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Perez finds redemption in state XC berth
Sometimes in sports, redemption can be found in the unlikeliest of places.
Jazmine Perez might be considered a sprinter, but she found atonement on the long, winding trails of a cross country course instead of the track.
Perez's track and field season ended in disappointment last spring as she failed to qualify for the state meet in her chosen event, the 400-yard dash. She finished seventh at the district meet with a time of 1:03.38, a week after qualifying for districts by running 13 flat.
She used that disappointment as motivation for this cross country season, however, and last week she stunned her coach and perhaps even herself by qualifying for tomorrow's state meet in Pasco by finishing 10th in the girls race with a time of 22 minutes, 25 seconds at The Gorge Amphitheatre.
Coming into the race, Perez and head coach John Heikkila weren't necessarily figuring that she could qualify; "I figured I'd finish 17th," Perez told the Post-Register.
But despite tough weather conditions and wicked winds that whipped through the Gorge bowl, Perez battled and used her sprinter's speed at the end to conclude one of the best races of her life. Now she'll have the chance to represent Quincy High School by running with and against the best harriers in the state.
"Jaz has always worked hard both on the field and in the classroom," Heikkila told Jack Tracks. 'She’s coachable and willing to trust people trying to help her improve. She was able to gain confidence throughout our season with each meet and ultimately found she was at the same level as the top athletes in our league. It all came to fruition with a stellar performance at The Gorge at our district meet."
Part of that improvement came as Perez gradually learned to become more of an overall runner as opposed to being a pure sprinter.
That's not an easy transition to make, but the improvement in Perez's times during the three races she ran at the Gorge this year prove that she has been able to adapt. Three weeks ago she finished 19th in a conference race with a time of 22:23. A week later she broke though, finishing first in another conference race in a time of 22:46.
"The crossover from sprinting wasn’t as big a deal as I thought it would be," Heikkila said. "I believe kids run with their own unique form, and I didn’t try to change that. Over time the body will find it’s most efficient form, and you’ll adapt. I just let her run they way she was comfortable. More miles makes you efficient. She just ran more miles, got the base work in, and then started learning race strategies. You have more time to think during a 22 minute race than a 60 second sprint. Strategy becomes more important the higher up the rankings you climb."
Perez has been able to master the strategic aspect of distance runnig, and her climb up the rankings — and state berth — is a nice reward.
The picks
Last week I went a solid 15-5, but heading into the last week of the pick-ems, I'm tied with my boss, Post-Register Chuck Allen. I need one more good week to claim the crown. Here's hoping....
1. Quincy over Ephrata. The Jackrabbits finish an encouraging season by picking up their third victory against a downtrodden Tigers squad. Think a 3-7 campaign isn't a big deal? Consider the fact that the Jacks have won two games in the past two seasons combined.
2. Purdue over Michigan.
3. Arkansas over South Carolina.
4. BYU over Wyoming.
5. Notre Dame over Navy.
6. Alabama over LSU. It's time for the Crimson Tide to pick up a statement win.
7. Oregon over Stanford. Could the Ducks suffer a letdown after dismantling USC last week? Nah.
8. Ohio State over Penn State.
9. Arizona over Washington State.
10. UCLA over Washington. Rick Neuheisel extracts revenge against the program that unceremoniously dumped him a few years ago.
11. Army over Air Force.
12. Oregon State over Cal. Just a gut call.
13. Nebraska over Oklahoma.
14. Ravens over Bengals. Baltimore was surprised by Cincinnati a few weeks ago. Won't happen again.
15. Colts over Texans. That said, a Houston win here might be the biggest victory in franchise history. Losing Owen Daniels will hurt, though.
16. Patriots over Dolphins. New England will be better prepared for the Wildcat offense than it was last year.
17. Seahawks over Lions. Seattle can't lose to Detroit, can it? No way. Matt Hasselbeck throws for four scores against a pious Lions secondary.
18. 49ers over Titans. I went back and forth on this one, but I could see San Francisco's rejuvenated passing attack, led by electrifying rookie wideout Michael Crabtree, shredding Tennessee's defense.
19. Chargers over Giants. I'm done picking New York until it stops playing like crap.
20. Eagles over Cowboys. Another gut call. This could be a fantastic game.
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