State Track Feature: Relay team shares experience
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
In an event where four runners have to make sure everything from handing off the baton to running the perfect lap goes flawlessly for victory, the 4x400-meter relay team of the Hillsboro girls track team has perfected their craft, overcoming a variety of obstacles, one being not having an official track to work on their skills on a daily basis.
With their new track being in the process of coming to life in the future, the present for the 4x400 track team of the Lady Indians is working without an official track to practice on, and that's OK with them, as they've done enough to earn a spot in the 2012 Division II State Track and Field Championships.
They even cut their time down by 21 seconds from the start of the year to the finals of the regional championships, starting the year at 4:28 and currently at the 4:07 range.
[[In-content Ad]]In the SCOL championships, they finished with a time of 4:14.94, followed the next week in the district tournament at 4:10.85. This past weekend, the group ran the regionals at a time of 4:07.58.
And to think … the group of sophomore Hannah Opst, junior Autumn Hacker, junior Brittany Ferrell and sophomore Megan Overberg said this was the event they were given for "punishment" one year ago, but they've turned that "punishment" into achievement at the highest level of high school competition.
"I'm really glad we've all gotten to work together to achieve these," Overberg said, who also advanced to the state championships in the 400m dash. "It's a cool experience. Last year, our punishment was to run 400s, but I guess it's paid off."
As for Overberg in the 400m dash, at the SCOL meet she finished with a time of 1:01.57 for first place. At the Washington C.H. districts she was second at 1:00.27, and at the Athens regionals, Overberg was fourth with a time of 1:00.03.
Hillsboro girls track head coach Sarah Horsley said her group of runners is strong.
"It's been nice to be able to have them have a strong finish for each track meet," Horsley said. "One thing coach (Amber) Loomis and I have talked about is having the same girls doing the relays all year long … having that bond has helped all of our relays.
"Each one of them has improved … each one of those girls started the season knowing this is where they wanted to be."
Making the state tournament is an achievement, but the feeling of realizing a spot had been earned differs for everyone, and the 4x400 team was no different, as they each explained what went through their minds during and after the regional race at Athens High School last Saturday.
"It was surprising because I really didn't expect it," Overberg said. "We worked really hard, but it was rewarding because something we worked for finally came true. It's taken a while to sink in, but it's really rewarding.
"It's special to make two events because I'm glad the hard work paid off, but I'm glad I get to share this with my team too … we are a family, and I love them."
"It was kind of hard watching the first 200 meters because I wasn't sure of what was going to happen," Ferrell said. "Once I saw we were winning and made it … We all just screamed and hugged. We were in shock and excited."
"It was exhilarating in that Megan had a chance to finish second," Hacker said. "When she crossed the finish line, we knew we were going to state … it didn't seem real."
“I really didn't watch the others run," Opst said, who is the first runner of the four. "I just looked down and couldn't watch. I did look when Megan was at the 100, and what I saw was good. It really made me happy."
With the state championships this Friday, the relay team thought about how they got involved with track and why they still race each year.
"I run because it forces me to work hard at something, and the rewards you get when you work hard at something are really cool," Overberg said.
"Running is my passion," Ferrell said. "I like knowing I can always give more and dig deeper, and it helps knowing I have coaches, family and friends supporting me."
"This is my first year of track, so going to state my first year is pretty awesome," Hacker said. "I just run because I love to run."
"Running is what I want to do for the rest of my life," Opst said. "I love coming out here and running with my friends."
The season as a whole has been a success, and the group looked back at it, cutting down their time by the aforementioned 21 seconds.
"The time we cut was each race was rewarding," Overberg said. "We would work a little bit harder each time out, and seeing the seconds cut off was exciting for all of our hard work."
"They've run a lot of miles and have put in a lot of hard work … a lot of speed work," Horsley said. "Brittany and Hannah were doing more distance stuff, but we also had them doing speed work with their distance workouts.
"They have that bond between them and knowing what they wanted."
How does a team cut that much time during a season?
"You have to want it," Ferrell said. "At this point in competition, it's more about your heart than the physical aspect."
"You have to want to fight … when you are neck-and-neck with someone, you have to decide who wants it more," Overberg said.
"It's really easy to let someone pass you if they are right beside you, but you can't do that," Opst said
"Working hard is what got us to state," Hacker said. "We don't have a track … so it's not like it's great conditions."
Without a track, the girls have learned to compromise. They go to events early to practice handoffs, as they stated there's not much they can do on their current "track."
"Where not having a track really hurts the girls is not having exchange zones on the handoffs," Horsley said. "We've worked a lot on injury prevention with this track by doing a lot of yoga and a lot of stretching."
With the event nearing, the girls spoke about what they are looking forward to and what this experience means to them.
"It's crazy … we are making a name for Hillsboro," Opst said. "The way we worked to get here … without a track shows we want this really bad."
"We are a small school with no track, and we get to go to run with the best in the state," Overberg said.
"There was a lot of talent we faced this year, but we had no drama," Hacker said. "We worked together and got the job done."
"We just want to take the whole experience in," Overberg said.
With their new track being in the process of coming to life in the future, the present for the 4x400 track team of the Lady Indians is working without an official track to practice on, and that's OK with them, as they've done enough to earn a spot in the 2012 Division II State Track and Field Championships.
They even cut their time down by 21 seconds from the start of the year to the finals of the regional championships, starting the year at 4:28 and currently at the 4:07 range.
[[In-content Ad]]In the SCOL championships, they finished with a time of 4:14.94, followed the next week in the district tournament at 4:10.85. This past weekend, the group ran the regionals at a time of 4:07.58.
And to think … the group of sophomore Hannah Opst, junior Autumn Hacker, junior Brittany Ferrell and sophomore Megan Overberg said this was the event they were given for "punishment" one year ago, but they've turned that "punishment" into achievement at the highest level of high school competition.
"I'm really glad we've all gotten to work together to achieve these," Overberg said, who also advanced to the state championships in the 400m dash. "It's a cool experience. Last year, our punishment was to run 400s, but I guess it's paid off."
As for Overberg in the 400m dash, at the SCOL meet she finished with a time of 1:01.57 for first place. At the Washington C.H. districts she was second at 1:00.27, and at the Athens regionals, Overberg was fourth with a time of 1:00.03.
Hillsboro girls track head coach Sarah Horsley said her group of runners is strong.
"It's been nice to be able to have them have a strong finish for each track meet," Horsley said. "One thing coach (Amber) Loomis and I have talked about is having the same girls doing the relays all year long … having that bond has helped all of our relays.
"Each one of them has improved … each one of those girls started the season knowing this is where they wanted to be."
Making the state tournament is an achievement, but the feeling of realizing a spot had been earned differs for everyone, and the 4x400 team was no different, as they each explained what went through their minds during and after the regional race at Athens High School last Saturday.
"It was surprising because I really didn't expect it," Overberg said. "We worked really hard, but it was rewarding because something we worked for finally came true. It's taken a while to sink in, but it's really rewarding.
"It's special to make two events because I'm glad the hard work paid off, but I'm glad I get to share this with my team too … we are a family, and I love them."
"It was kind of hard watching the first 200 meters because I wasn't sure of what was going to happen," Ferrell said. "Once I saw we were winning and made it … We all just screamed and hugged. We were in shock and excited."
"It was exhilarating in that Megan had a chance to finish second," Hacker said. "When she crossed the finish line, we knew we were going to state … it didn't seem real."
“I really didn't watch the others run," Opst said, who is the first runner of the four. "I just looked down and couldn't watch. I did look when Megan was at the 100, and what I saw was good. It really made me happy."
With the state championships this Friday, the relay team thought about how they got involved with track and why they still race each year.
"I run because it forces me to work hard at something, and the rewards you get when you work hard at something are really cool," Overberg said.
"Running is my passion," Ferrell said. "I like knowing I can always give more and dig deeper, and it helps knowing I have coaches, family and friends supporting me."
"This is my first year of track, so going to state my first year is pretty awesome," Hacker said. "I just run because I love to run."
"Running is what I want to do for the rest of my life," Opst said. "I love coming out here and running with my friends."
The season as a whole has been a success, and the group looked back at it, cutting down their time by the aforementioned 21 seconds.
"The time we cut was each race was rewarding," Overberg said. "We would work a little bit harder each time out, and seeing the seconds cut off was exciting for all of our hard work."
"They've run a lot of miles and have put in a lot of hard work … a lot of speed work," Horsley said. "Brittany and Hannah were doing more distance stuff, but we also had them doing speed work with their distance workouts.
"They have that bond between them and knowing what they wanted."
How does a team cut that much time during a season?
"You have to want it," Ferrell said. "At this point in competition, it's more about your heart than the physical aspect."
"You have to want to fight … when you are neck-and-neck with someone, you have to decide who wants it more," Overberg said.
"It's really easy to let someone pass you if they are right beside you, but you can't do that," Opst said
"Working hard is what got us to state," Hacker said. "We don't have a track … so it's not like it's great conditions."
Without a track, the girls have learned to compromise. They go to events early to practice handoffs, as they stated there's not much they can do on their current "track."
"Where not having a track really hurts the girls is not having exchange zones on the handoffs," Horsley said. "We've worked a lot on injury prevention with this track by doing a lot of yoga and a lot of stretching."
With the event nearing, the girls spoke about what they are looking forward to and what this experience means to them.
"It's crazy … we are making a name for Hillsboro," Opst said. "The way we worked to get here … without a track shows we want this really bad."
"We are a small school with no track, and we get to go to run with the best in the state," Overberg said.
"There was a lot of talent we faced this year, but we had no drama," Hacker said. "We worked together and got the job done."
"We just want to take the whole experience in," Overberg said.