Nobody wants to get in the path of a hurricane and the same can be said for Riverview's Bailey Hertenstein who dawns that nickname. The junior rolled through competition in the state of Florida, leaving a path of destruction that included some of the best athletes from South Florida to North Florida and everywhere in between. Hertenstein was undefeated in 2016 including her second consecutive 4A Cross Country Finals state championship. That success has earned her Flrunners.com Cross Country Athlete of the Year honors. Personal coach Stephen Dunn is proud of her progress throughout the year.
"Bailey has matured into a good runner which means that she listens and understands the race plans and workouts. She also realizes that she was given a gift."
One thing you can count on with Hertenstein is consistency. She hasn't lost a race in the state of Florida since 2014, her freshman season when she was 15th at the Cross Country Finals. Dunn adds that one of the biggest challenges facing his young pupil is keeping her injury free. Hertenstein didn't compete in sports as a kid, just one season of middle school track. As a freshman and sophomore she never had the base to push her in workouts and avoid injury.
"This is the first season that we felt she could take on more training but even then probably 3/4 as much as her competitors. I think the above gives us that special bond, in that she knows I have her best interest at heart."
Running for the Riverview Sharks, Hertenstein took a bite out of the state rankings each and every week. First it was at the North Port XC Invitational where she went sub 18 in 17:54.30 to pick up the win. Next up the Flrunners.com Invitational Girls Race of Champions, a meet that Dunn knew she'd thrive at given the workout leading up to the meet.
"This mid season we were doing some mile repeats with some of the boys she trains with and she consistently was hitting 5:25 on a difficult course. This was a week before Flrunners. I knew at that time she was race ready when she took charge at Flrunners and won pulling away against a strong field."
Hertenstein added herself to a rare group of repeat winners in the Race of Champions clocking a new personal best and FL#2 time of 17:32.14, and winning by nearly 15 seconds. Dunn breaks down what makes her such a strong athlete.
"She is like most, competitive, when the gun goes off she is all business. Obviously she has great genetics. She looks taller than she is because of her long legs."
Using her strengths to her advantage, she coasted through districts, set a new Holloway Park course record of 18:13.83 to win the 4A Region 2 Championship, and then capped it off with a defense of her 4A Cross Country Finals state championship in 17:40.36, a 40 second victory.
The state's top distance runner continued her cross country season at Foot Locker South where she placed 7th and advanced to Foot Locker Nationals in San Diego. At Balboa Park, she finished 20th out of the 40 best females in the country, an extraordinary feat.
Now that cross country is in the books, it's back to the track. Last year, Hertenstein completed the triple finishing as the runner-up in the 800, third in the 3,200, and winning the 1,600 in dramatic fashion. Dunn calls that race her highest point of 2016, coming back from being knocked down to win the title.
"It showed she had real grit and was a true competitor."
Congratulations to Bailey, our 2016 Flrunners.com Cross Country Athlete of the year, on a fantastic 2016 season. We can't wait to see what 2017 brings!
