Golden three-peat at districts merely a tuneup for Wyomissing’s Addie Cohen
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SHIPPENSBURG — Addie Cohen knows better than to turn her head and look back during a race.
She’s an experienced distance runner at this point. She won a gold and a silver medal at districts as a sophomore and medaled at states. She’s been gliding past people with ease in the 1600 and 3200 all season.
And yet she couldn’t help herself Saturday. The Wyomissing junior, pulling away down the stretch in her third and final race of the meet, the Class 2A 800, glanced back to see if anyone was closing in.
She would’ve needed binoculars to see anyone – she was that far ahead.
Again.
Cohen may have enjoyed the easiest three-gold weekend anyone’s ever had at the District 3 Track and Field Championships.
She works up more of a sweat at most practices than she did Saturday in winning the 1600 and 800, or the night before in collecting the 3200.
She finished the two mile more than 20 seconds ahead of the field. She was 10 seconds better than anyone in the mile. She toyed with the field in the 800, an event she doesn’t even train for.
Her times weren’t worth mentioning, but that was the plan coming in. She wanted to cruise through the 1600 and 3200 with minimal effort, then see what she could do in the 800.
All of this with an eye toward next weekend, when the competition gets real at the PIAA Championships.
“This is what I’ve been waiting for,” she said, looking ahead to her return to Shippensburg University’s Seth Grove Stadium. “This is the meet. I have some really big goals for next weekend.”
Cohen knew she wouldn’t be pushed this weekend. Her seed times were miles ahead of the competition.
Her PR of 11:01.11 in the 3200 was light years ahead of anyone else — more than a minute.
“I was able to cruise it,” she said of her first race, Friday evening. “Win it with the least amount (of effort).”
Same thing early Saturday in the 1600. Her seed time entering the race was nearly 13 seconds faster than anyone else.
“I’m grateful for that,” she said. “I’ll be going in a lot fresher than some other girls in the state.”
The race she was looking most forward to was the 800, because it presented her only challenge. She had run it just once this season, in a dual meet. She wasn’t sure how she would do.
She hung with the leaders for the first 500 meters, then made her move. Before anyone knew it she was 10 meters ahead of the field. Then 20. Then 30.
“I knew I could pass them,” Cohen said. “I knew I had the leg speed for it. I knew I would just have to drop the hammer, and I did.”
With no more races to worry about, Cohen was able to empty the tank over the final 100 meters.
“The (only) question was: ‘How fast can I really run?’ ” she said. “It was fun to break 2:20; that was a goal.”
She finished in 2:19.49, a PR.
Cohen hasn’t been beaten in the 1600 or 3200 by a runner from a Class 2A school this year. The only races she hasn’t won this season came last week at the Firing Meet, where she finished second in both the distance events.
She’s anxious to go against the best next weekend. She knows the competition will bring out the best in her.
“I know I can break 11, for sure,” she said confidently of the 3200. “I would love to break 5:00 in the mile. (Her best is 5:04.79). I know I’m capable of it, it’s just a matter of doing it.
“The 800? We’ll see what happens.”
