He was always one of my biggest supporters. My junior year, I was the only girl on the track team and so he ended up driving me to all the meets.

My family has always been my biggest supporters so it's great to get this chance. This is a hometown team and a chance for me to give back.

That, and my first real serious boyfriend, kind of ended my high school running career. That was pretty much it. I got married right out of high school.

I was originally going to run the 100, the 220 and the 440. But there were going to be heats for the event and I didn't think I could run all three with all the heats without being exhausted. So I dropped the 220, which I probably could have won and ran the 440. As it turned out, had I won the 220 as well, I would have won the team state championship by myself.

I always hated distances. She loves it, though. We, and her coaches, have to caution her from overdoing it. I keep telling her there is more to life than cross country but she is the type that wants to be the best at whatever she does.

That's the biggest difference in their team this year. They don't look like they're going to strike out as much as in the past. When you put the ball in play, good things are going to happen.