Andrea Neslon at Pasco

Andrea Nelson 4A Champ 18:26

Andrea Nelson , sophomore from Shadle Park again showed the 4A girls of Washington State that she is the athlete to beat!
Andrea ran the 4A Girls championship contest , held at Sun Willows Golf Course on a Sunny Nov 3 day, like she has run every race this year.  She laid out the race early, fast lead, fast middle, fast end. The plan worked.  Andrea posted the fasted course time of the day in all races.

Being one of the best runners in the state offers special challenges to a runner trying to improve from race to race.  The advantage of honing your racing skills in head to toe contests does not exist too frequently for the runners ahead of the crowd.

Andrea runs to beat the clock.
Andrea runs to improve her “slower” middle mile.
Andrea runs.

 Andrea Nelson leading the 4A race pulled the entire field to post some of the fastest times in the days races.
Andrea likes the feeling of running in control but is really looking forward to pushing the clock and herself to see what she can do.  Andre will be running at Foot Locker Nationals on DEC 1.  This her second year attending.  Only a sophomore, she will be competing against more seasoned athletes and we should really have a chance to see her shine.

Andrea understands herself as a runner and respects her competitors.
It would be easy for a Sophomore athlete, who consistently wins races, to get a bit lazy or arrogant, if only from inexperience.
So many times this complacency is the beginning of the end for top class athletes.

Instinctually Andrea knows better.  She enters each race understanding the desire and ability of her competitors and runs like she believes it.  She seems to have a pure concept of herself as a finely honed athlete.  She seems to know that her success has acted to raise the bar of those always trying to beat her. She knows she has to run every race with her A game.

Andrea won the 4A race at Pasco with a 28 second lead. In spite of this sizable lead,  she ran to the point of near exhaustion through most of the middle and last mile and ran the final section of the race fast enough to thwart a challenge from anyone who could be close to her.    

I asked Andrea, at what point she began to understand what she was capable of doing in this sport, at what point she knew she could be a state champion.  By the middle of her Freshman year, Andrea saw what was possible.  Cued by a great coach, Bob Isitt, she began to understand that a commitment to the goal could pay off.

She always worked hard and she always tried to do her best.  Andrea pushes herself as a matter of course.  The biggest change was the feeling of confidence that embracing the possibility of State Champ, solidified in her. She has become what she understood herself to be.

She is a Sophomore, we have the unique privilege of witnessing 2 more seasons of what Andrea Nelson brings to Washington State High School Track and XC.

Shadle Park is on the borders of school division size, and may be in the 3A division next year.