By John Raffel
Correspondent
GOBLES – Libby Smith had quite a season as a freshman for Gobles’ cross country team.
Smith was seventh in the Division 4 state in 18:58.3.
Her personal record was 18:41.0, which she met earlier in the season.
“Our team did really great this year,” she said. “We had many first places or close to first place. I did really great this year. My times were great being in the 19 and 18 minutes and I’m really happy with how I performed this year. I feel like I improved a lot from the beginning of the year with my times especially. I am the first runner for our team and this year had the honor to carry the warm up bin to and from the meets.
“This is my first year in high school but last year in middle school I was also the first runner. My self motivation was a big strength to get me where I was this year. I worked on my speed, endurance and quickness. Some of the more memorable moments this year were with my team at all the meets or just practices, getting to know them all better. Getting into the 18 minutes for the first time was really awesome and being able to put my name on the record board at lunch in front of the rest of the high school.”
A team camp early in the season was helpful, Smith said.
“Winning our SAC meet for the first time in Gobles history was fun to celebrate and going to state with my team was also fun,” she added. “I exceeded my expectations this year. I thought I would be in the 19-minute range but there were meets I was in the 18s too. Towards the middle of the season, my expectations did change because I wanted to be in the 18 minutes and I nailed that.
“Our team met our expectations. We did really great at the beginning of the season. We had a lot of wins but towards the end, things just didn’t play out in our favor as some of us were hurt or not at our best.”
Smith also runs track but said cross country is her favorite.
“I love to run long distances,” she said.