In her first two years running cross country, Lindbergh junior Sarah Reiter established herself as one of the state’s best. So what did she change to get even better this season? Slow down.
“I changed how I train and how I approach the race,” Reiter said. “Basically, I just take more easy days now. Before, I’d get to the day of the meet and just feel tired because I would go out and run too hard the day before.”
Lindbergh coach Jef Rettmann said Reiter ran more in the preseason but at a slower pace.
“She can run with our varsity boys, but it really takes a toll over the course of the season because she’s not getting the recovery,” he said. “We finally got that adjustment down and it makes her feel better in races.”
The results have left little doubt. Reiter placed 14th at the 3A state meet last season with a time of 19 minutes, five seconds – her best 5,000-meter time of the season. This year she already has three 5,000-meter times under 18:20. And her time of 18:00.79 at the Nike Pre-Nationals meet Sept. 25 is the state’s third-best time.
Reiter, who ran roughly 320 miles this summer, is taking her goals this season step-by-step. She isn’t looking ahead to the district and state meets, even though she’s sure to be a favorite with her times, especially since Lindbergh moved from 3A to 2A.
“I’m just taking one meet at a time,” she said. “I kind of go out each race and push it as much as I can.”
After Reiter, Lindbergh has plenty of talent back from last year’s team that finished sixth in the state. Junior Jasmine Fallgreen finished 37th at the state meet last year, while fellow junior Anna Patti (39th at state in 2009) has yet to race this season because of an ankle injury. Patti leads a crowded injury list for the girls team in the early season.
“We have really good front runners on the girls side,” Rettmann said. “We just have to get people healthy so we can have depth.”
Other key runners for the varsity group are sophomore Elizabeth Hansen and junior Brenna Fisher.
On the boys side Lindbergh has excellent depth but no front runner.
“Three through 15 is as good as we’ve ever had,” Rettmann said. “We have a really good pack, but we don’t have the front runners that we’ve had before.”
In the past few years the Eagles have had runners capable of finishing in the top 10 at state like Matt Miland and Trevor Thompson. Lindbergh lost three runners who finished in the top 60 at the state meet last year.
Mark Garcia, Luke Garcia, Nate Tandecki, Nathan Haley, Alex Nelson and Mohamud Abdi lead a tight pack of boys runners that will lead varsity.
Rettmann said having so many tightly grouped runners can sometimes lead to a pack mentality, keeping everyone close.
“The pack is focused on staying together and it’s hard for someone to make that mental break and say, ‘I’m going to pull away,’” he said. “I think our guys will keep moving their way up.”
