Athlete of the Week: Sage Lyons

Sarasota High freshman Sage Lyons set a new school record: crossing the finish line in 18 minutes, 51 seconds at the Class 3A-District 10 cross-country meet Oct. 24, in Largo.

The 16-year-old finished first overall to win the individual district title and also helped the Lady Sailors capture the team title and earn a berth in the Class 3A-Region 3 meet Nov. 2.

IN HER WORDS:
It was definitely unexpected. At the third mile, my coach said, “Eighteen (minutes),” and I just started sprinting. When I crossed the finish line and my coach said, “You got the school record,” I was really excited. All of my teammates set personal records, so it was a good race for all of us.

There’s a lot of responsibility associated with having the school record. A lot of people don’t get the privilege of having a school record. I didn’t expect to be doing this well. It’s very unexpected.

I started running when I was 6 years old. Before that, I was playing soccer and my mom started running. So, I just decided no more soccer and I just started running. Now that’s my big thing.

It’s a sport that you don’t have to think about. You just go out there and you don’t have to think about what you’re doing.

The coaches have made us into the team we are now. They’re always pushing us with hard workouts and tempo runs. There’s also a team (atmosphere) at cross-country meets. The boys are always cheering on the girls, and the girls are always cheering on the boys. We just push each other at practice and in meets.

Cross-country is more fun for me because we hang out with each other during the meets. In cross-country you also get to run through the woods and on hills. With track, you just run around the track, which gets boring.

Contact Jen Blanco at [email protected]