Senior Ava Barten of the Ankeny Centennial girls’ track team earned a pair of medals over the weekend at the Drake Relays.
Barten helped the Jaguars to fourth-place finishes in the 4×200 and 4×400 relays. She also ran on the fifth-place shuttle hurdle relay and placed eighth in the 400 hurdles.
Here is some inside info on Barten:
Congratulations on your great races throughout the weekend. All of your events were held on Friday and Saturday, which both featured sunny skies and temperatures around 70 degrees. Were those conditions pretty much perfect?
Yes, we couldn’t have asked for better conditions to run in. The temperature was great, but the biggest win–in my opinion–was that there was little to no wind. We had to be smart about staying out of the sun, but I am so grateful that we were finally given some good weather to compete in.
Your team set seven school records at the meet, and you were a part of three of them. Did you ever imagine that you’d have that kind of success when your team has had so many meets postponed or cancelled this spring due to the weather?
With so many cancellations and suboptimal weather, it was difficult to see where our potential was with the limited opportunities we had. I knew this team was going to do something special, but I think we can all agree that we exceeded our expectations. I can’t even begin to explain how proud I am of this team. I am so proud of the way everyone ran and the success we found with that, including the school records, but I am even more proud of the way we chose to show up for each other. With the endless support from coaches and teammates, the constant encouragement, and all of the hard work we have been putting in, it was exciting to watch it all unfold.
Your first school record came in the 4×200 relay with a time of 1:41.99 on Friday. Did that kind of set the tone for the rest of the weekend?
I think it absolutely contributed to starting the weekend off right and getting the momentum going. Anna Woods set the school record (of 14.50) earlier that morning in the 100 hurdles, so to see such success early on with the 4×2 as well lit the fire for our team, and we just kept building from there. Track is such a mental sport, and the positivity you see from others is contagious. Our team does such a great job at supporting and encouraging each other, and there is no doubt that when we watch each other succeed, it adds to the atmosphere and keeps the momentum going.
You then followed with another school record of 3:52.78 in the preliminaries of the 4×400 relay on Friday night. Were you surprised that the team ran that fast in a preliminary?
I was a little bit shocked when I first saw the time come in because it was faster than what our goal was for that race, but I can’t say I was surprised. We went into that race with a great mindset, we all handled the pressure and the atmosphere really well, and we told each other we were going to give it our all and see what we could do. I wasn’t sure what to expect since a couple of my teammates had a busy day, but I’m so proud of the trust and faith we had in each other to leave it all on the track and see what we could do.
You then had to be back on the track about 11 hours later for the prelims of the shuttle hurdle relay on Saturday. Were you able to get much sleep, and was it difficult to get your body moving again the next morning?
I knew it was going to be a fast turnaround, so I had a good plan in place to give my body as much rest as possible. I was able to get a few hours of sleep in, and when I woke up, it wasn’t difficult to get my body moving because I knew what my goals were, and I was determined to have a strong mindset. Going into Drake, I knew that with the schedule I had I was going to be fatigued, so I went in with the mindset of just keep moving forward. I didn’t even let myself think about being tired, and I think that helped me to stay focused on my races.
Your team posted a time of 1:03.64 and missed qualifying for the final in that event by just .37 seconds. How did you feel about that race?
It was frustrating to miss out on making it to finals by only that much time, but there were so many good things that came out of that race that we chose to focus on instead. We all ran clean, we ran a season-best, and kept positive attitudes that helped lift each other. We knew going in that we were going to have to run a fast time to make it to finals, and everyone did a great job handling that pressure. We all gave 100 percent, and that is all you can ask for. Fifth place is a great spot to be in.
You later set another school record in the 400 hurdles, where you came out of Lane 7 in the first of two sections to post a time of 1:04.01. Is it difficult to run in one of the outside lanes since you can’t see the runners to your inside?
I don’t think so. I just tried to really focus on my lane and when I try to have that mindset–tunnel vision going to the next hurdle–that just really helps me focus on myself and not the people around me.
Is that your favorite event?
I would say it’s definitely my favorite. It’s the event that means the most to me so I just love it. It’s pretty hard and not everybody can do it.
What’s the hardest part about it?
Obviously, the 400 hurdles is very challenging physically, but I think the most difficult part of that race is the mental aspect. It is very easy to get in your head both before the race, when you are trying to prepare yourself for what you are about to go through, and also during the race, when you have a million things to think about. When you see others getting to the hurdle before you or feel people closing in on you, it can distract you from running your race. Building and maintaining a strong mindset is difficult, but it is crucial for success.
Your team then closed out the meet by posting a time of 3:54.76 in the 4×400 final, where the squad ran about 2 seconds slower than it did on Friday night. Do you think fatigue may have set in a little bit after a long weekend?
Given how much the four of us ran over the past few days, combined with late nights and early mornings, I think we gave it our all and still performed well. I am so proud of the way we handled this race. We didn’t complain about how tired we were, but instead focused on emptying the tank and giving whatever we had left to our team. Even though it wasn’t as fast as prelims, we still ran a great time and competed well.
Goals for the rest of the season?
As I go into my last month of high school track, my goals are to keep improving and enjoy every moment. I am going to keep working hard, and obviously a big goal is to keep improving my times as much as I can. However, when I am done, my biggest goal is that I have soaked up every moment, and that I leave everything on the track with no regrets.
Are you planning to run in college?
Yes, I am committed to South Dakota State University, where I will continue running track while majoring in biology.