This past weekend at Regionals the East cross country teams’ seasons came to an end. The boys finished in eighth place while the girls finished in sixth. While neither the boys nor girls cross country team advanced from Regionals to Semi-State, the top ten individual runners that were not on advancing teams were given another opportunity to compete. There are two boys and two girls from East that are going to run this Saturday at Semi-State as individuals.

Seniors Paul Bean, Jonathan Clayton and Emma Mensendiek are advancing, as well as Junior Kristen Lyons. All four runners have spoken about their performances at Regionals and their preparation for Semi-state in interviews this weekend. They were asked the following questions:

1. How did you feel about your performance at Regionals?
2. How do you mentally prepare right before your meet?
3. How has your practice routine changed since you’ve moved farther on in the state tournament?

1. “I didn’t have one of my better races, but I advanced and will be ready for the next races.”
2. “I warm up with my team and focus on my race during that time. Sometimes I listen to music on the bus to help me mentally prepare.”
3. “In the last couple weeks I have reduced my weekly mileage. We’ve also done more short intense workouts than in the early parts of the season.”

1. “Overall as a team we had an off day at Regionals. However, that day I got my second fastest time I have ever gotten. I was quite happy with my performance although my goal was to get a time under 16:57 last meet. I was ten seconds away from doing that, but now I hope to achieve this at Semi-State.”
2. “I try to stay relaxed and get plenty of sleep before a race so my mind is sharp during the race. Running requires a significant amount of brainpower to keep going even when the body does not want to keep going. I also like to walk around the course before the race so I know what to expect.”
3. “Instead of running more distance runs, I have been focusing more on speed workouts so as to build my speed for Semi-State.”

1. “I felt my performance at Regionals was pretty decent. I wish I could’ve pushed a little harder to be in the top 20. I came in 22nd so I’m kicking myself for that.”
2. “Before a race I usually don’t eat any breakfast, but on the bus I eat three peanut butter crackers, which is a mental thing. I also basically cover my legs in Biofreeze when I get to the line.”
3. “Practices have stayed about the same. We taper off a little more so we aren’t as tired so when Saturday comes we can just leave it all out there."

1. “I felt pretty good last week. I got a new personal record so I’m proud of that.”
2. “Before a meet I eat half a Clif Bar and talk with Emma and my other teammates. We also use lots of Icy Hot and Biofreeze before we run. That’s key.”
3. “We have tapered off so our legs aren’t as sore. We have focused on the little things.”

The boys race is on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. and the girls race is at 12:15 p.m. The race will be held at Eagle Park in Brown County.