State Champion spotlight: Jacob Terry Scarborough
Scarborough senior Jacob Terry repeated as the Class A 2 mile champion as he pulled away from the field over the final 800m clocking 9:49.76. We caught up with Jacob to ask a few questions about his preparation before the meet, his mindset on meet day, what it meant to repeat as the 2 mile individual state champion
What were your preparations leading up to the state meet?
I do not recall doing anything particular for the state meet. We did normal runs apart from a workout on Wednesday and some pickups throughout our run on Friday. After an ice bath Saturday night and an easy 20 minute run Sunday, I was ready to compete.
How did you deal with the pressure and emotions that come along with competing in a state meet?
Going into the race the team battle was closer than anticipated so there was some pressure to do well for the team, not to mention the pressure I place on myself to win. As far as handling the pressure and nerves I was experiencing, I just tried to breathe and relax. So naturally I was extremely tense.
What was going through your mind through the first mile or so of the race? When you took the lead what was going through your mind, and when you crossed the line first what were you feeling?
Coming in I did not want to lead the race until I made my move sometime during the final 800m, so I was simply biding my time making sure I stayed relaxed and kept contact. When I made my move with 700 left I was really trying to pick up the pace and break away from the field instead of simply taking the lead and slowing things back down. When I crossed the line I was pretty excited to come away with the win. I was also relieved because I figured Paul Casavant was closing hard and I wasn't sure how close he was despite looking back about 3 times in the final 100m.
Coming into the season what were your goals and did you achieve them?
At the beginning of the indoor season I wanted to win states, be All New-England in the 2-Mile, and run close to 9:20. However, I was forced to take 2 weeks off due to a bone contusion on the 5th Metatarsal of my right foot with the 3rd week being 5-20 minute runs to reintroduce myself after being in a boot for those 2 weeks. So, while I missed some important workouts, I was able to grab another state title. The other two remain to be seen, although, it is pretty unlikely that I will run as fast as I thought I might since I am not in as good of shape as I had hoped to be at the start of the season. Nevertheless, I will do my best at New England's.
How do you think winning your 2nd consecutive indoor 2 mile state title will affect you heading into outdoors especially after you missed most of the 2014 outdoor season with injury?
Coupled with the aim of running well after missing much of outdoor last year, this win gives me confidence heading into the final season of my high school career.
Terry's 2 Mile Progression
- 2015 Indoor 9:49.76
- 2014 Indoor 9:46.25
2014-15 Results
| 9:49.76 | 1st | 2015-02-16 | Class A Indoor State Championship | ||
| 9:53.82 | 1st | 2015-02-07 | SMAA Southwesterns Championships | ||
| 9:55.35 | 1st | 2014-12-13 | SMAA: Bonny Eagle-Gorham-Scarborough-Westbrook |
