There's a trend here. 2:08.72... 2:08.47... 2:07.71... 2:06.23. And it's a trend that is likely to continue, if Easton sophomore Chanelle Price has any say in the matter.
The top high schooler at the USATF Juniors,
Chanelle Price, Easton sophomore.
(Photo courtesy of Victor Sailor, www.PhotoRun.NET)
If the race counts, she is at her best every time. The 2:08.72 was at last summer's USATF Junior Olympics. The 2:08.47 was at this year's Nike Indoor Nationals. The 2:07.71 came at last week's Nike Outdoor Nationals. And the 2:06.23, which was one of her goals for this year, came in a 3rd place finish Friday at the USATF Juniors. She could possibly receive an invitation to join Team USA for the 2007 IAAF World Youth Championships in July 207 in Ostrava, Czech Republic.
But Price's times aren't just the result of race well and handling the pressure. It's how she practices. Since winning her first PIAA State Championship on May 27th, Price has been practicing with her club team, the United Stars of Philadelphia. The workouts are tough. "They push you hard. It really helps a lot."
You can see her confidence as she bides her time near the front of races during the first lap. She knows that at 600 meters, that is where the race really begins, and she has fully prepared her body and her mind to start that final drive just as the race really starts to take its toll.
At Juniors, she didn't have to run under 2:10 to make the finals. Because her winning time of 2:12.72 was the slowest of the four prelims on Thursday, no one else in her heat advanced to the final, including West Catholic senior LaTavia Thomas, who finished 2nd just .06 back. Price had decided to pace off Thomas and then use her kick to win the heat. But the pace was slower than she anticipated, and it gave she and three other runners a chance at advancing. "I should not have held back that much. That was risking it a little." Thomas and Price rounded the final turn together, and Price pulled away enough to win. The next three heats all had better winning times, but Price was in the finals. "All I wanted was to qualify."
Price was fully prepared for virtually any fast pace that was thrown at her in Friday's finals. One of her workouts includes hard 600's and 700's at 2:05 pace, slightly faster than she was aiming to do. Other days, she would do quick 350's, followed by a 600. Coming through 600 in a pace faster than your eventual race pace builds confidence that the strength will be there when it's really needed.
The finals went out fast. The leaders came through in 60 seconds, with Price just a second behind. Price took the lead at 500 meters, and hoped for the best. The two college runners who finished just ahead of her in 2:05.05 and 2:05.80 passed her between 650 and 700 meters.
Price was thrilled with the outcome, though, and especially the time.
She flew home Friday in order to make the USATF Mid-Atlantic Association meet on Saturday in Chester, where she was set to race in relays for her team. Her time at Juniors automatically qualified her for the USATF Junior Olympics Championships scheduled for later this summer.
Price also plans to run cross country again this fall. She started running last fall at the urging of her Easton coach, and hoped it would help her conditioning for the 800. But when she won her first 5000 meter race, and other top runners started counting her as a competitor, she took it more seriously, and now hopes to run improve a lot on her 16th place finish at the state championships. And it did help her 800. "I'm not bent over like the other girls at the end of the race."
For now, it's the rest of the summer with one more goal to achieve. "I think I can go 2:03 by the end of the season."
