GIRLS WINNER: Stephanie Schappert - Senior @ Pope John Paul II
Resilient. That is the word Coach Kevin Brown uses to describe a special senior, Stephanie Schappert. As a freshman at Pope John Paul II, she fell not once, but twice in her first track and field state championships. This past cross country season she fell just shy of the finish line. Brown says most would let those experiences bring them down, but not Schappert.
“She is an unbelievably mentally strong athlete. When something goes wrong she comes back with a new level of focus to make sure that won’t happen again and that’s basically what she did over the weekend. She knew how long she could kick, how long she could push her body, and she knew when her body would respond.”
The game plan was to, “sit back and kick it out”, and that is exactly what the defending champion in the 800 and 1600 did in those respective races. In the 1600, the field was loaded with runners like sixth grade sensation Daesha Rogers, Kacy Smith of Estero, and Cocoa Beach’s Shelby Davidson.
“I knew if she caught up she’d have that kick left to go. She was ready to go on that last lap. Kacy Smith started to kick and Steph responded with a bigger kick in the mile. I knew by the time she crossed the finish line in the mile I was confident about the half just to know the relief she had one win under her belt.”
Schappert won the 1600 in a time of 4:54.98 and then used the same strategy in the 800; wait, attack, and win. Freshman phenom Daesha Rogers took the race out fast while the senior showed her experience and sat back. She turned it into high gear the last 300 meters to get the double in 2:12.65. Coach Brown says it was a great way to send his senior out on a high note.
“I was really proud of her performance. She went in as defending champion which is a pretty big target and she had a lot of target from the younger grades. That is a lot of pressure and she went out there and won both of them, and ran her race. I thought it was a strong commanding performance in both races. It would have been great to run PR’s, but at the end of the day the goal at the state meet is to get the gold medal and she did that.”
Before heading off to run at Villanova University, Schappert plans on running in the Golden South postseason meet at the First Academy. The senior has strong family ties to the Philadelphia school and looks to continue the family legacy; her dad ran there, mom swam there, and her sister Nicole ran track there as well. Coach Brown wishes there was another Schappert sibling so he can stay close to the family, but he knows he will follow Stephanie at the next level and will always remember the type of kid she was.
“She is the silliest kid I’ve coached, but at the same time the most focused and determined. She never lets the stress of a race get in the way of her having a good time. I think that is what I am going to miss the most because she has instilled that attitude on the team. When she started here her freshman year she was by far the best runner on the team. She’s been a huge part of showing her teammate her love for the sport. Our team has grown to 30 girls and she has been a big part of that.”
Personal Bests
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1600 Meter Run 4:51.41
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3200 Meter Run 10:49.46
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5000 Meter Run 17:50.37
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800 Meter Run 2:10.81
More On Stephanie (Athlete Profile)
Interview After 2011 State Championship
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