Published October 12, 2008 02:08 am - BAZETTA TOWNSHIP — Drew Avsec was trying to learn to pace himself. Brittany DiMare was trying to learn the course.
Locals on course for district CC Runners use Sim Earich as final tuneup before postseason begins
ADAM RAEDER Star Beacon
BAZETTA TOWNSHIP — Drew Avsec was trying to learn to pace himself. Brittany DiMare was trying to learn the course.
And the rest of the hundreds of runners who graced the Trumbull County Fairgrounds cross country course all had similar aims as points took a back seat to personal improvement in the Sim Earich Invitational on Saturday.
With district meets looming a week away, “tuneup” was the word of the day as runners were applying some last-minute tweaks to try to get that extra second shaved off their time.
DiMare tuned up in fine fashion, overcoming last week’s respiratory problems to capture first place in the girls open race in 21 minutes, 25 seconds.
“I didn’t expect to get first after my breathing problems,” DiMare said.
After getting stuck behind a pack early, DiMare, Geneva’s Alyssa Nieset and St. Joseph Academy’s Brooke Danforth separated themselves at the one-mile mark.
By the second mile, DiMare was all alone.
“I was with the Geneva girl for awhile, we ran together,” DiMare said. “Then I just pulled away. I just chased the four-wheeler (that served as a pace car).”
More important than the win for DiMare was the chance to learn the course at the Fairgrounds, which will play host to the Division III district race next Saturday.
“‘Get a feel of the course,’ that’s what my coach told me,” DiMare said.
DiMare knows the district race will be more challenging than Saturday’s open contest. Had she run in the Division III race, the SS. John and Paul runner’s time would have left her in 10th place, more than two minutes off the pace of Canton Central Catholic’s Christina Oprean, who finished in 18:40.
“Division III is really tough,” she said.
While DiMare is gearing up for a tough race next week, Nieset, who finished third in 22:06, is not sure what to expect from the Division II race. The freshman has never run it before.
She is sure that she did something special Saturday, though.
“It was amazing,” Nieset said. “I’ve never done that good before.”
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