Ragsdale’s Sara Platek has Strong Showing in Footlocker National Meet

Sara Platek will draw on experience at national meet
from Eddie Wooten at the News and Record and CLICK HERE to see full look at his work and Sara after the run….

Jamestown’s Sara Platek plans a brief respite from running now that her final high school cross country competition is behind her.

The Ragsdale senior placed 22nd out of the 40 runners in the girls race Saturday at the Foot Locker Cross Country National Championship in San Diego. Platek finished the course in 18:03.1, while Claudine Lane of Malibu (Calif.) High School won the event in 17:04.8 followed by Nevada Mareno of Raleigh Leesville Road in 17:08.3.

“I’m happy with it; I really didn’t have a goal coming into the race,” Platek said. “I wanted to be in the top 20, but a couple of girls passed me at the end. So I need to work on my kick more.

“As a distance runner, it’s hard to have a ton of speed at the end.”

The other lesson for Platek was provided by the course.

“There was a really brutal hill; we had to go up it twice during the race,” she said. “It really killed us. So I need more strength and work on the hills.”

Platek, who won the 3,200 meters in the NCHSAA indoor track championship earlier this year, was the runner-up to Mareno at the recent state high school cross country meet.

“I really don’t look at my competition before a race because it might psyche me out,” said Platek, who is headed to Duke in the fall. “I just focus on passing the next runner in front of me.”

Runners were grouped into regional teams, with Platek’s South group winning that part of the competition.

“Honestly, (the best part) was just all the girls I’ve met,” she said. “I enjoyed being with the South team.

“I got to meet a lot of the elite runners from New Balance that I’ve always admired. … I’ve gotten to know them a little, and that’s really amazing.”