Reading 38
"Wait A Minute, Did You Say Alaska?"
Storyline and Photos by Dennis Miller
After they won their second straight
Alaska State Championship back on
October 1st, the West Valley girls
(Fairbanks) were supposed to end their
season. However, they were invited to
the Adidas Cross Country Classic in
Portland, OR on October 15th, and
apparently just an invitation was not
enough. They surprised everybody
(but themselves) by winning the
Elite Varsity Girls division; 22 points
ahead of (then ranked) NW#3 Jesuit
(OR) and NW#7 Snohomish (OR). Several weeks after their state title, with daytime high temperatures
below zero, they are still training; running six days per week, and hoping for a national at-large invitation to
the Nike Team Nationals in December.
Recently, Dyestat spoke with girls' head coach Doug Herron, to see his thoughts about the season. Coach
Herron was the #1 800m runner in high school his senior year (1985); training in very similar conditions as
his team is training in now.
Dyestat: How has the weather been up there?
Coach Herron: The weather conditions have been less than ideal, but we have managed to train quite well
considering. It has been in the single digits and at times, below zero for the past two weeks. There are a
few inches of snow and ice on the ground. We had an intense workout last Saturday and the temperature
was -9F.
Dyestat: How's the training going with the team?
Coach Herron: Our training has been going very well. The possibility of an NTN birth has been motivation
to the girls. They haven't missed a beat. It has been quite inspriational in fact. We continue training
together every day and we have managed to keep our same training routine. It is just the environment
that has changed. We have access to our university's indoor 3 lane track on Tuesdays and Thursdays for
interval work. That helps. The rest of our time is spent outdoors. It is getting colder and the days are
getting shorter. We finish many of our runs with frosty eye lashes.
Dyestat: You came down and beat some really good teams at the Adidas Classic. How do you think it helped
your bid for a NTN invite?
Coach Herron: Competing against the teams at the Adidas Classic in Portland proved invaluable for us. The
girls knew that they could compete with anyone and were excited to have the opportunity. We had
discussed winning and seeing what we could do against such an intense level of competition. In winning the
championship the girls began looking forward to other races. It was a lot of fun for us and it was good to
see that we could compete. Because of that race, we felt that we could now compete with the best teams
in the country. It was then that the idea of the NTN meet became a focus. We had heard from several
people there that they would be pulling for us to get an invitation. That was very exciting for us. I have a
very unique group of girls. Some of which I have coached for four years, and I have witnessed their
accomplishments. Many state championships, titles and records. I knew then what I know now, these girls
are special and they can compete. We feel that it would be a shame if we didnt get to compete against the
best teams in the country.
Dyestat: Were you surprised at the ranking of Jesuit girls so high among the Northwest teams, and
therefore hurting your chances for a NTN invite?
Coach Herron: This past weekend was a bit of a let down for us. We were very surprised to see that
Jesuit was ranked #1. We know that Jesuit is traditionally a solid program and were not questioning the
ranking as much as the process. We raised the money to travel to compete against teams like Jesuit and
others from the Northwest and beat them. We could only afford to do it once.
Dyestat: Do you think now in the future you will try and travel more to get more experience and
recognition for rankings?
Coach Herron: We would love to compete more outside, but the expense is very high. We feel that if they
are number one, that we should at least be able to compete against them again for us to have a shot as
well. Obviously, by Jesuit being ranked #1 our current ranking is effected. We observed the automatic
bids go to Jesuit and Gig Harbor. We can only hope that we will again be ranked #3 in the NW so that if
the NW gets an at large bid, we are that team. We would really love to compete again. We are ready to
compete at our best. Many of our girls are poised to run their fastest times yet. This is a big deal for
Fairbanks, and the state of Alaska.
Dyestat: Anything else you would like to add for your cause?
Coach Herron: This has been a very enjoyable season for us and we are hopeful that it doesn't end here.
We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Portland and the hospitality that we received. We have made a
commitment to travel again next year. In fact, we are already discussing where we may like to go next fall.
The girls team will lose two from our top seven and we could feasibly be as strong if not stronger next
season.