 2 and playing competitive hoops in third grade. In track, she was competing against fifth- and sixth-graders while still in the first grade and entered Amateur Athletic Union meets for the first time when she was 8. She was a four-time AAU All-American by 12, winning events at the AAU Junior Olympics including the high jump, long jump and pentathlon.

In high school, she was a two-time state champion in the high jump and as a senior helped Perkins-Tryon reach the state basketball title game. Because she transferred from Cushing to Perkins-Tryon before her junior year, though, she lost a full year of eligibility under Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association rules. That meant she wasn't playing prep hoops during what usually is a key season for collegiate recruiting purposes.

Fortunately for all parties involved, OC basketball coach Stephanie Findley was recruiting Stanford's teammate at Perkins-Tryon, Jordan Gorham, and when Findley went to watch Gorham play as a senior, the coach came away also impressed with Stanford and began recruiting her, too. Findley ended up signing both of them the same year.

Stanford became one of the best players in Heartland Conference history, earning All-Heartland honors three times and All-America honors from the Women's Basketball Coaches Association after her junior season. Her 1,715 career points ranks third in the league record book and sixth on OC's all-time list.

She didn't plan on competing in track and field at OC, but her basketball teammate, Audrey Hayes, was also a multi-events competitor for the track team and convinced Stanford to join her on that squad. So immediately after her sophomore season of basketball, Stanford put on the OC track uniform for the first time. In her second meet, she tied the school record in the high jump at 5 feet, 8 inches, a mark that earned her Division II All-South Central Region honors.

While she enjoyed some success during her first three years of track, having to immediately switch from basketball to track each March limited Stanford's ability to work on technique and hone the necessary muscle groups. The season would be over before Stanford truly felt able to compete at her best.

She graduated from OC in 2017 and wavered about whether or not to come back for her final year of track eligibility. But Findley offered a spot as a graduate assistant coach and Stanford was curious about what she could accomplish in track with actual time to prepare, so Stanford decided to stay and work on a second degree.

"It was probably the best decision of my life," Stanford said. "I am so glad I came back."

Stanford made her only collegiate indoor season memorable, setting a school record in the pentathlon with 3,211 points, then earning All-America second-team honors at the Division II Championships in Pittsburg, Kan., with her 12th-place finish in the high jump.

The success continued into the outdoor season. On March 31 at the Oklahoma Baptist Invitational in Shawnee, Stanford quickly put away her competition, then had the bar moved to 5 feet, 8¼ inches. She cleared that to set a school record, then learned it actually had been set a half-inch higher by meet officials.

She asked for it to go 5 feet, 9¼ inches, and cleared that on her second try, but the bar apparently was at 5-9¾ (1.77 meters) – which Stanford didn't know. That met the automatic qualifying standard for the Division II meet and again earned her All-South Central Region honors, just like during the indoor season.

She went on to win the Great American Conference title for a second straight season and earned All-GAC honors in the shot put and 100-meter hurdles, too.

There's little doubt Stanford being able to compete in a full year of track contributed in a major way toward her success, OC head coach Wade Miller said. Stanford has worked closely with OC assistant coaches Tony Wallace and Jeff Bennett on her technique this season.

"Her being able to do some of the multi events has been good for longevity this season," Miller said. "Working on different techniques, different movement patterns, different coordination. It's allowed her to get into a different kind of shape than in the past.

"She's got more reps in the high jump pit by months, really. At this point, she's been able to work on different approaches and feel more comfortable with her ability to jump well. She has spent a lot of time being consistent in working hard in the weight room and that's been beneficial for her power as well."

A side benefit of competing only in track and field in 2017-18 is that Stanford had more time to pursue her interest in livestock showing, something she'd had to cut back on because of her busy college basketball schedule. For the first time in a few years, she was able to attend the World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wis., and she also participated in the Kentucky National Ayrshire Show in Louisville.

But this week, her focus is on the Division II Outdoor Championships. Stanford will enter the meet ranked behind only Kaitlin Lumpkins of Angelo State (Texas) at 5-11¼ (1.81 meters), Khadiya Hollingsworth of Minnesota State at 5-10¾ (1.80 meters) and Vanisha Wilshire of Wingate (N.C.) at 5-10 (1.78 meters). Lumpkins won the Division II indoor title, with Wilshire third and Hollingsworth fourth.

Stanford seems to perform her best when challenged, and she certainly will be challenged Friday. Her goal is to jump at least 5-10

"That's always been my thing," she said. "I stress myself out to get to nationals, but when I get to nationals, I relax. … High jump is just one of those things – who is having a good day? It will depend on the day. If I get 5-10, I'll be happy."