Maine Milesplit Indoor Girls Athlete of the Year

 

 

 

Can you talk about how you run the 55m/55 hurdles each meet, the events are back to back and often you have little break, how have you been able to be successful at it?

For the regular season meets, it’s not really an issue because of the amounts of heats for each race. The challenge is in the championship meets when finals come into play. Because the race is only 55m long, having them back to back actually helps me in the sense that it keeps my legs warm. At the state meet, it definitely was to my advantage to have the 55 hurdles right before the dash because I had run such a great race in the hurdles, the adrenaline was pumping, and I couldn’t wait to run the 55m. I’ve been able to be successful at this because of the training I do. I often run through the hurdles without much break in between, sometimes throwing in a sprint between my run-throughs.

Congratulation on placing in both the 55 Hurdles & 55m dash at the New Englands, what were your goals going into the meet? Did you envision yourself placing in both?

My goals for the meet were to at least place and at best, hold my seeds, which were 5th in the hurdles and 1st in the 55m. I didn’t hold either of my seeds but I was still very happy about being the first York track athlete to place at the New England Meet. I did envision that I’d place in both events. I didn’t actually know there would be so little time between the races but I tried to stay focused and be successful in the back to back finals like I have been in the past.

 

Do you think you’re a better 55m dash runner or 55m Hurdler? If you had to pick one or the other which event would you compete in?

I think I’m a better at the 55m just because I’ve placed higher in that event at New England’s. I would compete in the 55m if I had to choose one because there isn’t anything in the way, which makes it a bit easier.

What are your plans for college next year? Do you plan on continuing running track?

Next year I will be playing soccer at the University of New Hampshire. As of now, I do not have plans to continue running track in college.

To this point in your HS career, what is your greatest accomplishment?

My greatest accomplishment to this point is breaking the state record in the 55m hurdles. Going into that meet, the idea of breaking the record wasn’t really on my mind, seeing as I would have to run over a tenth of a second faster to get it. The complete surprise I had when I found out that I had broken the record was one of the greatest feelings I have had in my track career.

What’s the one event you haven’t competed in but would like to give it a try?

I would like to try the high jump. When I’ve finished my workouts, I find myself wondering over to the high jump mat and trying it out. I think it’s a lot of fun but I’ve never been able to do it competitively so I’d like to do that.

York High School is known for having huge spirited teams, what’s it been like to compete for school with a lot of team spirit?

The team spirit at York is like no other that I’ve experienced. I honestly believe that I would not enjoy track and field as much as I do if it weren’t for people that I am running with. At times, we find ourselves needing points at meets for the win and there is always a group of teammates cheering at whichever event it is. I saw this happen for the first time my freshmen year at the Western Maine Championship. The whole team gathered at the boys’ discus and those points won the boys’ team the meet. I knew then that our team was special.

Now that the indoor season is over, what are your goals for the outdoor season both individual and team? Your team had a strong showing at the Class B indoor championship; do you have most of those girls competing outdoors as well?

My goal for outdoor track is to repeat my state championships in the 100m, 100m hurdles, and 4 by 100m relay. Also, I believe the team has an excellent shot at winning a state championship and I would actually be pretty disappointed if we were fighting for that at the state meet. The reason I would be so surprised is because of the showing we had in indoor. Outdoors, the team will be stronger. We gain quite a few athletes that compete in basketball or hockey during the winter and those athletes will definitely make a difference when it comes down to the state meet.

Can you describe what a typical training week looks like for you?

Indoor workouts are pretty limited for our team. We stay outside as long as we can but eventually we do have to move indoors because of the snow and cold. Mondays and Wednesdays we’ll do running, sprinting, strength training, and occasionally some weight training in the school. Yes, we run and sprint in the hallways of the school. On Tuesdays and Thursdays we are fortunate enough to have the sports center, which is an indoor facility that has a turf surface. We’ll do some form of a speed workout in there on Tuesdays, keeping it lighter on Thursdays. Afterwards, we’ll set up hurdles and jumping mats to work on technique. Unfortunately, we do not have access to an indoor track.

Who has been the one person that you have looked up to as a role model?

I cannot say that I can name a specific person that I’ve looked up to for track and field. My competitive nature has made me admire the people that have been successful in their events. Being beaten my freshman year in outdoor track made me look up to those that beat me and made me want to achieve what they did. From that moment on, I always wanted to be on the top of that podium.