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Jeannin runs through pain

By Eric Sorrentino - | Oct 31, 2007

Andie Jeannin’s 58th place finish at this year’s state meet in Wamego didn’t look as good on paper as her placement last year of 41st at the state meet.

Then again, the sophomore didn’t run with a cast on her right arm last year either.

“You could easily put her in the Top 30 without that and maybe even the Top 20,” THS coach Phil Williams said. “She’s come a long way. I see her potential. Hopefully for her, mentally, it will help her because she knows how well she’s done with that cast, and she can see that she can do a lot better without it and really get excited about next year.”

Jeannin finished in a time of 17 minutes, 24 seconds, which was a relatively good time compared to the rest of her races this season.

Jeannin didn’t balance her left arm with any rocks or coins for the state meet. As a result, her shoulder gave her more problems on the course than anticipated. She only experienced minor discomfort when she ran at the Oct. 20 regionals meet in Ottawa without any balance in her left hand.

“It wasn’t the greatest,” Jeannin said of her state experience. “My shoulder and my cast were just bothersome. I like competing with the team better. It motivates me so much more.”

The Tonganoxie girls didn’t qualify as a team and Jeannin was the only THS representative at the meet.

Baldwin senior Heather Garcia placed first in the 4K race and helped the Bulldogs win the team title as well.

Jeannin said the Wamego course wasn’t as hilly as the regionals race at Ottawa, but the hills were still tiresome because they were gradual and lengthy. Williams had the recipe for success for combating the Wamego course.

“At Ottawa, the kids were so concerned about going up those hills that they didn’t think about using the downhill to their advantage,” Williams said. “The downhill can be a big advantage if you really know how to run downhill. It’s pretty much just a sprint down the hill without having to tire yourself out as much. You try to pull yourself up the hill strong and then just fly down the hill and you can rest a little bit while you’re going down.”

Jeannin’s overall finishes this year
2 — 17:45 (Tonganoxie quad)
4 — 17:06 (Maur Hill Invitational)
3 — 17:40 (McLouth Invitational)
20 — 17:40 (Tonganoxie Invitational)
21 — 17:04 (Rim Rock Invitational)
22 — 17:54 (Mill Valley Cat Classic)
10 — 17:11 (League meet at Perry-Lecompton)
13 — 17:20 (Regional meet at Ottawa)
58 — 17:24 (State meet at Wamego)