Competitor and coach quotes from the PIAA State Championships, including: Adriene Beltz, AA Champ; Matt Samuel, Coach, AA Girls\' Champ Dallas; Frances Koons, AAA Champ; Anna Baker, Co-caption of two-time AAA Team Champion Hatboro-Horsham; David Mock, AA Champ; Chris Spooner, AA Runner-up and 2002 Champ; Craig Miller, AAA Champ; Ian Gottesfeld, AAA Runner-up and 2002 Champ; Greg Williams, Henderson; Kevin Kelly, Coach, AAA Boys\' Champ Henderson
Adriene Beltz, Hamburg SR, AA State Champ
PTXC: You seemingly came from nowhere last year to the state champ?
Beltz: I didn\'t qualify last year. I was 51st in the District because I had undiagnosed asthma, allergies, an iron deficiency, and vocal cord dysfunction. It took three seasons, winter, spring and summer to finally work everything out. They only discovered the last problem a week before the first race of this season. So by the grace of God I\'m here.
PTXC: How did you come back so far so quickly?
Beltz: Actually, I was allowed to run while they were testing, but I coulcn\'t race. I knew I could keep my physical level high, but I couldn\'t do any kind of speed work, or anything. They didn\'t want me to run the first race of the season, which was our only home race, and it was against Wyomissing. I said, \'what the heck.\' And I ended up winning.
PTXC: Did you set PRs this season?
Beltz: Oh yeah. My sophomore I was third in our county, third in the district, and I think I was 13th here (States). Going into this season, my best 5k time was a 19:19. This year, my best 5k time is an 18:36.
PTXC: Did you look at yourself as one of the favorites coming in?
Beltz: I knew that I was a favorite, but I also knew that I was just \'a favorite.\' There are three other favorites. And just because you\'re one of them doesn\'t mean that it\'s in the bag. Just because you\'re a favorite doesn\'t mean you go out there and you coast the race. You still have to run the thing. So I was extremely nervous. I knew I had a chance, but if I really wanted it, I would have to prove it. I knew I was going to have to hurt.
PTXC: You had a lead early. How did the race unfold?
Beltz: I took the lead going up this first hill. Hills are my strong point. I just tried to keep pushing. I think the big hill, right before the 3200 meters, that was another area where I knew if I wanted to open it up, I\'d have to go there. I got to the top of that and I felt so horrible, but I knew if I felt horrible, they felt horrible. I said \'I gotta finish.\'
PTXC: Where did you feel like you might actually have it won?
Beltz: Probably on the straightaway. Because on the straightaway, when I turned the first time I glanced over, I said \'just get me to that line.\' I was hurting really bad.
PTXC: Is it the worst you have ever felt in a race?
Beltz: No, because last year, trying to finish the race with asthma - no pain compares to that. So I knew that if I could run through that, I could run through it now.
PTXC: What\'s it mean to go through all that an get a state championship?
Beltz: I\'m just not sure yet. It feels really good. I just thank God that I\'m here, that I\'m better, that I could run this one.
PTXC: How\'s your college selection going?
Beltz: I\'m highly considering Franklin & Marshall. I like the D III because I don\'t want to be paid to run. I love running. I\'m very self-motivated. I don\'t need someone telling me to do this, and this, and this, because I\'ll do it on my own. I want to run for the joy of it. I\'m going to run to win, but there are some incredible runners that come out of D III. And that\'s what I want to do, I think.
Matt Samuel, Coach, AA Girls\' Champ Dallas
PTXC: How long have you coached at Dallas?
Samuel: I have been coaching T&F here for the past three years. It\'s myi alma mater. And I just took over the XC position this year. I ran at the University of Pittsburgh, and was a four-year letter winner.
PTXC: Was a championship something that you thought was in the cards at the beginning of the year?
Samuel: We thought we had a shot at it, just looking at what we had coming back and how tough the girls are. But we knew there were so many great teams in our state. And we feel like our state, in particular, AA, is one of the best divisions in the country as far as girls\' distance running goes. When you look at these teams like Gwynedd-Mercy and Wyomissing, and Wellsboro and Elk County Catholic, and we look at them and ask if could give them a shot. We liked how we looked. We knew we could run a lot better than last year, and we decided to go for it. And the cards just came up the right way for us today.
PTXC: Was Wyo at the top of your list with their four-year win streak?
Samuel: Looking at the coaches, and even Gwynedd-Mercy, the same way, when you seem them run a 4x800 like that at States, you have to look at them. And I admire them so much. And what we tried to do is, I kind of borrowed a couple of ideas from them on how to set up the program. And just to even be mentioned in the same breath is an honor. And to tumble with them, go at it with them today is just unbelievable. They\'re impressive.
PTXC: Tell me how you saw this race unfold?
Samuel: We thought that Gwynedd-Mercy would be very, very tough to beat. Frankly, we had them high on the list. They had some problems today with some of their girls I know got into trouble. We\'re hoping that they\'re alright. And I was assured by coach Wilson that they were. We knew that Wellsboro would be tight because of their group. But we felt that our pack, with our spread between one and five would really do us justice down here. And when you have a tight group like that, it\'s nice to have that at a state meet. We\'ve gone to some pretty big meets this year, and we knew how to get out and to get control, and basically, just knowing the course from last year, and how to break it up, was critical for us. We saw how to run the course, and I got some advice from some coaches that helped me along the way, like Bill Burk from Scranton Prep. We didn\'t like at it like running against another team, our opponent is the course, so let\'s just pass an many people as we can when we have to. And that\'s what they did. Our girls are very gifted when it comes to tactics and sticking to the plans that we lay out for them. They buy into that, and they believe it.
PTXC: And you happily share that with all the other coaches on how you get that done?
Samuel: Yeah, right. Mum\'s the word. But you know, even the other coaches, like the Wellsboro coach, and Larry Wilson, and Tim Hetrick from Wyomissing, they were just so gracious and so magnanimous about this. They helped me with their kind words after the race, and there are a lot of people who helped, like Bill Burk from Prep. I\'d be happy to share it with them. I\'m sure they\'d do the same.
PTXC: How\'s next year look?
Samuel: We\'re pretty young. We\'re losing two seniors from our top five, but we have a nice junior high program, and we have some other girls coming along, so we feel like we\'ll be back.
PTXC: Is this the first championship for Dallas?
Samuel: It\'s the first girls\' state championship in any sport at Dallas.
Frances Koons, Allentown Central Catholic SR, AAA State Champ
PTXC: Did you think this was going to happen like it did?
Koons: I wasn\'t really sure. I just knew I was going to go out and try to lead the whole way. That\'s what I wanted to do. I thought at the beginning there would be a couple of more girls up with me, but that\'s OK that they weren\'t. I felt really comfortable, up until that last hill by the two-mile mark. And I just felt really good, and happy and it was just so nice. I feel so blessed. There were people all along the course - I know I was coming in first - but everywhere I went I heard my name. It wasn\'t just like \'go\' or anything, it was \'go Francis,\' and it was the nicest thing. So many people told me I could win, but my little sister had complete and utter little sister faith in me. That was the one thing I was thinking about before the race. Anne has complete faith in me that I can do this, and so should I. Some people told me to be careful, and she said \'No Francis, you\'re going to win. I\'m so proud of you.\' I was real nervous, but that just made me feel so good. And I was able to go out there and to use that, and to use the training, and I just gave it all my power.
PTXC: When did you start to gain confidence in your leading position?
Koons: Pretty much at the starting line. I just felt like this is what I am here to do. And all I could do is my best. And I just had confidence that I could get out there and do it. And I felt very comfortable during the race, and that made me feel confident. Just getting out there and running my hardest.
PTXC: Where did you start to realize that you had broken away from the rest for good?
Koons: Actually, I was taken aback a little bit at first, because even before the mile mark people were telling me I had a this much on them. And I was thinking \'are you sure?\' So I just kept going. The first mile was in 5:40, and the second was even faster because of the downhills. So I felt very good and I just knew where I was. I just thought \'this is the state meet, and if I falter at all, somebody\'s going to be right behind me to take advantage of a mistake. I just had to go and to keep getting stronger.
PTXC: Where did it hit you, coming down the straightaway?
Koons: Yeah, pretty much. And I also knew she was closing the gap, so I just tried to sprint as much as I could. I knew last year that I was tired at the end, and I knew that anything could happen, so I pushed it real hard from the corner to the end.
PTXC: So this is goal #2 of 3 reached for the year?
Koons: Definitily. I\'m going to gear back up for Foot Lockers with a good four weeks of training, and see what happens there. Hopefully, top eight.
Anna Baker, US#19 Hatboro-Horsham Co-captain, SR, Two-time AAA State Team Champs (alternate in 2002 because of injury)
PTXC: How\'d you do today?
Baker: I actually collapsed at the finish line from dehydration. But I ran the best that I could. I was just really happy because I finished 5th for the team. I was happy to actually be running this year. My sophomore year I was the only one that went to States with Janine (Ricci, 2003 graduate and last year\'s #1), so last year no one knew what it was like, except for me and Janine, so I tried to help them. I knew the nerves, so I could be there with them and push them through the race, not just yelling on the sideline.
PTXC: Talk about this team. It seems to have come together pretty quickly. Could you see this coming over the summer?
Baker: Not really. The coach told me in June that there were a couple of freshmen coming up who did really well at Nationals. We knew there were some good girls coming in, but no one was threatened. We just brought them in and we trained as hard as we could. We worked for it.
PTXC: Is there a tradition developing now at Hatboro?
Baker: There is. I think we have four of our top runners are underclassmen, so we should repeat next year. I hope.
PTXC: Not that you\'re putting any pressure on them?
Baker: I\'m not putting pressure on them, but they should do really well next year, and years to come.
PTXC: What\'s the difference in the program the last few years?
Baker: My freshman year there were just 11 girls on the team. Now we have 34. It\'s grown a lot. I guess winning States last year encouraged a lot of girls to come from other sports who ran spring track and wanted to be a part of this. Kaitlyn Klaas played tennis her freshman year. We told her she could really help us out and she joined the team.
David Mock, Westmont Hilltop SR, AA State Champ
PTXC: Did you put yourself in the position to win?
Mock: To tell you the truth, I wasn\'t feeling that good the whole race today. I was just trying to stay close to the guys. At the end, I was just going to let him win, and I heard people yelling that Jed (Christiansen) was coming up behind me. So I started to kick, and I just felt good, and gave a push. In track, I have to run the 800, and I don\'t really like it, so I just job the first lap and a half and usually kick it at the end and beat the guy. I used that experience today. He had a good lead, but I knew if I just kept pushing that I\'d get him. As soon as I saw him pull up, I just pushed even harder.
PTXC: With the four favorites together at the mile, what were you thinking at that point?
Mock: I was hoping that I would get at least third. I didn\'t want to go back into 4th or 5th. I just really didn\'t feel that good, until I felt good at the end, and it paid off.
PTXC: At 2-1/4 miles, you got gapped a little by Jed and Chriis. How did the rest of the race play out in your mind at that point?
Mock: I was honestly thinking of just letting them go. My stomach just wasn\'t feeling it today. I cramped. It wasn\'t a bad side cramp, but it was there. Even though we only came through the mile in just over 5, that hill and that fast start took its toll on me.
PTXC: In the last 3/4, how much did they gap you and where did you realize you were maintaining contact?
Mock: They gapped me right after the big hill just before two miles, and then on the downhill, I managed to make a little bit of it up. Then on the next uphill, I actdually had the lead for a few seconds, then Chris kinda cut me off, and then on that little downhill, they started getting a little lead, and on the following upgrade, they gained a little more.
PTXC: Where did you catch Jed?
Mock: I got Jed right after where the start crosses the finish. I ran just a few feet in front of him, and I started to pull away a little bit. And I was going to be happy with second. But as soon as I heard people on the side yelling \'let\'s go Jed\' I didn\'t want to get third, so I just pushed. About a hundred meters out I realized that I might have a chance to catch him.
PTXC: Is this the season you envisioned at the start?
Mock: Actually, coming off that injury, I ran a road race in Somerset, a 10k, and I know Jed\'s always there, and he finished his last lap and I was still out on the street. He beat me by about 45 seconds. So I really didn\'t know how good I was going to do this season. I was actually thinking about trying to play soccer and do cross country, because I used to play soccer until 9th rade, and I still love to play, but my coach talked me out of it and told me to stick to running, and I\'m really glad I did. I started putting the miles in, and speed started to come back.
PTXC: Was there one race where you gained a lot of confidence?
Mock: Steel City. Steel City was definitely a confidence booster because I knew I was the underdog going in. And last week at the District 6 meet I took 40 seconds off my time from the end of the season last year, and that also was a confidence booster. I knew I be up there.
PTXC: Are Foot Lockers in your plans?
Mock: I\'m hoping to finish in the top eight. It\'d be nice to finish off my senior season with a trip to San Diego.
PTXC: How\'s the college search?
Mock: St. Francis is still in the picture. And a few more schools contacted me that I am thinking about pursuing. Bucknell is still an option. William & Mary. James Madison. It\'s still wide open.
Chris Spooner, Lewisburg SR, AA Runner-up, and 2002 Champ
PTXC: How\'d you feel just after the race?
Spooner: I don\'t remember much. I wasn\'t answering questions correctly. I had a migrane. I\'ve never had a headache like that. I hurt so much. Myskin was hot, and my hands were numb. They gave me an IV, and my parents went with me to the hospital. It was heat exhaustion, not dehydration. My skin was burning. I drank so much prior. I think the weather changed so rapidly (warm-up), and my body wasn\'t used to it. I got 2nd and I\'m happy about it. I wanted first, but Mock deserved it. He is a good runner.
PTXC: Did you get back in time for the awards?
Spooner: I saw them (Lewisburg) coming off the stage. I tried to jog over.
PTXC: What do you think happened?
Spooner: I didn\'t feel the best I have ever felt before the race. When I got ten meters from the cones (of the finish) I couldn\'t see. I remember hitting the ground and saying to myself, \'get up, get up\', he\'s coming. I\'m disappointed for the team. We wanted a day where we all ran well, but we all raced the best we could. They were all spent. It\'s the best we could have done. Our coach kept repeating that the whole way home.
PTXC: How was the race until that point?
Spooner:
PTXC: What are your plans for the rest of the season?
Spooner: I still have Mid-East (Ohio) and Foot Lockers. I want to make it to Nationals. I think I am capable of that.
Craig Miller, Manheim Township SO, AAA State Champ
PTXC: You maintained contact with whoever was leading throughout the race, and then were right on Gottesfeld\'s and William\'s heels at 2.25. Was that the plan?
Miller: I tried to run ten yards behind him the whole time. That last stretch after the turn is a lot longer than you think it is, so I knew I could probable catch him there.
PTXC: Did you wonder where Brian Fuller was, since you\'ve been side-by-side with him three times this season at the finish?
Miller: I didn\'t know where he was. I thought he\'d get second.
PTXC: How\'d the race go out?
Miller: It was pretty comfortable in just over 5. There were a bunch of other guys in the lead. Then, on top of the second big hill (before two miles), Greg Williams and Gottesfeld caught me on that downhill and I went with them. And then I just sat in behind them.
PTXC: When did you pass Williams?
Miller: I think where the stones start on the straightaway. That\'s what the plan was before the race.
PTXC: What does this do for your confidence?
Miller: I just want to win the next two years. If I don\'t do that, I\'ll be pretty upset.
PTXC: Fuller had beaten you twice in closing sprints this season and had a five-two lead over two seasons in less-than-a-second finishes. Does this make up for it?
Miller: I think this one counts for all the others. I\'d say we\'re even.
PTXC: Are you competing at Foot Lockers?
Miller: I don\'t know yet. I\'m not sure.
Ian Gottesfeld, Henderson SR, AAA Runner-up, and 2002 Champ
PTXC: What was the plan, and what happened?
Gottesfeld: Our plan was to make a move with a mile to go. I rolled on the pack before the downhill before two miles, and had the momentum. I rolled past and took the lead. It was perfect. Greg and I had a gap for the final stretch.
I had hoped for that. Greg was going to take the win. That was what I thought would happen. I was waiting for Greg to take it. I got confused and didn\'t know what was happening. I wanted to go, but was kind of waiting for Greg. I didn\'t know it was Miller. I couldn\'t see anybody. He went by fast with about 50 meters to go. So I just jogged in. If Greg had run like normal, we would have been one-two. It was set up for it. If I had known he was dehydrated, I would have sprinted for the win. I had the race wrapped up. It was bizarre circumstances.
PTXC: So Greg was going to win?
Gottesfeld: Yeah, he was going to take the win. We thought about it. We could not fathom racing each other. I had won it before, so he was going to take the win. I was racing for second anyway, and I guess I got it. We had the race wrapped up. It was just freak circumstances. Not to take the victory from him, but we motivated Miller to launch a massive kick.
PTXC: What happened on the final straight?
Gottesfeld: Greg said \"I got it\" and that is the moment he started feeling bad.
PTXC: Did you know it was Miller?
Gottesfeld: I didn\'t know it was him. He looks like the ideal runner. He looked good when kicking by me. He was definitely a blue streak (Manheim Township is known as the Blue Streaks). But I didn\'t know it was him. I didn\'t know he shaved his head.
PTXC: What about Northeast Foot Lockers ?
Gottesfeld: Northeast is good for me. I had so much left my sophomore year. I have never died on that course. Hills are good for me. I am better enduring than attacking. I suppose Greg and I are not teammates in Regionals. I am not going there with that mentality. I don\'t want that to happen again. Next time if he drops back, I am going to have to go.
Last year, it was a big deal with the dirt in my shoe. When it fell off, I said \'I am here and have to run.\' The hardest part about Van Cortlandt is I have no idea where I am. Eventually you just come out. But I am optimistic. Anything can happen.
PTXC: What about the competition at Northeast?
Gottesfeld: Ben True is one of the toughest guys around. It must be that he is from Maine. And Haji (Ahmed), (Victor) Gras and (Gavin) Coombs are there. Those are the four..
Greg Williams, West Chester Henderson SR, (running with share of lead in 2002 and 2003 before faltering in the stretch
PTXC: It looked at 1.25, with you off the front a bit, and Ian back even further, that you two had a different plan this year?
Williams: Last year, our game plan was to make a big move at a mile-and-a-quarter, and this year, since it was going to be so hot, we\'d make a big move at two miles. I moved into the lead a little bit earlier than that, because I think O\'Toole was up in the lead with Miller, and going up the big hill I just kinda floated by them I felt like they were going a little bit too slow. It felt natural just to go by them. Ian and I were in the lead just before two miles. At two we picked up the pace a little bit, and we got some separation by the time we got to the home straight. So the game plan worked out fine, in that way.
PTXC: Do you think it was the same thing as last year, dehydration?
Williams: Last year was a lot worse. Last year was dehydration, hypoglycemia, and I had a mono-type sickness where I was really run down. I think this year was just pure dehydration. I didn\'t absorb anything, gatorade, water, so I guess I was just dehydrated. I felt great going into the last 300. I felt coming into the race that it was my race to win. I think that if I didn\'t have any dehydration problems, I would have been OK. I was feeling strong until then. It just came apart there. It was just dehydration, nothing to do with fitness, or anything.
PTXC: Once again your points for the team were critical. Was it gratifying to get the second straight team championship?
Williams: Yeah, it\'s what we worked for all year
PTXC: Are you going to take some time an think about what you do from this point?
Williams: Yeah, it\'s kinda hard for something like that to happen two years in a row, so I have to evaluate what I want to do the rest of the season. But I know I have the ability to make it to Nationals and to do well there, too. But I have to find a way to prepare for the race, with hydration good, and my eatiing is right and I get the right amount of rest before the race. I think if I put that all together, I\'m going to beat a lot of good people.
Kevin Kelly, Coach, AAA Boys\' Champ Henderson (2nd year with two AAA State Championships
PTXC: Two years as coach, two state championships, and both by 12 points. Talk about today\'s race?
Kelly: It went great until Greg started having problems. But our fourth guy, freshman Chris Ferry, picked up 40 places in the last mile, and Tom Espedel, who is a sophomore, same thing, he picked up like 35 places in the last mile. And that, with Greg staying up, Jimmy Alexander getting 10th, and obviously Ian, we ran great. I thought we ran well.
PTXC: What do you think happened to Greg agaiin ?
Kelly:We\'ll try to figure that out. I think it\'s some kind of processing fluids, because they drank plenty, but we\'ll get him to some people and try to get it figured out. There were a lot of people coming unglued.
PTXC: Was that your plan to lay back a little bit ?
Kelly: We wanted to run smart. We knew it was going to get out too fast. And this course is running faster, so we knew that people would run dumb and get out too fast and pay for it. We wanted to be up there by the mile, which we were. That\'s how you have to run this course, because this course just tears you up. You can see how many people were getting passed the last mile. If you run smart, you can really clean up. If you go out too fast, you just suffer. And a lot of people suffered today.You saw that medical tent, people suffered a lot.
PTXC: So how does it look for Henderson, losing those three seniors ?
Kelly: Obviously, that hurts. But we\'ll try, we\'ll train hard and see what happens. But we\'re not going to be a favorite next year. But we have a good, young group. We have a lot of work to do, but we\'ll be alright.