On Saturday, October 24th, in temperatures hovering in the mid-20s with snow on the ground, the Class A State Cross Country Meet was held at Parkhurst Recreation Area just outside of Jamestown, ND, and the Class B State Cross Country Meet was held further north at the Cooperstown Country Club. The Class A races stayed close to the predictions, whereas the Class B meet had some upsets. This interview is the third of four interviews with the individuals who won state titles this year.
Interview with Class A Girl's Champion Meghan Ford can be found here.
Interview with Class B Boy's Champion Brian Miller can be found here.
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| Smile! You're a State Champion! Photo Credit: Hillsboro Banner |
Much like the Class B Boy's race, the Class B Girl's race did not have a clear favorite going into the state race. Many of the girls in the top 10 in the polls came from the East Region, and many of those girls had won at least one race at some point during the season, and even head-to-head comparisons would fail to produce any consistency.
Ranked 7th going into the state meet was a 9th grader from Kindred. She had only won one regular season race, and that was in a meet with only three teams competing. She had not been ranked higher than 3rd all season in the polls, and was ranked 6th in the final coaches poll leading up to the state meet. Her only placement at state track was a 6th place in the 3200 meter run back as a 7th grader in 2019. In her first cross country race of the season, she lost by over a minute to girl who would be at the state meet.
But there were signs pointing in the opposite direction. In her last race of the regular season, she took 2nd place by 8 seconds. At the region meet, she placed 2nd, 5 seconds behind the #1 ranked runner in the polls, and beating many of the rest of the top 10 in the process. The table was set.
At state, Peyton Gette of Kindred High School placed 1st with a time of 19:08.7, two seconds ahead of Norah Entzi (Edgeley-Kulm), and 20 seconds clear of everyone else. It was the first state title for the 9th grader from the small Red River Valley town southwest of Fargo. Gette burst onto the scene as a 7th grader, placing 11th overall and being the 1st 7th grader to cross the line. In 8th grade, she placed 17th, a few places back from the year before. This year, she had the breakthrough and won it all. She was the only non-senior to win an individual title this year, and she helped her team to a 4th place overall finish at state.
Below are the questions I posed to State Champ Peyton Gette of Kindred High School. I have to admit a little bias, because I grew up in Horace, ND, just up the road from Kindred. I learned that Peyton is a team player and already understands how important relationships are in running. .
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1.)
First of all, congrats on your victory! You came
from a tough region, as evidenced by 8 of the top 10 all coming from the East
Region. You took second at the east region meet last week. How did you mentally
and physically prepare for this race?
Physically,
I made sure that I was eating good all week and that my sleep schedule stayed
the same. Mentally, I told myself to enjoy the moment and to not stress.
2.)
With fresh snow on the ground and sub-freezing
temperatures, did your approach for warming up or preparing for the race
change?
Last year
at state it was really cold as well, I was nervous and didn’t feel as prepared.
This year, I tried to not over think the weather and just felt more
confident.
3.)
Talk a little bit about the race. How did it
play out? What was your race strategy?
I was really determined to get out fast and around the first
few turns. After that, I settled in with the front pack until a little after 2
miles. At that time, I was able to move out front and stay there.
4.)
This is your first individual state title. What
does it mean to you, and how does it feel?
I
never expected to have a state title as a freshman. It’s such an honor and it
means so much to me. It feels so amazing!
5.)
You placed 11th at the state cross
country meet and 6th in the 3200 meters at state track as a 7th
grader, and now you have a state title as a freshman. What do you think allowed
you to have that amount of success early in your varsity career?
My
teammates are a big part of my success, I don’t know what I would do if they
weren’t there with me. My coaches have also lead me here, pushing me in
practice everyday.
6.)
Obviously this year is different. We all know
that every walk of life has been changed by the pandemic. Your track season was
cut in the spring, and you didn’t know how cross country would play out. How
did you cope with not having track last season?
I didn’t
know if we would get to finish the cross country season after being quarantined
for 3 weeks. That was very stressful. I trained every day of the track season,
doing all the workouts I normally would at home by myself.
7.)
What has it been like to train through the
pandemic and keep your sights on goals that you have?
It’s been
hard not getting to train close to all my teammates. We did our workouts and
runs in small pods this season. Our team didn’t get to be as close as we would
have liked, but overall we made it work and are thankful we made it to the state
meet.
8.)
What does the rest of cross country season look
like for you? Are there any races to go to? How about for track- what are
your goals there?
I was
planning on running at Nike regionals this year but it was cancelled due to the
pandemic. I’m really excited to see how the track season plays out, considering
I haven’t raced on a track since 7th grade. My biggest goal is definitely to do
well in the state for the 2 mile run.
9.)
To what or to whom can you attribute this
success you’ve experienced?
My
teammates make cross country so much more enjoyable. I looked up to the older
kids so much during my 7th grade season. My coaches are also a big part of my
success. To think we didn’t even have a cross country team 4 years ago. I would
never be here if it wasn’t for them.
10.) What
does running mean to you?
Hard work and dedication and also setting and reaching
goals.
11.) What’s
your favorite place to run North Dakota?
My
favorite place to run in North Dakota would have to be Cooperstown. I didn’t
like it in past years, but after racing here several times this year, I learned
to love it!
12.) What
words of advice can you give to those who are interested in running?
It might take awhile to get to where you want to be. Trust the
process and really try to enjoy it.
13.) What
adversity have you experienced with running, and what did you do to overcome
it?
Last year
I had to overcome 2 stress fractures in my foot. I had to miss a couple meets
and my first race back was regionals and then state. I had to cross train and
it really made me overthink a lot of things.
14.) Do
you have any runners from North Dakota that you’ve drawn inspiration from or
look up to? What about professional runners?
I enjoy
following Meghan Ford of Jamestown and also Onnica Stansbury of West Fargo
Sheyenne.
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