For Bolles' Caitlin Collier, 2016 was a year of redemption. In 2015, she missed out on both the 2A cross country state title and an individual berth to NXN by one spot.
And the junior did both, clinching the state title in 17:44.20 and the last individual spot to NXN with a sixth place, 17:55.90 finish at the Nike Southeast Regional meet. For Bolles Coach Tony Ryan, Collier's motivation this season was never a question: win a state title, and then anything else would be a bonus.
"She's a pretty competitive person so I kinda knew [the state title] was her goal, I didn't really have to make it a goal for her," Ryan said. "[She wanted] to lay to rest that ghost of what happened last year."
While Collier's cross country accolades speak for themselves, cross country isn't her main season. On the track, says Ryan, is where Caitlin's long legs and speed shine. She finished fifth in the adidas Dream mile (1500) in 2016 and ran a PR of 2:04.89 at the USATF Junior Championships to set a new FL #1 all-time mark in the 800m.
While her long stride gives her an advantage on the track, Ryan thinks it can be more of a disadvantage on hills like the one on the Nike Regional course in Cary, NC.
With about 700m to go before the final hill, Collier was in a pack of three girls with the sixth place girl about 30m behind. By the finish, she was in sixth, stride breaking. With first place finisher Kate Murphy qualifying with her team to nationals, sixth was good enough for a trip to Portland and completed Collier's quest for redemption from the 2015 season.
Ryan doesn't see it as a negative, just evidence of Collier's consistently tough racing style.
"I think it's she just ran a really tough race and kind of buckled a little bit near the end," he said. "I have reminded her after a few tough races...that's there's going to be no hills in the track season. And that's her favorite time of the year, when she gets on the track."
Despite the looming track season, Ryan doesn't see Collier resting on her successes Saturday. He describes her as driven, the type of runner who shows up at practice focused and itching to run. Outside of running, she's quirky, funny, but when she shows up at practice, says Ryan, she's all business. He doesn't see a competitive personality like Collier allowing herself to relax in a race, even if it is her least-favorite season.
"She's really going to go and do her best, I don't think she's the kind of person who's just going to go and be happy just to go along on the ride," he said.
"I'm sure she's going to really try to give it her best effort and finish as high as she can knowing it's her last cross country race of 2016, and hopefully learn a lot for next year if she gets the opportunity to go back again."
