BOB ETTINGER
COLUMBUS — Belief turned the number four wild for the Perry girls at the Division II State Country Championships.
“Sometimes, they get that look of panic or confusion,” Perry coach Bill Sarvis said. “The questions are there, ‘Do I belong here? Am I legit? The gremlin sits our your shoulder and you have to shake it off with belief and confidence in yourself.
“To a person, I never saw that look of panic. We came in and ran our race and believed we belonged here.”
Behind first team All-Ohio performances from Abbie Clifford and Marissa Baranauskas, the Pirates tallied a fourth-place finish at Scioto Downs Race Track on Saturday. It was the third consecutive Saturday that Perry had finished in that position after having done so at the district and regional meets.
“That’s sweet,” Sarvis said. “What can I say? That is sweet. Wow, that’s awesome! That’s everything we talked about. That’s awesome! We knocked off some teams we’d been chasing. That’s awesome!”
Clifford raced to a fifth-place finish in 19:04 and Baranauskas came home in 14th place in 19:29.
“I feel better (about the way I ran than I did the last couple of weeks),” Clifford said. “But I’m never satisfied with how I run. When I come across the line, I think of all the things I could’ve done to be better, but I’m happy.
“Every time we came in past the stands, I felt myself get faster. I focused on the girl’s number in front of me and that helped me move up.”
“(Being first team All-Ohio) is the best feeling in the world,” Baranauskas said. “I gave all of my heart to the last four years. It’s the best feeling in the world.”
Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy’s Christina Blair was the state champion in 18:39.
The Pirates totaled 159 points to finish behind team champion St. Vincent-St. St. Mary (98 points), St. Clairsville (105) and CVCA (115).
Perry managed to improve upon last year’s fifth-place finish at the state meet.
No runner personified what belief can accomplish better than Baranauskas, a senior.
“She always struggled with her confidence and not believing in herself,” Sarvis said. “It was nice to see her develop that belief that she was capable of doing it. That means more than any cross country meet.”
“(Belief) definitely made a difference this year,” Baranauskas said. “I finally believed I could be up there with Abbie. At the beginning of the season, I remember Coach (Eric) Thomas telling me I could do it — I can run with her. That’s when I started to believe I could do this.”
It wasn’t just believing in themselves as individuals that carried the Pirates. They believed in each other. And that was the reason they finished so high in the standings.
“They had faith,” Sarvis said. “They knew that if they faltered, someone was going to pick them up. And they all believed that if a teammate fell, they wanted to be the one that picked her up. That’s a big life lesson. That’s family.”
Following Clifford and Baranauskas for Perry were Rachael Greuber (64th, 20:39), Ally Nelson (71st, 20:44), Kristin Ludwick (99th, 21:26), Jackie Tenney (115th, 21:44) and Ashley Adamik (122nd, 21:54).
“This past week, we started all running together on team runs,” Adamik said. “That surprised us. That was great.”
Having Greuber and Nelson finish so close together and the others in a tight grouping not far behind made a big difference for the Pirates.
“I think the packs were tighter today,” Sarvis said. “The past couple of weeks we talked about making a push in that second mile and not getting consumed by the fast start.”
“Having that pack has been a big strength,” Greuber said. “Having Abbie and Marissa so far up front really helped. Running as a pack is what we needed to do to get the place we wanted to. Regardless of where we finished, we all did good. I’m proud of everyone.”
Trying to stay relaxed also paid dividends for Perry.
“The last couple weeks were constant pressure,” Clifford said. “We all kind of decided the hardest part was over and if we finished last, it didn’t matter. We just wanted to give all that we had and come across the line with nothing left.”
“We were trying really hard to stay focused but at the same time, stay loose and not be nervous and uptight. We knew what to do to accomplish our goals and we believed. And we enjoyed our last moment together as this team.”
Perry made a point of staying relaxed over the first mile. But at the start of the second mile, the Pirates began to make their move.
“We talked to the girls about racing our race,” Sarvis said. “That’s why I said at the mile mark to begin our assault. Each of them said, ‘I want to make a difference for the team today. I want to make my mark for the team.’ ”
“All we wanted to do was kick tushy,” Clifford said. “That’s what we did. We all ran the best we could. If we finished last, we didn’t care. We had a good time and that’s all that matters.”
And over the course of the final mile or so, the Pirates began pillaging positions.
“I thought they started to move up in the second mile, but in the third mile they were really moving up,” Sarvis said. “They took advantage of the area outside the grand stand where there are some hills. In Northeast Ohio, that’s what it’s all about. I think that was a big advantage for us.”
“I got a really good start and listened to Coach Sarvis,” Baranauskas said. “I stayed on the outside and kept passing people. That helped.”
“It was very nerve-wracking at the start,” Clifford said. “I got a good start, kept laddering up and stayed with the front pack.”
Taking away so many positions, Clifford scored two team points, Baranauskas eight, Greuber 40, Nelson 44 and Ludwick 65.
