Note: Following the meet recap is an interview with Kate Niehaus and Spring Valley girls coach Kevin Shaw.
Saturday, Nov. 27, was a great day of racing at McAlpine Park, in Charlotte, N.C., for the 2005 Footlocker South Regional.
Representing South Carolina in the girl's seeded race was Kate Niehaus (17:15) from Spring Valley. Niehaus finished second to Nichole Jones from Houston, Texas by five seconds. A very exciting race, as Niehaus seemed to dominate the course. It was not until the last 400 meters that Jones made her move, taking Niehaus with an incredible finishing kick.
"We just concentrated on qualifying for the (Footlocker) National Finals,\" said Niehaus\' coach Kevin Shaw. \"The competition was greater at the South Regional each year that Kate ran. We did not have time to think about the past or look to the future."
"She knows the level of concentration it would take to make it through this caliber of race,\" said Shaw. \"Everything we did physically indicated that Kate could run 17:15. It was a great job on her part to ignore all of the potential distractions and perform at such a high level."
"As we came out of the woods someone else (I don\'t know who) and I were sharing the lead, and then Nichole Jones zoomed ahead as we came out onto the lake. I held on for second." said Niehaus.
The top 10 finishers in each seeded race are headed the Dec. 10 Footlocker Nationals in San Diego, Calif.
Other S.C. girls in the seeded race were: 42. Chrystal Haire (Westminster Catawba, 12th grade, 18:27), 61. Kate Borowicz (Mann, 9th grade, 18:41), 75. Stephanie Gammon (Daniel, 11th grade, 18:49), 135. Hannah Robinson (Rock Hill, 9th grade, 19:48), and in 148th Stephanie Buffo (Dorman, 11th grade, 20:17).
The boy's seeded race had much excitement with Michael Eaton from Bowling Green, Ky., finishing first with a time of 14 minutes and 46 seconds. The fight for top S.C. athlete was not as close to the front, but was still an exciting one. Graham Tribble (3 time SCISA State Champion) dominated the first mile with Luke Lovelace (Chapin) a ways behind. But as the athletes pushed through the hill around the half-way point, Lovelace came on strong, making ground on Tribble in the fight for top South Carolina athlete, before the two-mile as Tribble seemed to be fading. Lovelace, a tenth grader from Chapin High School, came in 40th with a time of 15:45. Tribble, a senior at Ben Lippen, finished 88th with a time of 16:11.
S.C. boys in the race also included: 120. David Huckaby (Fort Mill, 11th grade, 16:27), 127. Cornelius Harvin (Ridge View, 12th grade, 16:30), 161. Stefan Shealy (Broome, 10th grade, 16:45), 162. David Willis (Fort Mill, 11th grade, 16:45), 164. Daniel Vincent (Wando, 12th grade, 16:48), 181. Marshall Meyer (Bluffton, 11th grade, 16:55), 185. Chad Holt (Mauldin, 11th grade, 16:56), 202. Jeremy Vangsnes (Broome, 12th grade, 17:05), 210. Alexander Hill (Dreher, 10th grade, 17:12), 212. Sam Ramos (Ben Lippen, 12th grade, 17:15), 227. Andrew White (Fort Mill, 12th grade, 17:33), 260. Justin Stoddard (11th grade, St. James, 18:59), 263. Jonathan Duncan (Aiken, 12th grade, 19:16), and in 264th (Benjamin Durane, Spring Valley, 10th grade, 19:38).
The first high school race was the freshmen boys at 8:30 a.m. The temperature was a cool 37 degrees with very little wind making for decent running conditions as Thomas Porter, a ninth grader from Virginia ran a time of 15:46 to win the race.
S.C. finishers were: 16. Trey Parker (17:08), 70. Ryan Moran (18:39), 89. Caleb Robinson (19:00), 91. Dexter Monroe (19:11), 95. Nick Parker (19:15), 106. Benjamin Green (19:37), 107. John Sturgis (19:38), 114. Eric Lawson (19:56), 115. Hobie Moore (20:06), 118. Nicholas Hasty (20:12), 127. Justin Ponder (20:30), 129. Jim Koterba (20:32), 135. Joseph Stogner (21:03), 138. Cuchulian Kelly (21:25), 139. Xavier Roach (21:44), 144. Jonathan Hanson (22:45), 145. Josh Larson (22:50), 153. Jonathan Driggers (23:59), and 154. Nathan Justice (24:50).
The next race of the day was the sophomore boys at 9 a.m. Sean Keverin, from Brentwood, Tenn., won the race with a time of 15:52.
Representing S.C. in this race was: 63. Frank Tinsley (17:25), 69. Dominic DeSantis (17:28), 92. Mike Lambert (17:44), 106. Dustin Hillard (17:52), 110. Joel Sansbury (17:55), 115. James Jackson (18:04), 120. Joey Baldwin (18:12), 121. Zach Forrest (18:13), 123. Cory Beck (18:14), 131. Mark Nehez (18:22), 135. Shane Kyzer (18:26), 143. Oscar Rivera (18:38), 151. Matthew Doucette (18:46), 190. Ryan Vangsnes (19:30), 191. Tyler Boone (19:30), 193. Cameron Clark (19:33), 196. Matt Diaz (19:34), 209. Joey Parsons (20:08), 219. Jacob Roberts (20:49), 222. Hunter Boone (20:57), 238. Damon Martin (22:03)
The junior and senior girls ran next at 9:30. MC Miller, a junior from Midlothian, Va., won this race with a time of 18:47.
S.C. girls running were: 18. Kristen Thomas (19:30), 37. Rindi Wood (19:56), 48. Thela Woodring (20:04), 66. Jenna Callahan (20:18), 82. Anita Casey (20:31), 89. Raven Campbell (20:39), 102. Julie Baldwin (21:00), 109. Cara Browning (21:07), 141. Melanie Cummings (21:44), 164. Bea Girndt (22:17), 165. Sarah Knowlton (22:17), 174. Darla Browning (22:39), 181. Mimi Grace (22:58), and 195. Adriane Travis (23:44).
After the seeded races came the freshmen and sophomore girls race. Tori Lawson, from Ocala, Fla., took the race with an 18:09.
S.C. girls in this race were: 29. Stacia Streetman (19:40), 39. Emily Niehaus (19:52), 53. Candace Sapp (20:06), 57. Alisha Royal (20:10), 60. Kelly Lukridge (20:19), 72. Elizabeth High (20:31), 74. Emma Borowicz (20:33), 78. Taylor Hughes (20:36), 90. Anna Lee McLeod (20:47), 92. Emily Tiller (20:48), 94. Megan Carey (20:51), 110. Abbie Ormond (21:06), 125. Tori Koterba (21:24), 143. Lauren Wright (21:55), 150. Karli Weiss (22:00), 158. Sarah White (22:10), 160. Kathleen Cavender (22:17), 163. Brie Shelly (22:26), 168. Jacqueline Dallman (22:34), 177. Paige Wartkgo (23:13), 186. Lauren Nixon (23:41), 199. Carson Poplin (23:48), 202. Mandy Melton (23:54), and 215. Stephanie Sharpe (30:59).
As the sun rose so did the temperature for the senior boys race at 11:35. With temperatures reaching 50 degrees, Jed Bluff, from Pineville, N.C., ran 15:54 for the win.
In this race S.C. had: 33. Ryan Orland (16:48), 43. Tyrie Brown (16:57), 70. Chad Palmer (17:18), 85. David Bernhardt (17:27), 87. Greg Owensby (17:29), 92. Jacob Wood (17:34), 97. Andrew Sayce (17:37), 102. Todd Hines (17:41), 111. Tyler Gordon (17:52), 115. Chris Powell (17:55), 127. Joshua Dufford (18:15), 138. David Mead (18:28), 143. Matthew Henderson (18:36), 145. Mark Pepin (18:37), 149. Benjamin Griswold (18:50), 156. Jeffrey Janes (1(;01), 172. JR Glenn (19:27), 177. Derek Appleton (19:45), and 189. Phillip Lindler (20:28).
The final high school race of the day was the junior boys race at 11:55. Winning the race was Graham Northcutt, from Sulphur Springs, Texas, with a time of 15:52.
Participants from S.C. were: 30. Stephen Usery (16:41), Martin Tiller (16:46), 67. Ryan Arrowsmith (17:11), 89. Jonathan Falco (17:24), 103. Joseph Holder (17:34), 106. Adam Freudenthal (17:36), 111. Joshua Mabry (17:41), 143. Taylor Padgett (18:07), 147. Joshua Riley (18:09), 158. Joshua Mitchell (18:18), 160. Trey McCain (18:19), 162. Markis Allen (18:20), 170. Michael Brophy (18:24), 171. Ellis Anderson 18:25), 178. Stephen Odom (18:35), 181. Joseph Bell (18:38), 197. Thomas Emery (18:53), 203. Ryan Crosby (18:58), 211. Khalil Knuckles (19:06), 235. Charles King (19:48), 244. Brian Smith (20:05), 245. Terence Carmichael (20:11), 249. Keath Mead (20:33), 254. Matthew Gamble (20:52), 260. Timothy Justice (21:35), and 262. Michael Williams (22:24).
In the 10-under boy\'s 3,000-meter run Ian Kimbrell was fourth, covering the course in 12:06. South Carolina\'s Thomas Harris rounded out the top eight in 12:17.
In the 11-12 boys 3,000 run Mark Blackmon came back from a 2004 win with a first place win this year in 10:44. Jack Felix was third in 10:58.
SCISA state champion Meagan Brandli (Ashley Hall) was second in the girl\'s 11-12 3,000 with a 11:19 finishing time.
Sinead Haughey (Daniel) was fourth overall in the 13-14 gir\'s 3,000 run in 11:19, matching the time of Brandli. Haughey, a seventh grader, finished fifth in the 3A State Championship girl\'s race on Nov. 5 in Columbia.
Interview: Four-time Footlocker Nationals Qualifier Kate Niehaus
scrunners: What were you thinking stepping to the line for your last Footlocker South meet?
niehaus: I was nervous and excited. I\'d been thinking about the race all week, and I was really ready for it to finally be here. I also was a little anxious because my season has been really up-and-down, so I wasn\'t sure what to expect. However, I was really looking forward to racing against people because in most of my races this year I\'ve been alone, and I think that has actually worked against me. I knew that I\'m in good shape, so I was ready for a good race.
scrunners: How did this year\'s race unfold for you?
niehaus: The pace started out pretty fast. There was a very large lead pack through the mile (I think the leaders were about 5:15.). I just stayed at the back of the pack and tried to be patient. I think the pack might have thinned out a little as we went up the hill, but I\'m not really sure. When we came out around the lake, there was still a large pack. I wasn\'t sure how many people were in it so I took the lead as we went into the woods to try to quicken the pace a little. As we came out of the woods someone else (I don\'t know who) and I were sharing the lead, and then Nichole Jones (Texas) zoomed ahead as we came out onto the lake. I held on for second.
scrunners: Over the next few weeks how will you continue to train for nationals?
niehaus: I\'m not really sure yet; I\'ll need to talk to my coach. I\'ll probably just continue to taper down my mileage and add in a few short workouts.
scrunners: Was there a specific strategy going into the race?
niehaus: I was planning on staying in the lead pack and getting in good position to qualify. If I felt really good, I thought I might try to win, but mainly the goal was to qualify.
scrunners: If you had a strategy going into the race, who helped you develop this strategy?
niehaus: My coach (Kevin Shaw) talked to me, and I talked to my Dad a little bit and thought about it some myself.
scrunners: Did you see this year\'s competition more challenging from any other year?
niehaus: Coming in, I thought that the competition this year would be the strongest yet, but I didn\'t expect the times to be quite as fast as they were. Each year I have had to run faster than the previous year in order to qualify, so I think the competition has steadily improved (my time this year was about 50 seconds faster than the time I qualified in as a freshman). The field seemed a lot deeper this year, with a larger group of girls in the lead pack for a longer period of time.
scrunners: What are you looking to achieve as you prepare for your fourth trip to nationals?
niehaus: I\'m hoping to run my best at Nationals--a strong, smart, fast race.
Interview: Niehaus\' coach Kevin Shaw
scrunners: What was it like to be at Kate\'s last Footlocker South race?
shaw: I never thought of it as the last. We just concentrated on qualifying for the National Finals. The competition was greater at the South Regional each year that Kate ran. We did not have time to think about the past or look to the future.
scrunners: How did you help her prepare for this event after the Nov. 5 State Championships?
shaw: Most of it was mental preparation by Kate. She knows the level of concentration it would take to make it through this caliber of race. Everything we did physically indicated that Kate could run 17:15. It was a great job on her part to ignore all of the potential distractions and perform at such a high level.
scrunners: What kind of strategy did you have or Kate have going into Saturday\'s race?
shaw: Same as every other year. Sit in the top half of the lead back and make sure the pace was honest and fast (and it was). At the two-mile point there was a larger pack of girls at this point than any of the past three years. Kate realized this and took the lead to break up the pack. It worked great!! When the girls got back to the lake the lead pack of 12 was spread out and Kate was in great shape and leading the race.
scrunners: Over the next few weeks, prior to Dec. 10, what kind of preparation will Kate undergo?
shaw: Our goal is to stay sharp, fresh and focused. We will do nothing out of the ordinary. On the day of the race we just hope to have the best race possible on that day.
Saturday, Nov. 27, was a great day of racing at McAlpine Park, in Charlotte, N.C., for the 2005 Footlocker South Regional.
Representing South Carolina in the girl's seeded race was Kate Niehaus (17:15) from Spring Valley. Niehaus finished second to Nichole Jones from Houston, Texas by five seconds. A very exciting race, as Niehaus seemed to dominate the course. It was not until the last 400 meters that Jones made her move, taking Niehaus with an incredible finishing kick.
"We just concentrated on qualifying for the (Footlocker) National Finals,\" said Niehaus\' coach Kevin Shaw. \"The competition was greater at the South Regional each year that Kate ran. We did not have time to think about the past or look to the future."
"She knows the level of concentration it would take to make it through this caliber of race,\" said Shaw. \"Everything we did physically indicated that Kate could run 17:15. It was a great job on her part to ignore all of the potential distractions and perform at such a high level."
"As we came out of the woods someone else (I don\'t know who) and I were sharing the lead, and then Nichole Jones zoomed ahead as we came out onto the lake. I held on for second." said Niehaus.
The top 10 finishers in each seeded race are headed the Dec. 10 Footlocker Nationals in San Diego, Calif.
Other S.C. girls in the seeded race were: 42. Chrystal Haire (Westminster Catawba, 12th grade, 18:27), 61. Kate Borowicz (Mann, 9th grade, 18:41), 75. Stephanie Gammon (Daniel, 11th grade, 18:49), 135. Hannah Robinson (Rock Hill, 9th grade, 19:48), and in 148th Stephanie Buffo (Dorman, 11th grade, 20:17).
The boy's seeded race had much excitement with Michael Eaton from Bowling Green, Ky., finishing first with a time of 14 minutes and 46 seconds. The fight for top S.C. athlete was not as close to the front, but was still an exciting one. Graham Tribble (3 time SCISA State Champion) dominated the first mile with Luke Lovelace (Chapin) a ways behind. But as the athletes pushed through the hill around the half-way point, Lovelace came on strong, making ground on Tribble in the fight for top South Carolina athlete, before the two-mile as Tribble seemed to be fading. Lovelace, a tenth grader from Chapin High School, came in 40th with a time of 15:45. Tribble, a senior at Ben Lippen, finished 88th with a time of 16:11.
S.C. boys in the race also included: 120. David Huckaby (Fort Mill, 11th grade, 16:27), 127. Cornelius Harvin (Ridge View, 12th grade, 16:30), 161. Stefan Shealy (Broome, 10th grade, 16:45), 162. David Willis (Fort Mill, 11th grade, 16:45), 164. Daniel Vincent (Wando, 12th grade, 16:48), 181. Marshall Meyer (Bluffton, 11th grade, 16:55), 185. Chad Holt (Mauldin, 11th grade, 16:56), 202. Jeremy Vangsnes (Broome, 12th grade, 17:05), 210. Alexander Hill (Dreher, 10th grade, 17:12), 212. Sam Ramos (Ben Lippen, 12th grade, 17:15), 227. Andrew White (Fort Mill, 12th grade, 17:33), 260. Justin Stoddard (11th grade, St. James, 18:59), 263. Jonathan Duncan (Aiken, 12th grade, 19:16), and in 264th (Benjamin Durane, Spring Valley, 10th grade, 19:38).
The first high school race was the freshmen boys at 8:30 a.m. The temperature was a cool 37 degrees with very little wind making for decent running conditions as Thomas Porter, a ninth grader from Virginia ran a time of 15:46 to win the race.
S.C. finishers were: 16. Trey Parker (17:08), 70. Ryan Moran (18:39), 89. Caleb Robinson (19:00), 91. Dexter Monroe (19:11), 95. Nick Parker (19:15), 106. Benjamin Green (19:37), 107. John Sturgis (19:38), 114. Eric Lawson (19:56), 115. Hobie Moore (20:06), 118. Nicholas Hasty (20:12), 127. Justin Ponder (20:30), 129. Jim Koterba (20:32), 135. Joseph Stogner (21:03), 138. Cuchulian Kelly (21:25), 139. Xavier Roach (21:44), 144. Jonathan Hanson (22:45), 145. Josh Larson (22:50), 153. Jonathan Driggers (23:59), and 154. Nathan Justice (24:50).
The next race of the day was the sophomore boys at 9 a.m. Sean Keverin, from Brentwood, Tenn., won the race with a time of 15:52.
Representing S.C. in this race was: 63. Frank Tinsley (17:25), 69. Dominic DeSantis (17:28), 92. Mike Lambert (17:44), 106. Dustin Hillard (17:52), 110. Joel Sansbury (17:55), 115. James Jackson (18:04), 120. Joey Baldwin (18:12), 121. Zach Forrest (18:13), 123. Cory Beck (18:14), 131. Mark Nehez (18:22), 135. Shane Kyzer (18:26), 143. Oscar Rivera (18:38), 151. Matthew Doucette (18:46), 190. Ryan Vangsnes (19:30), 191. Tyler Boone (19:30), 193. Cameron Clark (19:33), 196. Matt Diaz (19:34), 209. Joey Parsons (20:08), 219. Jacob Roberts (20:49), 222. Hunter Boone (20:57), 238. Damon Martin (22:03)
The junior and senior girls ran next at 9:30. MC Miller, a junior from Midlothian, Va., won this race with a time of 18:47.
S.C. girls running were: 18. Kristen Thomas (19:30), 37. Rindi Wood (19:56), 48. Thela Woodring (20:04), 66. Jenna Callahan (20:18), 82. Anita Casey (20:31), 89. Raven Campbell (20:39), 102. Julie Baldwin (21:00), 109. Cara Browning (21:07), 141. Melanie Cummings (21:44), 164. Bea Girndt (22:17), 165. Sarah Knowlton (22:17), 174. Darla Browning (22:39), 181. Mimi Grace (22:58), and 195. Adriane Travis (23:44).
After the seeded races came the freshmen and sophomore girls race. Tori Lawson, from Ocala, Fla., took the race with an 18:09.
S.C. girls in this race were: 29. Stacia Streetman (19:40), 39. Emily Niehaus (19:52), 53. Candace Sapp (20:06), 57. Alisha Royal (20:10), 60. Kelly Lukridge (20:19), 72. Elizabeth High (20:31), 74. Emma Borowicz (20:33), 78. Taylor Hughes (20:36), 90. Anna Lee McLeod (20:47), 92. Emily Tiller (20:48), 94. Megan Carey (20:51), 110. Abbie Ormond (21:06), 125. Tori Koterba (21:24), 143. Lauren Wright (21:55), 150. Karli Weiss (22:00), 158. Sarah White (22:10), 160. Kathleen Cavender (22:17), 163. Brie Shelly (22:26), 168. Jacqueline Dallman (22:34), 177. Paige Wartkgo (23:13), 186. Lauren Nixon (23:41), 199. Carson Poplin (23:48), 202. Mandy Melton (23:54), and 215. Stephanie Sharpe (30:59).
As the sun rose so did the temperature for the senior boys race at 11:35. With temperatures reaching 50 degrees, Jed Bluff, from Pineville, N.C., ran 15:54 for the win.
In this race S.C. had: 33. Ryan Orland (16:48), 43. Tyrie Brown (16:57), 70. Chad Palmer (17:18), 85. David Bernhardt (17:27), 87. Greg Owensby (17:29), 92. Jacob Wood (17:34), 97. Andrew Sayce (17:37), 102. Todd Hines (17:41), 111. Tyler Gordon (17:52), 115. Chris Powell (17:55), 127. Joshua Dufford (18:15), 138. David Mead (18:28), 143. Matthew Henderson (18:36), 145. Mark Pepin (18:37), 149. Benjamin Griswold (18:50), 156. Jeffrey Janes (1(;01), 172. JR Glenn (19:27), 177. Derek Appleton (19:45), and 189. Phillip Lindler (20:28).
The final high school race of the day was the junior boys race at 11:55. Winning the race was Graham Northcutt, from Sulphur Springs, Texas, with a time of 15:52.
Participants from S.C. were: 30. Stephen Usery (16:41), Martin Tiller (16:46), 67. Ryan Arrowsmith (17:11), 89. Jonathan Falco (17:24), 103. Joseph Holder (17:34), 106. Adam Freudenthal (17:36), 111. Joshua Mabry (17:41), 143. Taylor Padgett (18:07), 147. Joshua Riley (18:09), 158. Joshua Mitchell (18:18), 160. Trey McCain (18:19), 162. Markis Allen (18:20), 170. Michael Brophy (18:24), 171. Ellis Anderson 18:25), 178. Stephen Odom (18:35), 181. Joseph Bell (18:38), 197. Thomas Emery (18:53), 203. Ryan Crosby (18:58), 211. Khalil Knuckles (19:06), 235. Charles King (19:48), 244. Brian Smith (20:05), 245. Terence Carmichael (20:11), 249. Keath Mead (20:33), 254. Matthew Gamble (20:52), 260. Timothy Justice (21:35), and 262. Michael Williams (22:24).
In the 10-under boy\'s 3,000-meter run Ian Kimbrell was fourth, covering the course in 12:06. South Carolina\'s Thomas Harris rounded out the top eight in 12:17.
In the 11-12 boys 3,000 run Mark Blackmon came back from a 2004 win with a first place win this year in 10:44. Jack Felix was third in 10:58.
SCISA state champion Meagan Brandli (Ashley Hall) was second in the girl\'s 11-12 3,000 with a 11:19 finishing time.
Sinead Haughey (Daniel) was fourth overall in the 13-14 gir\'s 3,000 run in 11:19, matching the time of Brandli. Haughey, a seventh grader, finished fifth in the 3A State Championship girl\'s race on Nov. 5 in Columbia.
Interview: Four-time Footlocker Nationals Qualifier Kate Niehaus
scrunners: What were you thinking stepping to the line for your last Footlocker South meet?
niehaus: I was nervous and excited. I\'d been thinking about the race all week, and I was really ready for it to finally be here. I also was a little anxious because my season has been really up-and-down, so I wasn\'t sure what to expect. However, I was really looking forward to racing against people because in most of my races this year I\'ve been alone, and I think that has actually worked against me. I knew that I\'m in good shape, so I was ready for a good race.
scrunners: How did this year\'s race unfold for you?
niehaus: The pace started out pretty fast. There was a very large lead pack through the mile (I think the leaders were about 5:15.). I just stayed at the back of the pack and tried to be patient. I think the pack might have thinned out a little as we went up the hill, but I\'m not really sure. When we came out around the lake, there was still a large pack. I wasn\'t sure how many people were in it so I took the lead as we went into the woods to try to quicken the pace a little. As we came out of the woods someone else (I don\'t know who) and I were sharing the lead, and then Nichole Jones (Texas) zoomed ahead as we came out onto the lake. I held on for second.
scrunners: Over the next few weeks how will you continue to train for nationals?
niehaus: I\'m not really sure yet; I\'ll need to talk to my coach. I\'ll probably just continue to taper down my mileage and add in a few short workouts.
scrunners: Was there a specific strategy going into the race?
niehaus: I was planning on staying in the lead pack and getting in good position to qualify. If I felt really good, I thought I might try to win, but mainly the goal was to qualify.
scrunners: If you had a strategy going into the race, who helped you develop this strategy?
niehaus: My coach (Kevin Shaw) talked to me, and I talked to my Dad a little bit and thought about it some myself.
scrunners: Did you see this year\'s competition more challenging from any other year?
niehaus: Coming in, I thought that the competition this year would be the strongest yet, but I didn\'t expect the times to be quite as fast as they were. Each year I have had to run faster than the previous year in order to qualify, so I think the competition has steadily improved (my time this year was about 50 seconds faster than the time I qualified in as a freshman). The field seemed a lot deeper this year, with a larger group of girls in the lead pack for a longer period of time.
scrunners: What are you looking to achieve as you prepare for your fourth trip to nationals?
niehaus: I\'m hoping to run my best at Nationals--a strong, smart, fast race.
Interview: Niehaus\' coach Kevin Shaw
scrunners: What was it like to be at Kate\'s last Footlocker South race?
shaw: I never thought of it as the last. We just concentrated on qualifying for the National Finals. The competition was greater at the South Regional each year that Kate ran. We did not have time to think about the past or look to the future.
scrunners: How did you help her prepare for this event after the Nov. 5 State Championships?
shaw: Most of it was mental preparation by Kate. She knows the level of concentration it would take to make it through this caliber of race. Everything we did physically indicated that Kate could run 17:15. It was a great job on her part to ignore all of the potential distractions and perform at such a high level.
scrunners: What kind of strategy did you have or Kate have going into Saturday\'s race?
shaw: Same as every other year. Sit in the top half of the lead back and make sure the pace was honest and fast (and it was). At the two-mile point there was a larger pack of girls at this point than any of the past three years. Kate realized this and took the lead to break up the pack. It worked great!! When the girls got back to the lake the lead pack of 12 was spread out and Kate was in great shape and leading the race.
scrunners: Over the next few weeks, prior to Dec. 10, what kind of preparation will Kate undergo?
shaw: Our goal is to stay sharp, fresh and focused. We will do nothing out of the ordinary. On the day of the race we just hope to have the best race possible on that day.