may04

DISTANCE RUNNERS
OF THE MONTH
May

Maria Harley

Senior at
Springfield Northwerstern

P.R. 's

Cross Country

19:19

Track

11:47 (3200)

5:12 (1600)

Favorite Shoe

Mizuno

Advice

"Don't Waste a Heartbeat"

College Choice
Cedarville

"Northwestern Runner Wastes No Heartbeats!"

     Northwestern High School cross country and track coach Tracy Cleland likes to tell his runners, “Don’t waste a heartbeat!” Senior Maria Harley has taken the coach’s advice to HEART. Harley has wasted no time in establishing herself as one of the top distance runners in the area. She began her running career in 7^th grade as a potential sprinter. “I wanted to be a sprinter in junior high. The coach said I had to start out in the distance events and move down gradually. I ran the mile my first meet and have been running it ever since,” she said (so much for moving down).
     Maria quickly caught the eye of Cleland her eighth grade track season. “He asked me if I wanted to run cross country. I decided to try it,” she said. Although injuries plagued Harley during her freshmen cross country season, she rebounded in the spring and qualified for regionals in the 1600 (9^th). The next fall Harley and the lady Warriors qualified for regionals. Harley again made it to regionals in the 1600 that spring but finished 6^th.
     Maria's junior year was superb. She spent the summer logging some serious miles under Coach Cleland’s off-season training program. “Coach really believes in high mileage,” Harley stated. By the end of the summer, Harley was running twice a day and logging nearly 70 miles a week. Her year included a 10^th place finish at regionals in the fall, followed by a 24^th place finish at the state meet. That spring Harley finished 4^th in the 1600 at regionals (5:12) and 10^th at the state meet.
     She finished off her senior cross country season in impressive fashion. Harley was fifth at regionals and was poised to improve upon her 24^th place finish as a junior. “The state meet is just nuts. You just don’t see that many people at a cross country meet,” she said. She definitely saved her best for last. Harley recorded a personal best 19:19 at Scioto Downs. Her eighth place finish earned her all-state honors. The Warriors as a team finished 13^th in the state.
     Harley hasn’t wasted any heartbeats in the classroom either. She boasts a 4.0 g.p.a. and is tied for 1^st in her class at Northwestern. Maria will continue her running career at Cedarville College next year. She is undecided on a major. Good luck Maria!

Aaron Johnson

Senior at
Dixie High School

P.R.'s

Cross Country
Track 16:56
4:41 (1600) 9:57 (3200)

Advice "Everything Happens for a Reason"

Favorite Shoe New Balance

College Choice
University of Cincinnati

"Dixie Runner Has Ultimate Weight Loss Plan!"

    Dixie High School’s Aaron Johnson has experienced the ultimate weight loss plan. The senior’s workout plan started in 7^th grade. “My cousin talked me into running cross country. I was overweight and couldn’t even run a mile,” said Johnson. Fortunately for the Hounds’ cross country and track programs, Johnson stuck with it. As Aaron shed pounds his times shed seconds and soon minutes. As a freshmen Johnson ran an 11:59 (3200). Aaron, now over two minutes faster, won the Twin Valley South Invitational (April 16^th, 2004) this spring clocking in with a personal best 9:57 in the 3200. “It felt great. I hit every 200 in the race exactly at the time I wanted to,” said Johnson of the performance.
     So what is Johnson’s secret plan? The answer is coaching. Over the past two years Aaron has trained under some of the area’s top coaches. This past summer Johnson and teammate Jeff Rexrode trained with Bob Schul at Fairborn High School. “The workouts were tough, but they really helped us for cross country season.” Those workouts, combined with up to 60 mile training weeks helped Aaron through an excellent cross country season. He finished 5^th at the SWBL meet and 2^nd at the Trotwood district. In his best performance to date, Johnson finished 9^th at regionals (16:56) qualifying him for the state meet. “It was awesome making it to state. I came up short my junior year (24^th), “ he said. A week later he recorded a 16:57 and finished 33^rd at the state meet.
     Through the winter Johnson sought out another one of the area’s top coaches, Northmont’s Jack Lintz. “I trained with Coach Lintz and his team through the winter. He’s a great coach and helped me get ready for track season,” Aaron stated. Johnson also credits his distance coach Brad Miller and teammate Jeff Rexrode for his continuing improvement, “They’ve definitely supported and helped motivate me.” Aaron will look to qualify for regionals and state in the 3200. “Our region is tough. It should be interesting,” he said.
     Johnson appears headed to the University of Cincinnati as part of the Air Force ROTC program. He hasn’t ruled out running cross country or track for the Bearcats. As for his weight-loss plan, Johnson hopes it continues to be a seconds-loss plan. Good Luck Aaron!