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Updated 11:31pm - Mar 18, 2010
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Opinion Gastineau earns White Star with third place finish at championships
Gastineau earns White Star with third place finish at championships
Second straight year junior has had top 7 finish Junior Zara Gastineau, right, of the Del Norte High cross country team runs during the team's meet in Crescent City on Sept. 23. (The Daily Triplicate/Bryant Anderson)
“I was pretty relaxed,” the Del Norte High junior said. When she
finally looked around she wondered “where did all the girls go?” There
were only a few others near her.
In the end, Zara earned her second straight HDNC White Star with her best run of the year, placing third overall in the girls division. She took seventh last year. Only the top seven finishers earn White Star honors. At the HDNC Championships, which were held on Saturday at Patrick’s Point, Gastineau finished with a time of 20:19. Erin McNutty of Arcata was first with a time of 19:57 and Imogene Carson of Eureka finished with a mark of 20:08 to come in second. Warrior head coach Kirk Burrows said he was impressed with the marked improvement Zara has shown. When the season began she was more than two minutes behind the leader and each week dedicated herself to getting better, culminating in her performance at the championships. “She’s really made huge strides,” Burrows said. “I’m really proud of her being third.” During the season, Gastineau ran 2 miles each morning and ran again in the afternoon to improve her leg strength and endurance. “She dedicated herself to the season,” Burrows said. While he was tough on her at times, Gastineau said Burrows pushed and encouraged her to get better and had faith in her that she would get at least a top-four finish at the HDNC Championships. Gastineau does not plan to run in the Northcoast Section Championships on Nov. 21 at Hayward in the Bay Area. This is because she wants to concentrate on trying out for the Warrior girls varsity basketball team. Gastineau said her goals for next year are to improve on her showing in the HDNC, compete in the NCS and make state. That will be a challenge, since only the top four NCS placers going on to state, which is in Fresno this year. Four other Warrior runners took part in the conference championship Saturday. For the girls, Shannon Benn took 27th place and Taylor Jacob placed 29th. For the Del Norte boys Patrick White took 21st and Gabe Bradley came in 22nd. |
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