THE PERRY PIRATES (top, from left) Marissa Baranauskas, Ally Nelson, Abbie Clifford and Angelica Zampini and (bottom, from left) Kristin Ludwick, Rachael Greuber and Ashley Adamik are set for the Division II state meet Saturday in Columbus. WARREN DILLAWAY / Star Beacon
Published November 06, 2009 03:06 am - The pressure-packed portion of the cross country season has ended for the Perry girls.
Pirates ready to sail Perry girls know what to expect at state
BOB ETTINGER Star Beacon
The pressure-packed portion of the cross country season has ended for the Perry girls.
Now, it’s time for the Pirates to cut loose and have some fun. And they’ll get to do it on the state’s biggest stage — the Ohio Cross Country Championships at Scioto Downs in Columbus on Saturday.
“I think of all of us, only one or two haven’t experienced going to state,” junior Abbie Clifford said. “We’re all prepared. We know this is a big meet. We know the hardest meet was last week. Now, it’s time to have fun and just run.
“It’s always easier to perform better when you don’t have a huge amount of pressure on you. I think all of the girls will be surprised at how well they do if they can stay relaxed.”
“In past years, when we prepared for an important meet, we stayed serious and psyched ourselves out,” senior Rachael Greuber said. “It’s important to stay relaxed and have a good time. We want to go out and run free, remember why we do this and enjoy what we’re doing.
“When we’re relaxed, we run so much better. You can just zone out and run and that’s ultimately what we need to do. We’ll try to have a good time and stay loose.”
The Pirates are returning to Columbus as a team for the second consecutive year. Last year, they finished fifth in Division II.
That experience should help the Pirates this time around. The gun goes off at 11:50 a.m. for the Pirates.
“I think now that we have had that experience, we won’t go and be completely freaked out. We will be able to keep our heads on our shoulders and stuff won’t be as scary.”
“Being able to go to state a second time gives us more experience,” Greuber said. “It helps us not to be overwhelmed and understand the meet so we can have a better race than last year.”
“I think it definitely relieves some pressure that we’ve been there before,” senior Marissa Baranauskas said. “We know what to expect and we know what we got ourselves into.
“It’s going to be a battle. It’s going to be tough.”
Those that ran in Columbus last year will be able to help, at least in a small way, the girls that will be new to the experience this time around.
“We’ll explain the state meet to them as much as we can,” Greuber said. “But it’s hard to understand until you’re there. We’ll let them know they’ll be able to handle it. We’ll inform them the best we can on what to expect.
“We’ll tell them to not let the big crowd or the other things that make the state meet different bother them. We’ll tell them to run the best they can.”
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