July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
FORT RECOVERY — Elle Sutter is stressed.
She’s thrilled to have qualified for the state cross country meet. But she called it “nerve-wracking”, and added that she’s just hoping to be able to compete.
Then again, she said she had some of the same feelings leading up to the regional race, and that situation couldn’t have turned out much better.
Sutter, a Fort Recovery High School freshman, will try to exceed her own expectations one more time when she competes in the OHSAA Division III Girls Cross Country State Finals on Saturday at 1:20 p.m.
She enters the race as the No. 28 seed — projections are based on regional times — in a field of nearly 150 runners. The top 16 will earn state medals.
“I would love to see her be in the top 30, if not a little higher,” said FRHS coach Michelle Stammen. “I think that in itself as a freshman, to finish in the top 30 at state, is amazing.
“It just depends on how everyone races on Saturday and how Elle races. She totally surprised me Saturday (at the regional meet), and it was a pleasant surprise. I’m hoping she surprises me next week.”
Sutter entered the Troy regional meet as the No. 16 seed in a field that included four of the top five teams in the state. And only the top 16 runners in each region earn state berths.
But her ability to advance was never in question as she ran out to 14th place early and continued to push forward throughout the race. She was 13th at the mid-point of the race, and pushed to 11th at the 2.5-mile mark.
She picked up another position in the final half mile, finishing just a second off of her career-best time in 19 minutes, 47.5 seconds.
Sutter finished ahead of every runner from No. 2 West Liberty-Salem, which won the regional title, and No. 1 Minster, the defending state champion.
“It made me thrilled that I could see that I was improving and wasn’t just staying the same,” said Sutter, who was behind four Minster runners at the Midwest Athletic Conference meet just a few weeks earlier, “which means that maybe I can … do even better than expected at state. I’m hoping that maybe I can get around even more people …”
The No. 16-seeded runner for the state meet is Russia’s Katie Borchers, who ran a 19:31.8 in the regional meet at Troy. Sutter would likely need to cut about 16 seconds off of her career-best time in order to have a chance at a state medal, but major improvements have also been a staple of her season.
Sutter was the No. 3 runner on the Fort Recovery squad in its first meet of the season, finishing in 23:01. She made her first big move at Greenville’s Treaty City Invitational, hacking nearly two minutes off her time to finish in 21:16.
The freshman stayed in the 21-minute range for five races before breaking through again, posting a 20:27 Oct. 2 at the Jay County Invitational. That time remained her best heading into the MAC meet, in which she and teammate Abby May both had the goal of a top-12 finish to earn all-conference honors.
“I told her where she needed to be and she took 41 seconds off,” said Stammen. “That’s a lot of time to take off. I definitely think it’s possible (for her to reach 19:30).
“I think the … thing that is going to help her achieve that is she is running with the best of the best.”
Sutter’s focus this week in the effort to try to continue to show the improvement she has all year has been on the beginning and end of her race. Stammen said she will need to get off to a good start, much like the regional race, to avoid getting boxed in and stuck in the middle of the field.
She is also working toward improving her sprinting, so that she has what it takes to close strong.
“Coach wants me to have a really good finish,” said Sutter. “She wants me to be able to sprint towards the end. That’s the main goal for me.”
The last Fort Recovery runner to advance to the cross country state finals was Mindy Vogel as a junior in 2006. She turned in a time of 19:47 for a 30th-place finish.
“We are just very excited that she has the opportunity to run at state as a freshman,” said Stammen. “I’m just thrilled with the season she’s had. … It’s just a credit to Elle.
“I think that one of the most amazing things about her through this whole experience is she’s still the same Elle. She’s as humble as can be. She’s just working her very hardest to do the best that she can on Saturday.
“I know she’s going to have a great race and I can’t wait to see her run with the best of the best, because she’s definitely one of them.”[[In-content Ad]]
She’s thrilled to have qualified for the state cross country meet. But she called it “nerve-wracking”, and added that she’s just hoping to be able to compete.
Then again, she said she had some of the same feelings leading up to the regional race, and that situation couldn’t have turned out much better.
Sutter, a Fort Recovery High School freshman, will try to exceed her own expectations one more time when she competes in the OHSAA Division III Girls Cross Country State Finals on Saturday at 1:20 p.m.
She enters the race as the No. 28 seed — projections are based on regional times — in a field of nearly 150 runners. The top 16 will earn state medals.
“I would love to see her be in the top 30, if not a little higher,” said FRHS coach Michelle Stammen. “I think that in itself as a freshman, to finish in the top 30 at state, is amazing.
“It just depends on how everyone races on Saturday and how Elle races. She totally surprised me Saturday (at the regional meet), and it was a pleasant surprise. I’m hoping she surprises me next week.”
Sutter entered the Troy regional meet as the No. 16 seed in a field that included four of the top five teams in the state. And only the top 16 runners in each region earn state berths.
But her ability to advance was never in question as she ran out to 14th place early and continued to push forward throughout the race. She was 13th at the mid-point of the race, and pushed to 11th at the 2.5-mile mark.
She picked up another position in the final half mile, finishing just a second off of her career-best time in 19 minutes, 47.5 seconds.
Sutter finished ahead of every runner from No. 2 West Liberty-Salem, which won the regional title, and No. 1 Minster, the defending state champion.
“It made me thrilled that I could see that I was improving and wasn’t just staying the same,” said Sutter, who was behind four Minster runners at the Midwest Athletic Conference meet just a few weeks earlier, “which means that maybe I can … do even better than expected at state. I’m hoping that maybe I can get around even more people …”
The No. 16-seeded runner for the state meet is Russia’s Katie Borchers, who ran a 19:31.8 in the regional meet at Troy. Sutter would likely need to cut about 16 seconds off of her career-best time in order to have a chance at a state medal, but major improvements have also been a staple of her season.
Sutter was the No. 3 runner on the Fort Recovery squad in its first meet of the season, finishing in 23:01. She made her first big move at Greenville’s Treaty City Invitational, hacking nearly two minutes off her time to finish in 21:16.
The freshman stayed in the 21-minute range for five races before breaking through again, posting a 20:27 Oct. 2 at the Jay County Invitational. That time remained her best heading into the MAC meet, in which she and teammate Abby May both had the goal of a top-12 finish to earn all-conference honors.
“I told her where she needed to be and she took 41 seconds off,” said Stammen. “That’s a lot of time to take off. I definitely think it’s possible (for her to reach 19:30).
“I think the … thing that is going to help her achieve that is she is running with the best of the best.”
Sutter’s focus this week in the effort to try to continue to show the improvement she has all year has been on the beginning and end of her race. Stammen said she will need to get off to a good start, much like the regional race, to avoid getting boxed in and stuck in the middle of the field.
She is also working toward improving her sprinting, so that she has what it takes to close strong.
“Coach wants me to have a really good finish,” said Sutter. “She wants me to be able to sprint towards the end. That’s the main goal for me.”
The last Fort Recovery runner to advance to the cross country state finals was Mindy Vogel as a junior in 2006. She turned in a time of 19:47 for a 30th-place finish.
“We are just very excited that she has the opportunity to run at state as a freshman,” said Stammen. “I’m just thrilled with the season she’s had. … It’s just a credit to Elle.
“I think that one of the most amazing things about her through this whole experience is she’s still the same Elle. She’s as humble as can be. She’s just working her very hardest to do the best that she can on Saturday.
“I know she’s going to have a great race and I can’t wait to see her run with the best of the best, because she’s definitely one of them.”[[In-content Ad]]
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