PORT ANGELES — Port Angeles cross country runner Gracie Long made some great strides during her freshman season.
Tall for her age, Long’s long gait propelled her to places many first-year runners never attain.
Long’s accomplishments make for a lengthy list.
She won all four Olympic League dual-meet races she competed, finished a close second at the 37th annual Salt Creek Invitational and won the Terry Rice Freshman/Sophomore Classic against runners representing Class 4A, 3A and 2A schools.
Even more impressively, she earned an Olympic League championship at Cedars at Dungeness in Sequim, won the district championship at the Westside Classic and finished 13th at the 2A state meet at Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco.
Pretty heady stuff for a freshman, but Long hasn’t let any of the success go to her head.
“It is an absolute pleasure to work with Gracie,” Port Angeles girls cross country coach Cheryl Gerardi said.
“Gracie is a humble and classy competitor. She celebrates the success of her teammates and fellow runners.
“Although she is proud of her accomplishments, Gracie never boasts nor brags about her accolades.”
Long can add one more to her growing list: the All-Peninsula Girls Cross Country MVP, as determined area coaches and Peninsula Daily News sports staff.
“I never thought I would be good at running, but since I tried it I’ve found that God gave me some good talent. I enjoy it and I’m going to keep at it the rest of my high school career,” Long said.
Long, who also will run long distance for the Roughriders track and field team this spring, started running competitively for Stevens Middle School after playing soccer for much of her youth.
She wasn’t sure that she would find success, but after having played in midfield in soccer she was used to a great deal of running back and forth on offense and defense.
“I just knew that I could keep going and never really thought about what I could do with it,” Long said.
Two factors piqued her interest in the sport.
“My family was supportive of me, and that kept me involved in it,” Long said.
“I liked all the kids that were competing and I enjoyed the sportsmanship from the other teams.”
Cross country is different than team sports like football or basketball — sure, there’s sportsmanship on the gridiron or on the court but the focus is typically on beating the opponent.
In the long-distance game, it’s more about beating your own time, the intent being to set and then shatter personal bests, and getting through a grueling race course.
“After the race you can see there is a lot of congratulations and encouragement going around,” Long said.
“You can see everybody is happy and excited to have finished, and not really down.”
Long’s seemingly easy transition to the longer high school courses was built during a summer of hard work.
She worked out at the Port Angeles High School track with a group headed by Greg Halberg, a former collegiate and professional strength and conditioning coach.
Long competed in distance events at the U.S. Track and Field Junior Olympics events in Kent, Spokane and even in Houston, Texas, and enjoyed learning from the other competitors.
“It was really fun to talk with them, see what kind of training they do, and fun to find out what their interests and motivations are,” Long said.
“It was really cool, probably the most organized meet I’ve ever been to.”
During the high school season, Long worked to adjust to longer race courses.
“Gracie worked the most on pacing,” Gerardi said.
“Gracie, like many freshmen, needed time to adjust from running 1.5 miles to running 3.1 miles.
“One emphasis that the team worked on was negative splits. Gracie started the season running the opening mile at about a 5:40 minute pace, but then struggled to hold that pace for the next 2 miles.
“By the end of the season, Gracie was starting out at a manageable pace of 5:55 and was able to be more competitive in the final mile.”
Long keeps her goals simple and is focused on breaking 19 minutes in the 5,000-meter, the distance for championship cross country races.
“Not right now, except for beating that 19-minute mark,” Long said when asked of her running goals. “I came really close at the district race (19:00.84).
“And I also want to place higher at state next year, if we go.”
It appears like Long is willing to follow Gerardi’s advice to focus on small successes and build toward bigger results.
“Gracie will need to take it in stride: one season at a time, one year at a time,” Gerardi said.
“Gracie’s tremendous work ethic coupled with her competitive spirit will allow her to meet any goal that she sets for herself.
“It will be exciting to watch the long, graceful stride of this young athlete develop over the next three years.”
Considering what she accomplished as a freshman, it would be a safe bet for the Port Angeles High School athletic department to lock down hotel rooms in Pasco for the second weekend in November for the next three seasons.
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Sports reporter Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-452-2345, ext. 5250 or at mcarman@peninsualdailynews.com.
Peninsula’s Top 10
Best times of North Olympic Peninsula runners for the 2014 season:
1. Gracie Long, Port Angeles, 19:00.9
2. Waverly Shreffler, Sequim, 19:52.0
3. Willow Suess, Port Angeles, 20:52.0
4. Lael Butler, Port Angeles, 20:53.0
5. Annika Pederson, Port Angeles, 20:56.1
6. Madelyn Dougherty, Port Angeles, 21:00.4
7. Kari Larson, Forks, 21:04.1
8. Emily Webb, Sequim, 21:05.1
9. Hanna Trailer, Port Townsend, 21:10.5
10. Tristen Williams, Forks, 21:12.0
