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Egold shatters personal best time at regional
INDIANAPOLIS -- Sometimes the difference between satisfaction and disappointment is simply perspective.
South Putnam's Shannon Egold, the only Putnam County girl who qualified for cross country regional, ran a 20:23 to set a personal best time by 22 seconds at Saturday's cross country regional at Ben Davis High School.
That had to be satisfying.
On the other hand, Egold finished 16th in a race in which the top 15 advance to semistate.
That was most certainly disappointing.
Egold as well as Coach Andy Wise dealt with these mixed emotions after the conclusion of the race.
"Sixteenth is a big disappointment," Egold said.
"We were definitely hopeful to advance, so when you fall a little short of that, it's easy to lose sight of the other good things," Wise said.
Besides the personal best, the good things included running a consistent race, performing better than any girl in school history and closing the race in a strong fashion. Egold found herself around 20th well into the second half of the race, but closed hard to capture 16th place.
"From her best split to her worst split was a difference of maybe 30 seconds, so she was consistent through the race," Wise said. "She was in a good position all through the race.
"She said she felt a little tight today but, really, it's just a good field of runners," he continued. "She ran well. Sixteenth is as good a finish as a South Putnam girl has had at regional."
A factor that may have helped and hurt Egold was the race's layout. After spending all year training on South Putnam's hilly course, she had to run Ben Davis' flat course. While the layout may well have assisted in the low time, it also took Egold out of her comfort zone.
"It feels really good (to set a personal best)," she said. "I was surprised at how much time I dropped. Normally flat courses aren't my thing. The hills help me a lot."
Egold said she also wished she had been running with her teammates.
"I was a little nervous, and I would have advanced with my team instead of by myself. It's a little more fun, a little more comfortable, but it was all right," Egold said.
In the end, though, the coach expressed great pride and satisfaction with his senior.
"It was a good run. I couldn't have asked for anything more from her." Wise said.
At Ben Davis
Girls' Cross Country Regional
Individual Results
South Putnam -- 16. Shannon Egold 20:23