Focused on the finish line

The way Brady Novak sees it, this weekend can go one of two ways.
As the only boy for the Hannibal Pirates to qualify for this weekend’s State tournament, he is going to be a bit of a minority on the bus ride down with the entire team of Lady Pirates, who all earned spots in the meet when the team took first place at Districts in Mexico last Saturday.
But Novak isn’t too worried about how things will go.
“They will either accept me, or I am going to be stuck somewhere in the back or the front of the bus all alone,” Novak joked.
But, joking aside, the lone Pirate will have his work cut out for him in an event that usually is dependant on runners pacing their times with teammates. Novak said that he knows that could be a challenge for some, but plans to fall back onto familiar territory to counter-balance the adversity of working alone.
“I plan on doing everything the way that I’ve always done it, because it has worked out so far,” Novak said. “There’s no reason to change things now.”
One person who will have to change the way things are done at Oak Hills Golf Center in Jefferson City on Saturday afternoon is Emma Burditt. This weekend’s meet will be the third time the junior will tackle the intense hills that come with the State meet. However, it will be the very first time that Burditt has had more than two other teammates along for the ride. But Burditt said she is anxious for what this new experience holds for her and her teammates.
“You are not just worried about your race,” Burditt said. “You are also worried about everyone else’s race because of the team standings. When you go as an individual, you are completely worried about yourself. You want your teammates to do well, but still, it’s different.”
A teammate that Burditt will likely be especially concerned about come race time is Jacqueline Gosney. As a senior, Gosney said she realizes that this is her last chance to make her mark on the meet. She said she feels good going into the meet because the many hills the course provides is something she feels comfortable with, even if the rest of her team might not be as anxious about the inclines.
“Last year’s time at the State meet was pretty close to my personal record,” Gosney said. “For every up hill, I’m just thinking that once I get up here, I’ll have just as big of a down-hill. I just try to keep positive and think about it like that.”
Like Gosney, Abbey Jeffries plans to keep her attention focused in order to attain her best possible time. For Jeffries, her focus for Saturday’s meet is on Sunday.
“When I’m running it, I’ve just got to keep thinking that it is the last one of this year and I’ll be able to go all-out,” Jeffries said with a smile. “I can’t wait. I can do whatever I want.”
Other Lady Pirates are less confident about how things will go once they hit the course on Saturday. Take Daquasia Dawson for example. This season has been the first that the freshman has tackled distance running. By her own admission, the prospect of jumping up to the biggest, longest stage there is in Missouri high school sports is a little daunting.
“I’ve never run more than a lap my running career before this year,” Dawson said. “Three miles is a lot more than a lap. ... Success at State, for me, is finishing.”
Dawson is not the only Lady Pirate who finds herself in awe of the magnitude of the State meet. Madi Sante said at practice on Thursday afternoon that her nerves are fighting to get the best of her.
“I’m excited but nervous — I want to do good,” Sante said. “I’m nervous about how many people will be there and the fact that they will all be good.”
Possibly the biggest issue the Lady Pirates have to deal with is the new attention that has been directed toward them. With only two other girls’ teams in the program’s history able to claim that they sent an entire squad, runners like Taryn Dungan have been the center of attention for even the casual fan.
“I like the feeling,” Dungan said. “People are coming up and congratulating us all of the time. It’s kind of weird for me, but it’s cool.”
Dungan’s teammate, Martina Woodard, shares the feeling. She said she realizes that what she and her friends are going through is something that they are going to remember for a long time and she plans to make the most of every moment she can.
“I don’t know what is going to happen [down the road], so I want to try my hardest,” Woodard said. “I doubt that I will probably be at State again if I’m not on a team. So I am going to try and go as hard as I can because I want to make the most of it.”
Woodard and the rest of the girls’ team will get the chance to make the most of their meet beginning at 12:05 p.m. on Saturday, followed by Novak at 1:15 p.m. when he runs against the rest of boys qualifiers.