The young, yet wildly talented Panger continues to impress this spring in track events across the area following a successful sophomore cross country season. To read my full article on Panger in today's Daily Mail, click here.
Panger will compete alongside many of the state's most talented runners in Friday and Saturday's Gazette/Friends of Coal Relays at the University of Charleston's Laidley Field.
“I know what a hard worker Peyton is and she’s excelling," said Panger's XC coach Jared Smith. "I think she hasn’t reached her full potential yet, and it’s coming. She’s had a great season so far, and we’ll see this Friday and Saturday at Gazettes, when she stacks up against good competition what she can throw down. It’ll be interesting.”
Panger enters the two-day meet as the favorite in the girls AAA mile event, with a season-best time of 5:13. In the two-mile, Panger projects third with a season-best time of 11:50.10, and she projects fourth in the 800 with a season-best mark of 2:25.
All times are ahead of Panger's freshman state meet results, with the exception of her two-mile time. Here are Panger's results from the 2012 state track and field championship:
800-meter run: 13th, 2:26.92
1600 (mile): fifth, 5:15.60
3200 (two-mile): third, 11:37.48
In the 2012 state cross country championship, Panger finished eighth in 19:12.26. As a freshman, Panger claimed 10th place.
While Panger still needs to cut time to hit her desired mark of five minutes in the mile, Smith said Panger could certainly reach that level.
"Peyton works exceptionally hard," he said. "I think her ultimate goal this year was to break five minutes in the 1600 and based on her times and everything, she may come close by the end of the season. She has a very, very strong will. She’s very devoted to her training. She does everything a person tells her and then some. She just wants to get better and that’s just like a bunch of these distance kids. They’re learning how to train and the sky’s the limit.”
Currently, Panger, one of the team's long-distance co-captains, ranks second in the mile and fifth in the two-mile for girls Class AAA, according to www.runwv.com
Panger said she's been working on her strength and leg speed this spring to decrease her times.
“Earlier in the season, I was putting in long miles, long, hard workouts and just getting the miles and endurance behind me so that I was able to really crunch down on the speed and run faster," she said.
As Panger continues to dedicate herself to her craft, the times will fall as her name continues to rise in prominence among the state's top runners.
Below, I would like to include some extraneous quotes from my interviews with Panger and Smith that did not make my Daily Mail article or the above post.
Peyton Panger, Capital sophomore
-on the difference between training during track season versus cross country
“It’s more of the shorter distances, because I’m not doing a 5K. I still do generally the same kind of stuff. You can cut out some of the hill workouts because you’re just running on the flat and obviously when I run distance, it’s still running on the terrain of hills that’s around my house and stuff, but it’s still a lot of running around the track, a lot of miles, a lot of 800s, a lot of 400s that make you hurt, but it’s worth it in the end.”
-on her preference between cross country and track
“I definitely prefer cross country, because when you’re a distance runner it sometimes gets a little monotonous running in circles, but…I guess I prefer the longer distances because it gives me time to correct mistakes or you can settle in. You can really have time to read your opponent as far as the other runners, and it’s also a really good community of distance runners too.”
-on her approach to facing stiff competition at Gazette/Friends of Coal Relays
“The thing is, I just have to realize it’s just once race. It’s not the end of my season certainly. I mean I’m going to go into it hoping I do really well, hoping to run harder than I have before, but somebody else might have a better, I might get sick. The thing I have to go into it is knowing that something could go wrong, but planning for everything to go right.”
Jared Smith, Capital cross country coach
-on Panger's attitude and work ethic
“She just works so hard and she’s diligent and persistent. She has very, very strong goals. I’m exceptionally proud of her. She’s a great kid.”
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