There were 245 girls on the line at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn on Nov. 7 for the start of the High School Cross Country State Championships.
From the starting gun to the end of the 3.1 mile course, 244 of the state’s top female cross country runners followed one runner’Goodrich senior Taylor Pogue.
The 18:11.0 minute run made Pogue the Division Two girls cross country champion, the first ever Goodrich student to win a Division Two state championship, and the second Goodrich girl to win a cross country championship after Janee Jones in 2004.
‘Coming into cross country my sophomore year, I would’ve never imagined I’d come this far. It was just something I did for fun. I never expected it to take me anywhere,? Pogue said.
But Pogue’s definitely come far. This is her third time earning all-state, placing 23rd in 2007, fifth in 2008, and first in 2009. She improved her time by almost a minute since her sophomore year with a personal best of 19:03 in 2007 and 18:06 in 2009.
‘I’m lucky that I’ve had such great coaches and teammates, they are a great support system on those days I’m lacking motivation,? Pogue said.
Coaches Jennifer Sweet and Al Warden were both in Brooklyn on Nov. 7 to prepare their runners for the largest race of the year. Joining Pogue at states was sophomore English Haught, who finished with a time of 21:00.2 and Fiodor Kessler, who finished in 18:23.7.
‘Taylor works very hard,? said Warden. ‘We’ll get finished with a meet and everyone will get in their cars to go home. Except Taylor. She gets finished with a race and then runs another five miles. I remember one practice when we were running 400s and Taylor said, ‘Coach, these 400s are for strength ? I need speed.? Last Saturday Taylor used both.?
Pogue’s running strategy was unlike the majority of her past races. Normally, Pogue goes out fast and keeps a constant pace, but when Lauren Grunewald of East Grand Rapids caught her just after the 2 ? mile mark, she had to pick it up. ‘I had to really sprint the end,? Pogue said. ‘When she first passed me I lost a little hope, but I knew I didn’t want all my hard work to be wasted. So I stayed strong and ran it out.? Pogue captured the lead again just after the 3-mile mark. Grunewald took second place, for the second year in a row, with a final time of 18:18.7.
‘Taylor deserved it, she’s worked hard for three years for it,? said Sweet. ‘She’s just a great kid to coach and we’re really going to miss her next year. But she’s definitely going to carry this on in college and do great things.?
Pogue is hoping to run in the Big Ten in her upcoming years.