The Lions' time in Florida is a new top state time for the 2010 season.
The winning time was 10 minutes, 32.49 seconds by Kathryn Fluehr (Fla.).
Haughey finished first in the 3,200 laster weekend at Coaches Classic in 11 minutes 16.26 seconds.
scrunners: What was the experience at Florida Relays for you like?
haughey: Florida Relays was a really fun experience. I went down with my teammate Elizabeth Dawson, her parents, my parents, and my brother Gabriel. Upon our arrival to the track the day before the race, we saw the Clemson team doing their warm-ups. We ran into Stephanie Buffo, who is also a volunteer coach for the Daniel track team, and joked that we had come all the way to Florida just to cheer her on :). She ran in the 3,000 steeple – the race right before mine – and finished with a time of 10:40, which – may I say – is quite impressive. Alyssa Kulik was also in that race, and she finished right behind Stephanie with an amazing 10:44. I met Kim Ruck, and she and Stephanie cheered me on throughout my race, which I was very grateful for. I, too, cheered on Kim in her 5K race, which was after mine; however, I don’t think she really needed my little remarks of advice. She seemed to know what she was doing…. She won with an insane time of 16:12, and Sarah Turman followed with a 17:59. I think it was a great night for Clemson and Daniel alike. As for anyone who wants to PR, I definitely recommend Florida Relays. There’s a lot of great competition, and in the end you’ll probably be dragged to a great time – and have a lot of fun doing it, too.
scrunners: What else did you do in Florida and how long did you stay?
haughey: The morning after the meet, we did a little run around the campus. It’s a really beautiful campus – and a really big one. The only real downside is the location. Florida ….lots of heat….lots of humidity….blech. I kind of have my mind set on going somewhere north of here, but hey, you never know. My brother (eighth grade) raced in the 1,600 and got a PR at 4:59 (yay!), while my teammate, Elizabeth Dawson, (also eighth grade) raced in the mile and also set a PR at 5:48 – woohoo! :). Her dad went to school at Florida , so he was showing us around the campus. Aside from looking at the school, we really didn’t do much. We stayed in Ocala , which apparently is big horse country, and there was this massive Clydesdale at the hotel that we fed cookies to (after we learned they weren’t for human consumption). Our races weren’t until Friday evening, so Elizabeth, Gabe, and I hung out in the hotel room quite a bit. I drank a lot of water, watched a lot of TV, and did a lot of biology homework, which is basically what I would have done at home I guess. We watched Little Rascals and this show “Life,” during which Elizabeth and I persisted to name every animal that came on the screen. I distinctly remember Eleanor the Ostrich (she was eaten by lions) and Peter the Pebble Frog (he looked like a rock and therefore was not eaten). We only stayed two nights because our spring break ended the following Monday….sadly.
scrunners: How did the 3,200 run unfold and was this as you expected?
haughey: The field went out fast, which I expected. I’m pretty sure I was in the second to last position at the hundred meter mark, but I just worked my way through the field as the race progressed. I came through the mile at about 5:26ish, which was my goal. I really didn’t have any other plan besides to run the first mile in 5:20 something and just compete. The second mile was where I covered the most ground in the field. The last 100 meters was crazy. You could see the clock up to the left of the finish line, and I think if I had just stopped looking at the clock in the last 100 meters, I may have been able to squeeze under 11 minutes. But no – 11 flat….yep. I’m still very happy with my race though. I got fifth place and a nine-second PR for the 3,200, so I can hardly complain. Honestly, I didn’t really go into the race with much expectation. I psyched myself up and readied myself to run (what I hoped would be) a PR, but my plan was to simply try to beat as many people as I could and let the time take care of itself.
scrunners: What does it mean to you to have the top time for the 3,200 in South Carolina ?
haughey: It feels pretty good, but at the same time I know there is a lot of room for improvement. Right now I’m just trying to work my way up to the records set by past South Carolina runners, including Kate Borowicz, my own old teammate, Stephanie Gammon, and more. These girls ran in the 10:50s and under during their high school careers, and that’s my goal at the moment. I just want to keep chipping away at my time.
scrunners: Following Florida , what's left in your season before championship season?
haughey: Before the state championships, I have all the regular season meets with my team. Editor's note: Haughey told scrunners.com she will not be able to travel to Penn Relays and will update scrunners.com on other meets she may enter.