Cary girls out to defend title

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Original Source: http://www.news-observer.com/daily/1998/08/19/fallpreps26.html

CARY -- Mention that the Cary girls cross country team is the defending state 4-A champion to any member, and you'll probably get a shrug in response. Not that the Imps don't care about winning, it's just that they don't feel any extra pressure in 1998. In fact, they may be feeling less pressure these days after getting that "good team, never quite good enough when it counts" monkey off their backs. "We're basically starting over again," senior co-captain Theresa Gilligan said. "Our team goals are to win the conference, win the regional and win the state -- the same as always -- and to have our top five finish under 20 minutes at states. It's pretty much the same old, same old." The "same old" meaning that Cary again will be a state contender in November. After all, Coach Jerry Dotson and the Imps have recorded seven top-six finishes at the state meet since 1990. Even so, there's no doubt in the girls' minds that perennial contenders such as Leesville Road, Apex and Watauga County also will contend again. "We're just trying to keep up our enthusiasm, keep having fun and stay relaxed," junior Joanna Payne said. "We lost a lot of people from last year, but people don't realize how many we have back." Cary has back four of its top seven runners, as well as several athletes just outside that top seven for much of last season plus some newcomers who could surprise by season's end. Leading the list of veterans are Gilligan, Payne, junior Janelle Silverman and sophomore Melissa McGehee. Silverman, who won the 1997 Tri-Seven Conference meet, earned all-state honors by placing seventh in the state meet at Charlotte's 5,000-meter McAlpine Greenway course with a personal best of 19:21. Gilligan placed 18th (19:52), Payne, 49th (20:34) and McGehee, 71st (21:06). Gone are Amy Henke and Jenny Payne, who graduated after finishing among the top 25 in the state meet. Allison Perry, ninth in the state meet, transferred to Apex. Dotson, who is beginning his ninth season at Cary, realizes that teams may be gunning for the Imps a little more than usual but doesn't think his team is particularly fazed. "Last year was great -- it was nice to see what it's like to win a state championship," he said. "We know it's very difficult, and you've got to be lucky, too. I think we've mostly put it behind us." More than defending conference, region and state titles, Dotson hears his team talking about simply proving it's still pretty good. Perhaps partially inspired by last year's success, the team has put more effort than ever into its offseason workouts. Several of them have gotten together to run almost every day this summer. "We're in a lot better shape than we were last year at the beginning," Payne said. "It's crazy how much you can improve over the summer," Gilligan said. About 45 girls have come out for the team, about 10 more than last year. Nineteen attended team camp at Appalachian State in early August, a higher turnout than usual. In addition to learning about diet and training methods, they "bonded, although I hate to use that word," Dotson said. And because of their state title, the Imps feel they are building something of a tradition. Also building is a battle for spots among the top seven. "Last year it was pretty set who all the top people would be," said co-captain Annie Peterson, who leads the cheers for teammates as well as the production of team T-shirts with the slogan "Do it for [Coach] Dots." Dotson likes having close competition at the top among several runners. "I see us having a much stronger pack of runners than we have some years," Dotson said. "And the bigger the meet, the more that can help you. Some years you kind of have one group and then a big gap and another group." The camp in Boone ended with a 2-mile run, and Cary's top-five runners were separated by less than a minute. Dotson figures Watauga, Winston-Salem Reynolds and Enloe are the favorites for state honors, with Apex, Leesville and Cary not far behind. The Imps began the 1997 season as favorites to be state champions, but they experienced disappointment with a sixth place at the Wolfpack Invitational in Raleigh and an eighth at the Wendy's Invitational at McAlpine. The runners pulled themselves together and won the state title through what Dotson called sheer force of will. "The girls know what it takes to win a state championship, and you see it, you like it, you want it again," Dotson said.

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