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After they won their second straight Alaska State Championship
back on October 1st, the West Valley girls (Fairbanks) were supposed
to end their season. However, they were invited to the
Adidas Cross Country Classic in Portland, OR on October 15th, and apparently
just an invitation was not enough. They surprised everybody (but themselves)
by winning the Elite Varsity Girls division; 22 points ahead of (then
ranked) NW#3 Jesuit (OR) and NW#7
Snohomish (OR). Several weeks after their state title, with daytime
high temperatures below zero, they are still training; running six days
per week, and hoping for a national at-large invitation to the Nike Team
Nationals in December.
Recently, Dyestat spoke with girls' head coach Doug Herron,
to see his thoughts about the season. Coach Herron was the #1
800m runner in high school his senior year (1985); training in very
similar conditions as his team is training in now.
Dyestat: How has the weather been up there?
Coach Herron: The weather conditions have been
less than ideal, but we have managed to train quite well considering.
It has been in the single digits and at times, below zero for the past
two weeks. There are a few inches of snow and ice on the ground. We had
an intense workout last Saturday and the temperature was -9F.
Dyestat: How's the training going with the team?
Coach Herron: Our training has been going very well.
The possibility of an NTN birth has been motivation to the girls. They
haven't missed a beat. It has been quite inspriational in fact. We continue
training together every day and we have managed to keep our same training
routine. It is just the environment that has changed. We have access to
our university's indoor 3 lane track on Tuesdays and Thursdays for interval
work. That helps. The rest of our time is spent outdoors. It is getting
colder and the days are getting shorter. We finish many of our runs with
frosty eye lashes.
Dyestat: You came down and beat some really good teams at the Adidas Classic.
How do you think it helped your bid for a NTN invite?
Coach Herron: Competing against the teams at the Adidas
Classic in Portland proved invaluable for us. The girls knew that they
could compete with anyone and were excited to have the opportunity. We
had discussed winning and seeing what we could do against such an intense
level of competition. In winning the championship the girls began looking
forward to other races. It was a lot of fun for us and it was good to see
that we could compete. Because of that race, we felt that we could now
compete with the best teams in the country. It was then that the idea of
the NTN meet became a focus. We had heard from several people there that
they would be pulling for us to get an invitation. That was very exciting
for us. I have a very unique group of girls. Some of which I have coached
for four years, and I have witnessed their accomplishments. Many state
championships, titles and records. I knew then what I know now, these girls
are special and they can compete. We feel that it would be a shame if we
didnt get to compete against the best teams in the country.
Dyestat: Were you surprised at the ranking of Jesuit girls so high among
the Northwest teams, and therefore hurting your chances for a NTN invite?
Coach Herron: This past weekend was a bit of a let down for us. We were
very surprised to see that Jesuit was ranked #1. We know that Jesuit is
traditionally a solid program and were not questioning the ranking as much
as the process. We raised the money to travel to compete against teams
like Jesuit and others from the Northwest and beat them. We could only
afford to do it once.
Dyestat: Do you think now in the future you will try and travel more to
get more experience and recognition for rankings?
Coach Herron: We would love to compete more outside, but the expense is
very high. We feel that if they are number one,
that we should at least be able to compete against them again for us to
have a shot as well. Obviously, by Jesuit being ranked #1 our current ranking
is effected. We observed the automatic bids go to Jesuit and Gig Harbor.
We can only hope that we will again be ranked #3 in the NW so that if the
NW gets an at large bid, we are that team. We would really love to compete
again. We are ready to compete at our best. Many of our girls are poised
to run their fastest times yet. This is a big deal for Fairbanks, and the
state of Alaska.
Dyestat: Anything else you would like to add for your cause?
Coach Herron: This has been a very enjoyable season for us and we are hopeful
that it doesn't end here. We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Portland and
the hospitality that we received. We have made a commitment to travel again
next year. In fact, we are already discussing where we may like to go next
fall. The girls team will lose two from our top seven and we could feasibly
be as strong if not stronger next season.
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