Andover freshman keeps passing her competitors

Andover freshman Nicole Heitzman made her varsity cross country debut this fall, starting off as the Huskies No. 3 runner and eventually claiming the No. 1 position.

She makes similar progressions during races, a steady start followed by hot pursuit of the leaders. The formula worked to perfection last week as Heitzman won the Class 2A, Section 5 championship at Bassett Creek. She became the Huskies' first individual section champion ever.

"She is always under control, but at one point during sections she was about 15th place and a long way behind," coach Scott Clark said. "But she has a beautiful stride. She locks on to people in front of her and reels them in."

Heitzman qualified for the Class 2A state meet taking place Saturday at St. Olaf College in Northfield. She spoke with Star Tribune reporter David La Vaque about her strong first varsity season, winning the section race and the tough days that preceded her victory.

Q Since this is your first year of varsity cross country, is all this success what you had in mind or have you gone above and beyond your expectations?

A I've pretty much gone above and beyond. I was expecting to be the No. 7 runner on varsity if I even made it to varsity. So it was really surprising when I became the No. 1 runner.

Q As the season went along, did you see things about yourself that gave you more confidence?

A Well, in every single race, I PR'd [set a personal best] except for the section race. My PR is 14:49 and I got a 15:19. A lot of it was the weather. It made the course tougher. A lot of the girls on my team fell.

Q Was it tough to maintain your patient running style at sections?

A Well, I wish I would have maybe kicked it in a little bit sooner. But I just decided to use my technique as I always do and it worked out pretty well. Mentally, I just tell myself to keep on passing people.

Q Champlin Park's Cassidy Soli was second. How did you interact with her during the race?

A I was behind her most of the time. We were only a few hundred yards from the finish line before I passed her. I just kept a close distance behind her and once I saw the finish line, I kicked it in and passed her.

Q Your older brother, Andrew, went to state with Andover. Have you two talked about the course at state or the experience?

A We haven't really talked about that because we don't really talk about race courses. But we always talk after races, and he congratulated me after sections.

Q Andover opened in 2002 but is it still fun to have made some school history?

A It feels really good, actually. A lot of people were congratulating me at school last Friday.

Q Coach said he was really happy to see you win the section race because you had an up-and-down week. Do you care to elaborate?

A A few days before the section race my grandmother died. I ran the race for her and she was in my head the whole time.

David La Vaque • 612-673-7574