Done with warm-ups prior to the men’s 5,000 meters at last week’s NCAA championships, Sean McGorty walked out to the track at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.

“You just come out from being in the dark and it’s just all lit up and all the stands are just packed,” McGorty said.

The redshirt sophomore at Stanford was clearly an underdog, considering that Oregon junior Edward Cheserek was seeking to tie an NCAA record of 15 national titles for a cross country and track and field athlete.

In front of 12,144 fans, McGorty certainly made things exciting with a runner-up finish in 13:26.10, which was barely half a second shy of Cheserek’s winning time of 13:25.59.

“It was just such an incredible atmosphere to be a part of, especially those last couple of laps,” McGorty said. “I just really remember hearing the crowd a lot, especially with 300 to go when Cheserek pulled up next to me and we started the kick. And then the crowd really started to roar.”

This wasn’t the first time, or the last, that McGorty plans to give Cheserek a run for his money.

“I’ve been around and heard his name since high school,” said McGorty, who also finished as the runner-up to Cheserek at the 2012 Foot Locker Cross Country Nationals in San Diego as a high school senior. “So, obviously, when you’ve been around someone for a while, you don’t necessarily go in as intimidated. But I also think there is never really any pressure on me to win. Going into those races, he’s always going to be the favorite right now, so it really just lets me go out there and focus on what my coach and I think that I need to do to execute for my race.”

McGorty hails from Fairfax, Va., and grew up the son of parents who competed in track and field at North Carolina. But it wasn’t until freshman year of high school that he began to focus on cross country and track.

“Once I was fully committed to running, it was just something that I fell in love with,” said McGorty, who played soccer, basketball and swam as a kid. “But I definitely wouldn’t have had that same passion if it was something that I was just told I needed to do because they did it. They kind of let me find my own path toward running, and I think that’s been the biggest key to me really enjoying it and just being happy.”

McGorty was interested in attending Stanford, but he saw a coaching change as a possible sign that he should stay on the East Coast. That didn’t stop Stanford coach Chris Miltenberg, hired in August of 2012, from reaching out and traveling to meet the McGorty family.

“I was still pretty hesitant at that point, honestly,” McGorty said. “But my dad really encouraged me to at least go on a visit and just try it out. So my mom and I flew out, and immediately when we were here we fell in love. And I think it was honestly good that she came along, because I think she was a little nervous about me being so far away from home.”

While he ran cross country as a true freshman, McGorty redshirted the indoor and outdoor track seasons, while running unattached at select meets.

“I actually got hurt at the end of the my outdoor season, so it was kind of convenient that I redshirted because I didn’t lose a season,” McGorty said. “But, I think, overall it was great because you’re constantly training with the guys, so you can learn those lessons. But you’re also able to adjust to college and that additional responsibility of everything now being under your control.”

In his first official track race for the Cardinal as a redshirt freshman, McGorty became the 426th American to run a sub-4:00 mile.

“It’s kind of like a barrier, where once you finally break it there is sort of this sigh of relief,” McGorty said. “Now, it’s like you know, ‘OK, I’ve done that.’ So now I can keep moving forward.”

In February, McGorty ran the fastest mile in Stanford history at the MPSF indoor championships in 3:53.95. Scary to think it might not even turn into his best event in the long run.

“Personally, I want to keep that diverse range as long as possible,” McGorty said. “In the 5K, you need to have speed like you need in the mile, so I think Coach Milt keeps that balance and keeps allowing me to develop as a miler and a 1,500 runner.”

Next up, the 21-year-old will return to Hayward Field in two weeks for the U.S. Olympic track and field trials, and expects a similar atmosphere.

“Possibly even more exciting because they add even more stands for that event,” McGorty said.

The goal at the U.S. trials is to qualify for finals in the 5,000, with only four days of rest after the prelims — compared to two weeks of rest between the NCAA regionals and championships.

“I feel like there’s really no pressure on me, because it’s not like I’m expected to make the team or make top three,” McGorty said. “So I just get to go out there and have fun and race and just try to do my best and see how many people I can beat.”

Also at the NCAA championships, Stanford’s Elise Cranny was the runner-up in the women’s 1,500 meters by four-thousandths of a second, while fellow sophomore Olivia Baker took second in the 800. Valarie Allman was third in discus and Claudia Saunders finished fourth in the 800.

“We really have a team that’s moving forward in the right direction,” McGorty said. “And I think a lot of special things will be happening in the near future.”

Email Vytas Mazeika at vmazeika@dailynewsgroup.com; follow him at Twitter.com/dailynewsvytas.