For Erin Rawe-Thomas, it was a very strong month of October the preceded her signing with the University of Northern Colorado in November. Photo by Alan Versaw.
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Erin Rawe-Thomas's best marks:
1600 meters - 5:28.73
3200 meters - 12:14.07
5K cross country - 18:56.7
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It's been a busy recruiting year for UNC with distance runners in your neck of the woods. Did you know UNC was signing so many Jeffco runners?
When I first started looking into UNC, I had no idea how many Jeffco runners were looking into the school as well, but later in the season I started hearing about some runners verbally committing to UNC. I'm excited to be running with these girls. I have been running against them and their teams throughout high school, so it will be nice to see some familiar faces when I go to college. I really look forward to training with them as teammates and getting to know them better.
Tell us what tilted to tables in UNC's favor in your case.
I had narrowed down my list to UCCS and UNC. I would have received a great education at both schools, so it really came down to the cross country teams. After visiting UNC and meeting with the coaches and some of my soon-to-be teammates, I decided this is the school for me. I really like Coach John's training style and I think it will suit me well. I'm also excited to be part of a growing program. With the athletes that are returning next year and the new incoming recruits, we could do really well next year.
And, what do you plan to study at UNC?
My plan is to study nursing. UNC has one of the best nursing programs around. I know it's going to be difficult, but I'm ready for the challenge!
You ran Dave Sanders at 20:02 on September 26 and then came back two weeks later and won Jeffco in 18:56. I know conditions were better for Jeffco, but that is still a huge difference in race times. What happened over those two weeks?
I actually won the Jeffco league meet with a time of 19:25. I ran an 18:56 the next week at regionals.
After running a 20:02 at Dave Sanders I was pretty disappointed in myself. The conditions had not been the best that day. I always run better in cooler temperatures, but that was no excuse. I knew that if I was going to have to run that same course again for the Jeffco league meet that I was going to have to do a lot better. League was my ninth time running that course so I knew exactly what I had to do in order to hopefully win. In the two weeks in between those races, my coach and I made sure that I wasn't over-exerting myself at practice. He also pulled several of us from competing in the race before league to rest up. I became extremely focused on the league race. My coach told me I was going to have to stick with the leaders no matter what, and to pick a spot to start my sprint to the end. I knew it was going to be a painful race, and I was ready.
Can you pick out a favorite highlight of your high school career for us?
I would have to say my favorite highlight from my high school career was winning league. I had been training all summer and throughout the cross country season with the goal of trying to win league, and my coach and I often talked about it. Going up the hills I started to doubt myself, thinking "I don't know if I can catch up with her [Noelle Cobb]," but once I hit the downhill leading to the finish line, I started to feel a lot more confident in myself. I don't think I have ever sprinted 100 meters so hard in my life, and honestly I didn't know I had it in me, but I was getting so close to the leader and I finally caught her with only a couple meters to go. When I crossed the line I was so happy I couldn't even feel the pain in my legs. My coach came up to me and asked if I got second and I told him, "No coach, I got first," and he was so proud of me that he hugged me (and my coach isn't much of a hugger!). I was so happy I was able to win not only for me but for my coach, too. I achieved the goal that we both wanted at the beginning of the season, and without his coaching I couldn't have done that. Being voted league MVP was pretty special, too.
Track season looms ahead. How much time will you take off before you start training for track--and do you have any particular goals in mind for the season ahead?
I don't plan on taking any time off after cross country. I just ran in the Nike Cross Nationals regional race in Arizona last week, and I'm back to training this week. I like to train all winter, that way I'm not having to start over when track season begins. I enjoy running in the snow anyways, it's an extra challenge trying not to fall on ice! It does get insanely cold but my teammates and I always try to make it fun, whether we are having snowball fights or warming up drinking hot cocoa together after practice. This year in track I'm really looking to get my mile and two-mile times down. I'm already really excited for track and can't wait to start racing again in the spring.