Arrington finishes 10th, Baner 12th in meet

By Robert Daski

Published: October 4, 2008

THE PLAINS – Debra Baner approached the finish line hoping her legs would remain strong to give her a solid finish in Octoberfest’s girls’ varsity A race.
The Potomac High School sophomore got a 12th place finish and a personal-best time by almost 30 seconds.
Baner’s time was 18:58. She is content with how she ran, but knows she can run faster.
“I could do better,” Baner said.
Baner received a congratulatory hug from her father Carl minutes after the race.
Carl and Debra listened to Potomac cross country coach Steve Petrosky explain how Baner is nearly 30 seconds faster now than this time last year.
That only motivates Baner to achieve more.
“I was happy I did well, but I’m not satisfied,” she said. “Finishing 12th is alright, but I want to be top 10 or top five or win. I’m not there yet. I got some work to do, but I’m feeling pretty good right now.”
Lindsi Arrington is also happy. The Gar-Field junior finished 10th (18:54), best among Prince William County athletes in the A races.
“I wanted to catch up to the last three girls out there,” Arrington said. “But I’m happy after running.”
Arrington’s finish is a confidence booster. She has solidified herself as one of the Cardinal District’s premier runners, but had yet to become an established cross country athlete outside the district.
She appeared headed for a top 15 finish at the 2007 Northwest Region meet, but fatigue set in and she fell shortly before the finish line. That slip cost her an all-region finish and berth in the Group AAA state meet.
“I was talking with my coach [Jeff Custer] and he said I’m not in the rankings,” of the state’s top cross country runners, Arrington said.
“Running a good time at The Plains helps people remember my name.”
Arrington’s plan is to start races on this course slow, but accelerate on the hills.
She stayed with the lead pack through her race and recorded her best time on this course.
“I wanted to get seventh,” Arrington said. “But it was a definite improvement.”
Osbourn Park’s top finishers in the girls’ varsity A race were Kayla Tyrrell (14th, 19:02) and Ariel Karabinus (21st, 19:25).
But the Yellow Jackets still finished third in the girls’ A race team competition with 149 points.
Other local athletes also enjoyed solid finishes.
Forest Park freshman Alison Dunleavy ran 21:06 to finish seventh in the girls’ junior varsity freshman and sophomore race.
“I did well, but I could have pushed myself harder up the hills,” Dunleavy said. “I wasn’t pushing as hard. I didn’t use my arms as much.”
So Dunleavy plans to improve her preparation for hilly courses. She will do a workout where she runs up a hill and jogs back down.
“It will help me get faster up the hills,” Dunleavy said.
Hylton’s Cimone Barbour and Forest Park’s Chelsea Jacobsen were 20th (21:46) and 21st (21:56) respectively in the same race Dunleavy ran.
Osbourn Park freshman Matthew Natour was fifth in the junior varsity freshman and sophomore boys’ race (18:09) followed by teammate Alex Bannan in ninth (18:21).
Hylton junior Nick Jones ran 18:09 to place sixth in the junior varsity junior and senior boys’ race.