Local girls’ cross country runners are gearing up for another appearance at the state meet November 3 at Michigan International Speedway, where speed and endurance are indeed the keys to success.
Breckenridge’s one-two punch of Kirsten Olling and Dominque Adams is looking to do it again in Division 4. Chippewa Hills’ Megan O’Neil, a junior, and Emily Starck, are eyeing high finishes. Raquel Serna of St. Louis has her eyes focused on first place in Division 3.
In their sophomore seasons, Olling was first in 18:02.7 at the state finals and Adams was 12th in 19:55.3. Olling was first in 18:09.8 as a freshman, and Adams was 24th in 19:57.4.
“The highlight of my season was the competitiveness as a team in our league [TVC-West] this year,” Olling said. “The team as a whole had so much fun, because the race to the finish was that intense. And it was anybody’s race.”
Her best time for this season is 17:58.
“The highlight of my career would be all the traveling I get to do for races. I have always loved to travel, and now I get to all the time,” Olling said. “Last year I went to Wisconsin for Footlocker, North Carolina for New Balance Nationals, and in eighth grade I went to Virginia for AAU Nationals.
“I also go to races all throughout Michigan in my off-season. I love seeing all the different places and testing my racing skills on different types of courses with different challenges. I am planning on doing Footlocker again this year along with Nike Nationals in Indiana.”
Olling figures she’s having her best season, which is saying plenty considering her previous two.
“I have improved a lot since last year,” she said. “Last year I just went out and ran. This year I am learning different strategies, and I have improved on racing on tougher courses.
“My goal for the rest of the season is to keep getting my time down and try to get the Division 4 state record at the state cross country meet.
“The time I am shooting for this year is to hopefully break 17 minutes. Overall career though is 16:38, my dad’s best cross country time. To get those times, I am going to have to work extremely hard and make every practice and meet count. My running strengths would have to be my endurance and my stride. I am incredibly short, but my stride is just as long as any of the taller runners. With my endurance, I can usually just lock myself into a pace and just keep going until I reach that finish line. I am looking to improve on my overall time and my ‘kick’ at the end of a race. I also am hoping to improve on my foot-speed to keep on taking time off.”
Olling has appreciated her team’s season. “Everyone is having a blast running with each other, and we are all setting new personal records all the time,” she said. “We are all super excited for regionals and state, and we won’t stop working hard until we reach our goals.
“I think the main team goal is no injuries and that everyone will be healthy for regionals and state. Another team goal is to just keep getting faster and faster and to always catch up to that runner in front of you.”
Adams has been a strong No. 2 runner for Breckenridge. She achieved her personal record of 19:47 this season as a junior. She’s improved eight seconds from last year and said she wanted to get a time of 19:40, but she’s been battling various ailments. “I need to get rid of this injury and train the hardest I’ve ever trained before,” she said.
“I have a strong finish in the end, and I don’t give up no matter how tired I get. What I’m looking to improve is being able to stay consistent throughout the race.”
Adams has been impressed with her team’s showing. “The girls’ team has improved tremendously since last year. They all are improving their times like crazy out on the courses,” she said. “They have become much more dedicated and push themselves through every hard work out.
“No matter how little time I’m given to train before regional, I will push myself to the limit. I am going to state no matter what it takes.”
For Chippewa Hills, O’Neil was third in 17:47.8 as a freshman in 2010. Last year, she was ninth as a sophomore in 18:29.2.
Starck, as a freshman, was 14th in 18:35.2 in 2011. Her best time this season has been 18:51, and her career best is 18:15.
O’Neil has shied away from pointing to various goals, especially the state meet, after not being able to surpass her freshman accomplishments when she was a sophomore. She’s hoping to basically stay healthy and give it her best at MIS.
“Our team is running well, and we have a ton of first-year high school runners,” she said. “We run really well together, and our training groups push each other to run harder every day. As a team, we would like to place third or better in our regional and be able to run at the state meet this November.
“I feel so much healthier and in shape, and at this point in the season, I’m still feeling good, and that’s really important to me,” O’Neil said. “I need to finish the season mentally strong. It’s really nice to have a teammate like Emily; she keeps you competitive in all the races and really helps pace in practice. Our team nicknamed her Ms. Clockwork.”
O’Neil’s best time has been 18:27 this season. The 17:47 time at state in 2010 remains a career best.
“I am so excited to see how we finish up this season,” O’Neil said. “We have so many girls all striving to run as fast as they can in the next few meets.”
That includes Starck. “I have continued to improve at every race, each time being faster than last year’s,” she said. “My goals for the rest of the season are to be top five in the regional, top 10 in the state, and break 18 minutes. I need to trust that my coaches will give me the right training to achieve my goals. A strength in my running is I usually have a strong finish. I’m looking to improve on working my second mile and never settling.”
Starck has helped her team achieve some key goals. “My team is doing very well and has improved tremendously since last year,” she said. “At the beginning of the season the team set goals to be conference champs and be top three in the regional to go to state as a team.”
St. Louis’ Serna was second last season in 18:23.1. The runner who beat her, Kelly Schubert of Manistee, has graduated.
“She’s having a great season,” said Serna’s coach Jay Puffpaff. “She’s put in a lot of hard work and keeps preparing as a runner. She’s been running her best times, and she’s looking to have big days by the end of the year.”
Puffpaff indicated that Serna is having her best season so far and tied her PR in October. “She’s running very well,” he said. “We’re hoping for big things. She’s a tough runner. She’s always mentally tough. She hangs in there.”
Before the season ends, Serna is hoping to break the 18-minute mark. “I’ve been working hard, hoping I can make that time,” she said. “This whole season, I’ve been averaging 18:30s, which I’ve never done before. This whole season, I’ve maintained that.”
Serna said she’s not putting pressure on herself to win the state title.
“There’s a lot of young runners that are really good,” she said. “I want to run the time I want, and I’ll be happy with whatever place I get.”