Prince runs toward promising future
Christina Knowles
The cross-country team has
been given a gift this season in the form of junior runner Sara Prince. Prince has been the number one runner this
season, and what is even more amazing than her accomplishment is that this is
her first year ever running cross-country.
Freshman and sophomore year, Prince could have been
found at the softball fields. Unfortunately
for Prince, softball and cross-country are played in the same fall season.
“I thought I was better at
running than softball. I play softball in
the summer, so I wanted to try something new,” said Prince.
Training for cross-country
began early in the summer for Prince.
She ran approximately 150 miles and played club softball on her days
off. Prince said her summer softball
coach was disappointed she wouldn’t be playing softball in high school, but Mr.
Semler, the former softball coach at Marian, told Prince differently.
“When Shawn Semler was here,
he told me to pick what I thought was best for me,” said Prince.
Being a newcomer to the cross-country
team has posed a few problems for Prince.
“The unfamiliarity with
courses and not knowing what to expect from the competition,” said Prince, have
been a few difficulties she has encountered this season.
Mr. Roger Wright, the
cross-country coach, thinks Prince has shown very little apprehensiveness.
Wright agrees that Prince is unfamiliar with the courses, but believes Prince
competes otherwise.
“Sara hides the fact that
she’s a rookie very well,” said Wright.
Prince has found herself in
good company among Marian’s best all-time cross-country runners.
“Sara has made it into the
top 20 all-time list for every meet she has run in,” added Wright.
Sara competed in the Metro
and District meets at Chalco Hills and placed 6th and 4rdrespectively. She has high hopes for the State meet at
Kearny on Oct. 24th.
“At the District meet I felt
a lot stronger than at Metros. I hope
it carries over to the State meet,” said Sara.
The term “natural athlete” definitely defines
Prince. As a sophomore, she was part
of the All-Class Grand Champion track team, where she competed in the one and
two-mile events at state. That was her
first time running track as well.
Prince made a tough decision this fall, choosing between
cross-country and softball. The cross-country
team thanks her.