Pre-season interview with Devin Clark of Smithson Valley HS, the fastest ranked Texas cross country returnee and 2014 5A 3200m State Champion, is hoping to bring her team to the state meet and take home her first individual cross country state title.
Interview questions below:
How did you first get started in running?
I played soccer, me and my sister played since we were five. Ever since then the best part about soccer for me was running, so that’s how I got started with running.
You’ve had an amazing high school career so far, but on multiple occasions you’ve been just seconds away from winning a state championship, how did it feel to finally win a state title in the 3200?
Right when I finished I went to my coach and I was like “finally!” It’s exactly like you said, I’ve always been 2nd or 3rd at state and I finally got it. It was a really good moment.
Would you consider that your biggest running achievement?
I would say it was one of them, one of the highest moments.
What are some other highlights of your running career?
I would say going to Nike Cross Nationals and Foot Locker Nationals.
Are you planning on going to both of those again this year?
I hope so!
Moving on to cross country, what kind of mileage and training have you been doing this summer?
This summer we’re kind of just easing back into it. I had a break after Brooks PR, I had a week off and then the next week I ran every other day. We’re starting to get back up and we’re trying to get back to where we were before and then to plan out the year.
What are some meets you’re really looking forward to this cross country season?
Definitely district, regionals and state. We’re really hoping our team can make it to state again this year and hopefully do even better. That’s really big for us. We’re probably going to do Nike Cross Regionals as a team again and hopefully we’ll do better in that this year too. I’m going to try to do Foot Locker Regionals and hopefully both nationals.
Last year in cross country you had a friendly rivalry with Paige Hofstad of New Braunfels. The two of you are in the same district and compete throughout regionals and state. Talk about what it’s like to have someone to push you through every race?
It’s hard after we get through a lot of races, but in the end we wouldn’t be able to get better without each other, and that’s the most important thing really. We’re always able to count on each other, like pushing each other, we can always go for a PR when we race each other so that’s good.
You’ve placed 3rd twice and 4th once at the cross country state championships. What would it mean to finish off your senior year with a win?
That would be amazing. I would probably go up to my coach again and be like “finally!”
Are you planning on running in college?
Yes
Do you know where you want to go?
Absolutely no idea! I probably should…I’ve been trying to work it out this summer and they moved up the signing date to November so it’s just a lot easier than it was in past years so I’m going to have to make my decision earlier.
