Kansas University sophomore Sydney Conley, pictured June 3, 2014, at Rock Chalk Park, will represent the Jayhawks in the long jump and 4x100 relay during this week’s NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon.

Kansas University sophomore Sydney Conley knew her friends and family were expecting her to take first place in the long jump last week at NCAA West Preliminaries.

Though she was jumping at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, her hometown, with plenty of supporters watching, finishing first wasn’t her goal.

Conley only wanted to finish in the top-12 and qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships, which start Wednesday in Eugene, Oregon.

She reached that target, taking fifth place. She also qualified for nationals in the 4×100 relay.

“I was really pleased,” Conley said. “I was satisfied. I made it to nationals. Going into regionals, I really wasn’t looking to try to win it or do anything spectacular. I just wanted to do enough to go on to nationals.”

There was a time when Conley was younger, especially when she had just started running track in middle school, when she would have collapsed under everyone else’s expectations. Not many people have to grow up with famous bloodlines and the assumptions she should win every event she’s entered.

Sydney’s father, Mike Conley Sr., won a gold medal in the 1992 Barcelona Olympic games in the triple jump. Her oldest brother, Mike Conley Jr., is the starting point guard for the Memphis Grizzles and was the fourth pick overall in the 2007 NBA draft.

“When I first started sports, it’s always been, ‘Oh, you’re a Conley. You’ve got to win this, you’ve got to do this, you’ve got to be spectacular in this because your dad does this and your brother does that,'” said Conley, who is also the niece of KU track coach Stanley Redwine. “But, you know, at the end of the day, I’m not them. I’m me. I’m Sydney.

“I’ve outgrown that stuff, where I can’t worry about what my dad did or what my brother is doing,” Conley added. “I’ve got to worry about me and what I’m in control of. It’s sometimes good because it allows me to really get focused and want to do what I’m capable of doing. At the same time, I don’t allow it to control me and take over what I’m supposed to do.”

When she worried about other people’s expectations of her, she struggled. Now she’s one of the top long jumpers in the nation. She finished fourth at nationals in the indoor season and is seeded 10th for the outdoor championships.

Last week’s prelims were just a warm up for nationals. Now her plan is to reach the top of the leaderboard, regardless of how far that is.

“I’m looking to win. That’s my mark, if anything,” Conley said. “This year in the long jump, no one is safe. There isn’t that just one person that you know they’re going to dominate and win. … I can’t give myself a number, I’m just ready to do it.”

Conley was seeded 15th heading into the indoor track championships, before taking fourth place. She probably couldn’t play into the underdog role when she was younger, but she loves to fit into it now.

“People were sleeping on me,” she said. “No one expected me — I didn’t even expect me to (finish fourth).”

She won’t have the chance to sneak up on any competitors Wednesday, and that means some changes in her preparations. She’s making sure she eats healthier with more pasta and grilled chicken. She’s trying her best to put away her sweet tooth for the week, including her beloved Jolly Ranchers, Dubble Bubble and SweeTarts to stay focused.

The key for Conley is during her run up to the board and her landing. She said she’s always had a “bad habit” of putting one leg ahead of the other when she lands and is still working on shaking it. At the national level, it’s the small things that make a difference.

“The landing is the big thing for me,” Conley said. “I know I’ve had trouble landing and I’m always landing crazy, so if I can get my landing down and take care of the running as well as the takeoff, if God lets me, it’ll scare both of us.”

At last year’s outdoor championships, Conley took 17th. She didn’t have her best jumps but there she learned her most valuable lessons.

“It was definitely a wake-up call to me to let me know, like, ‘You see what it takes to be great, you see what it takes it to be an All-American,'” Conley said. “Last year was basically like a stepping stone for me this year. I know exactly what it takes to be great. I know exactly what I have to do.”

Now, Conley is looking to win — for herself. Finally focusing on her own expectations instead of others, she’s ready to show what she can accomplish.

“I’m just trying to do me at the end of the day,” Conley said. “I know what everybody’s jumping and what they’re capable of doing. I’m just as capable of them, if not more. I’m focusing on me. I don’t compare myself to anyone else except for Sydney Conley.”