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TechnographCassie's Hunt...for a national championship
By Erin Foley
Posted: 11/15/05 Section: Sports
As Cassie Hunt anxiously poses for a portrait at the Armory on Monday, her demeanor is shy and reserved, but beneath the exterior, it doesn't take much to notice that her mind is elsewhere. Her focus is on next Monday's National Championships in Terre Haute, Ind., where one of her biggest tests awaits.
For Hunt, a junior, this season has reared its ups and downs more than at any other time in her career. Hunt's competitive nature has been tested throughout the season, as she has gone through what she describes as a slump, her longest since she began racing in eighth grade.
After breaking out of the slump and winning a Big Ten title in a time of 21:00.54 at the Big Ten Championships in St. Paul, Minn., on Oct. 30, she followed it with a seventh-place finish this past weekend at the NCAA Midwest Regional.
The Roachdale, Ind., native, who one day hopes to become a national champion in either track or cross country, looks to regain her old form and focus in time for Nationals.
While she said she is disappointed about how Regionals went, she is not as worried about rebounding from that race as she was before the Big Ten Championships.
"You have to take it and learn from it," Hunt said. "There is no way to make progress without making mistakes."
Since first coming to Illinois, Hunt has made much progress. Head women's cross country coach Karen Harvey said Hunt's racing tactics, form and biomechanics are much improved, along with "becoming a kicker at the end of her race - someone who will sprint at the end of a race." Hunt's hurdling in the steeplechase, which she took second place in last May at the NCAA Track and Field Championships, has improved. There is a night-and-day difference compared to her sophomore year, Harvey said.
Hunt, though, did not start out as the runner she has developed into. At North Putnam High School, Hunt won 12 varsity letters in volleyball, cross country, basketball and track. She won an Indiana state 1600m title in 2002 as a junior and placed second at the Indiana state track and field meet in the 1600m and third in the 3200m as a senior. But it wasn't until her sophomore year that Hunt took up cross country. It is her love of track that has always been the focus. Harvey saw someone with enormous potential.
For Hunt, a junior, this season has reared its ups and downs more than at any other time in her career. Hunt's competitive nature has been tested throughout the season, as she has gone through what she describes as a slump, her longest since she began racing in eighth grade.
After breaking out of the slump and winning a Big Ten title in a time of 21:00.54 at the Big Ten Championships in St. Paul, Minn., on Oct. 30, she followed it with a seventh-place finish this past weekend at the NCAA Midwest Regional.
The Roachdale, Ind., native, who one day hopes to become a national champion in either track or cross country, looks to regain her old form and focus in time for Nationals.
While she said she is disappointed about how Regionals went, she is not as worried about rebounding from that race as she was before the Big Ten Championships.
"You have to take it and learn from it," Hunt said. "There is no way to make progress without making mistakes."
Since first coming to Illinois, Hunt has made much progress. Head women's cross country coach Karen Harvey said Hunt's racing tactics, form and biomechanics are much improved, along with "becoming a kicker at the end of her race - someone who will sprint at the end of a race." Hunt's hurdling in the steeplechase, which she took second place in last May at the NCAA Track and Field Championships, has improved. There is a night-and-day difference compared to her sophomore year, Harvey said.
Hunt, though, did not start out as the runner she has developed into. At North Putnam High School, Hunt won 12 varsity letters in volleyball, cross country, basketball and track. She won an Indiana state 1600m title in 2002 as a junior and placed second at the Indiana state track and field meet in the 1600m and third in the 3200m as a senior. But it wasn't until her sophomore year that Hunt took up cross country. It is her love of track that has always been the focus. Harvey saw someone with enormous potential.
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