William Scoggins and Eva Lou Edwards scalded the competition at the western slope's biggest and fastest meet this past weekend. Photos by Matt Scoggins and Alan Versaw.
This week’s Colorado Track XC athlete of the week honors go to William Scoggins and Eva Lou Edwards. Both athletes not only won the Anna Banana Memorial Wildcat Invitational with impressive efforts and finishing times, they also distinguished themselves as top performers fellow competitors should watch out for in future races.
William Scoggins won the invitational in 16:03, finishing ahead of competition from much larger schools from across western colorado. “During that first mile I was back in the pack around thirteenth place,” the senior from Rangely said, “I took the lead in the second mile and then did my best to extend that lead in the third mile.”
Looking back on his race, Scoggins was pleased with how his efforts in training have been reflected in his racing. “I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been in right now,” Scoggins offered, “I’ve been running strong and I’m looking forward to state and regionals.”
Scoggins, who will be competing in the 2A division in the XC State meet, has his dreams pegged on claiming the individual title. Scoggins knows however that this goal will not come without a tough matchup against other top 2A competitors. “My training’s been going really well,” Scoggins said, “I’ve been doing lots of speed work so I can run down the hills of the state course faster. It’s going to be a fun race at state.”
The competition in the girls’ race at the Anna Banana Invitational was equally impressive. Even so, Eva Lou Edwards, ran away with the win in a time of 17:41, finishing 49 seconds ahead of second. The junior from Bayfield, who picked up cross country for the first time only last fall, has seen enormous improvements in her performances this season. “I did do more running this summer than last,” Edwards said, “but I really didn’t think twice about how much it would affect my performances. The training still feels the same. On the hard workouts, I still go as hard as I can. I’m putting out the same effort, but I’m running much faster.”
As far as race strategies go, Edwards does not follow the normal mental preparation that most runners undergo. “I don’t show up to my races having goals,” Edwards said, “I just see who leads and try to run with them. If I feel like I can go faster then I do. I never go out with a plan--I just see how I feel as I’m running. I like running with no pressure.”
Running without the burden of pressure ranks as an elusive standard for even the most elite athletes.
Even with an undefeated record on the season, however, Edwards is still able to focus on running relaxed. “Being undefeated is definitely good for making me want to work harder in every practice,” Edwards said, “but I do cross country because I want to do cross country. As long as I’m running the best that I can, even if I’m getting last, if I give it everything that I have, then at the end of the day I will be fine with that.”
As a runner having conquered the sub-18 minute standard, one would expect that Edwards would have some impressive goals to finish out the season. The most important thing for Edwards, however, is that she gets to run at state with her Bayfield team. Other than that, Edwards has imposed no expectations on herself. “I don’t like to think about running that much,” Edwards confided, “I don’t want to make it too complicated. I just want to run.”
And, so, it's a well-deserved recognition that goes out to William Scoggins and Eva Lou Edwards. We'll be hearing a lot more of both of them as they strive to finish out their seasons with strong races.